Layla M: Yet another innocent claimed, and to be claimed, by ISIS

Layla M is a captivating film that leaves the audience sympathetic to the life of a girl whose world has been severely manipulated by those who claim to act in the name of God. Although slightly one-sided in its portrayal of Islam, the film forces its watchers to reconsider accountability and the treatment of not-so-innocent bystanders in the court of law. Layla M is a work that accurately portrays the identity crises of adolescents, all while tackling the relevancy and dangers of politically twisted versions of Islam.

The film follows the turbulent life of Layla, a fiery and religiously devoted high-school-aged girl living in Amsterdam. As a hijabi woman of Moroccan decent with beautiful caramel brown skin, Layla is subject to discrimination within the first two minutes of the film. But, the exposition really begins to build with the implementation of a niqab ban—a policy that Layla deems racist. Frustrated with the complacency of the rest of her friends and family, she joins a group of older fundamentalists devoted to promoting the normalization of Islam into European society—or so she thought.

It is through this fundamentalist group that she meets the man that would eventually change her life, forever. Abdel, several years her senior, slowly woos Layla until she decides to follow him in his journey to fight alongside ISIS in Syria. After some character revealing time with Abdel as he serves as some kind of ISIS operative, Layla attempts to rejoin her family in Amsterdam, only to be seized by the police as soon as she steps of the plane. The film ends with Layla crying in an interrogation room with the words “The repatriation of young people like Layla M remains controversial across Europe…many young people who left home now seek clemency and admission. Countries across the EU have chosen to respond to these cases differently.”

A large question that the film asks is—should child brides like Layla be held accountable for their roles as the chess pieces of radicals? Based off the extreme pathos demonstrated throughout the film, it is clear that the director (Mijke de Jong) says that they should not. After watching the film twice now, I find myself sympathetic to this argument. Her husband is clearly not innocent, as he repeatedly abuses Layla and is indeed a full-fledged ISIS fighter, but the makers of this film make a point to ensure that the audience does not witness Layla committing any actual crime at home in Amsterdam or abroad in Syria (ignoring her protest while wearing the niqab). She is merely a witness to the whereabouts and highly questionable actions of Abdel. And, although she has a strong and independent personality, she is still portrayed as a victim.

Nora El Koussour (Layla M) does a phenomenal job depicting Layla’s shallowness. Layla’s actions repeatedly demonstrate her young age, as she lets her emotions get the best of her, disrespects and takes her family for granted, and marries a dangerous man who she barely knows. Forgoing her immaturity, Layla is still a very smart girl that recognizes Abdel’s sexist tendencies, even if she recognizes it subconsciously. During a Videocall well into their relationship, she still feels the need to ask “Men and Women are equal, you know that, right?” Albeit, culturally not uncommon for marriages to be between two people who barely know each other, these unions are thoroughly vetted by the parents of both the bride and the groom. By surpassing this very important step, Layla puts herself in a very dangerous position.

Layla is naïve and immature, but her crimes are not equal to treason. She is simply guilty of falling into the clutches of a malignant group who prey on young people suffering identity crises. Layla M is a product of her environment; and, in order to stop this cycle of radicalization, the environment that fosters racism and hate must be distinguished indefinitely through the acceptance of the ‘other’.