Mother Of Deceased Canadian Extremist In Syria Remembers Son As ‘Beautiful Kid’

The mother of John Maguire, the 24-year-old Ottawa man who was reportedly killed in Syria, has opened up about her feelings on the death. Patricia Earle told her son that she did not agree with his political ideologies.

Earle talked to her son last time on Skype and got into a fight. It was the end of August 2014 when the mother fought with her son while trying to persuade him against his extremist ideologies. She said that she did not understand what he was doing in the Middle East. She asked how many people he had to kill to make a point.

Even though Canadian officials have not yet confirmed John's death to his family, a pro-ISIS Twitter account claimed on Wednesday that he had been killed while fighting for the Islamic State in Kobani. Earle said that she was preparing for the bad news since he had left for Syria. "I never had a problem with the faith, never dreaming in a million years that this was going to be the result of it," National Post quotes Earle, "If that's what you're into and you're not harming anybody, fine."

The mother also says that there was nothing concerning with John's behaviour. According to his family, John started believing in Islam when he came in contact with some Muslim co-workers at a Wal-Mart store in Ottawa. It was after he started going to the University of Ottawa that he interest in the religion grew stronger. John's stepfather, Bill Langenberg, remembered the night of the New Year in 2012.

Just before John was going to bed, he saw a story about a conflict in the Middle East on TV. He apparently told Langenberg that his "brothers" were being mistreated. Langenberg said that he had not found his reaction to be "normal." John later converted to Islam and started being known as Abu Anwar Al-Canadi. He went to Syria and started working with IS militant forces. He was earlier a part of an IS propaganda video where he called for an attack on his motherland.

Langenberg asked John to stay in touch and let the family know he was safe by sending at least one email every month. Later, they started communicating through Skype to save on long-distance telephone bills.

Earle has fond memories of her son who was rather "normal" for the most part of his life. "How does this beautiful kid end up on the dark side? It's beyond," the mother wonders.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@IBTimes.com.au