Steal My Idea; Jihadi Fakes Death And Returns Home

After watching the first episode of the latest season of Homeland, I came up with an idea for a film, book, video game, or TV show. The only problem is that I will probably never do anything with it. But if I put it ‘out there’ someone else might (or maybe already has?). So feel free to steal it and do what you will with it.

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Aleppo, Syria – a possible setting? (Javier Manzano/AFP/Getty Images)

A young man or woman grows disillusioned with life in the West (be it Europe or North America), and goes to fight in Syria/Iraq/Afghanistan.
The family they leave behind are naturally worried about them. The security services are keen to trace them and the networks they used to get to the warzone.

We follow them in Syria/Iraq/Afghanistan through the chaos, war, and camaraderie they encounter.
The protagonist is killed in action.
The family find out through social networks/friends of the protagonist. Media attention. The family have to adjust to life knowing their relative died fighting a war that has split opinion and communities. Time passes.
Then the protagonist reappears in their country of origin, but with a new identity.
Does he/she contact the family who believe them to be dead?
Why has he/she returned? Why the new identity?
Are they back to carry out homegrown terrorism?
Are they on the run from the networks and organisations they joined in the past?
Are they working for the intelligence services? Are the intelligence services trying to recruit them?
Is there a larger conspiracy at play, or is the person just trying to escape the clutches of IS or similar jihadi groups?

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Some of the ideas here sprang from thoughts I had after hearing about mostly young men that have gone to fight in the Middle East.

We mainly get to hear about them when they die. Their deaths are briefly reported in news stories about air or drone strikes, or in gun battles between warring factions overseas. But it occurred to me that a reported death would provide the perfect cover for that person to re-invent themselves elsewhere. Especially given that the circumstances surrounding these matters are often sketchy and unreliable at best. Someone killed in a drone strike or even a suicide bombing is not likely to leave behind many clues as to what actually happened, even if the opportunity to investigate was even possible.

These ideas are not particularly new. The first three seasons of US TV show Homeland is based on the same premise, which in turn adapted the story from the Israeli TV show Prisoners of War. But the opportunity exists here to put it into a new context. We are yet to see how the war in Syria and Iraq will directly affect us, as many commentators are sure it will.

Salaheddin, Aleppo – courtesy of SyriaFreedom

If the urge to join the fight is so strong in some people, what else would they do if the circumstances were slightly different? If this has already happened, and someone previously thought to have died has returned home, I’d be fascinated to know about it.

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