Mother of British Daesh woman caught in affair scandal ‘regrets giving birth to her’

Jeddah - Yasmine El Tohamy - LONDON: The mother of a female Daesh recruit who had an affair with a US congressman has said that she regrets having given birth to her daughter and “cut her off many years ago.”

Jahanara Choudhury — the mother of Tania Joya, who was dubbed the “first lady” of Daesh — told MailOnline she “disowned” her 38-year-old daughter almost two decades ago.

Choudhury insisted that she has no interest in her estranged daughter’s life and regrets having given birth to her.

Joya, who was born in Middlesex in the UK, traveled to Syria in 2013 with her then husband John Georgelas, a Muslim convert who later became a leading Daesh recruiter. The pair met in Texas.

They went to Syria with their three children while Joya was pregnant with their fourth child, but Joya fled the country three weeks later for Istanbul before traveling back to the US.

Joya and Georgelas, who later became one of Daesh’s most prominent American fighters, lost contact in 2015 and he was killed in fighting two years later.

On her return to Texas, Joya became an anti-extremist campaigner. She met Republican Congressman Van Taylor through her work and began an affair with him in late 2020.

On Wednesday, Taylor dropped out of his campaign for reelection after details emerged of his relationship with the former Daesh member.

In a statement, he said: “About a year ago, I made a horrible mistake that has caused deep hurt and pain among those I love most in this world. I had an affair, it was wrong, and it was the greatest failure of my life.”

Joya’s mother said she was “not interested” in reports of her daughter’s affair.

“I have nothing to do with her and neither does the rest of the family. We cut off all communication when she married this man (Georgelas),” she said.

“I don’t consider her my daughter anymore. She is not a part of this family and hasn’t been for a long time. I’m sorry I even gave birth to her.

“She married against our wishes and we cut her off. I can’t remember the last time I spoke to or saw her, but it was many years ago.”

Choudhury added: “Nobody in the family is bothered with her. Please understand that she is not important to me or anybody else in the family. She’s not my daughter.”

Joya and Georgelas gained widespread British media attention when news of their activities in Syria emerged. The press dubbed Joya the “first lady of Daesh.”

She now shares custody of her four children with Georgelas’ parents.

Joya remarried in 2018 to a man she met online.

She is said to have made a post on a dating website saying: “I have four kids. My husband abandoned me to go and become the next Osama bin Laden.”