The Mirror's Russell Myers and David Collins in Kuwait contacted Jasem Emwazi by phone but he was in no mood to talk about his son Mohammed
The dad of monster Jihadi John has gone into hiding in Kuwait after fleeing Britain.
Today the Mirror contacted Jasem Emwazi, 51, by phone but he was in no mood to talk about the shame his son Mohammed has brought on the family.
Taxi driver Jasem confessed: “Yes, I am the father of Mohammed.”
But the dad added: “I don’t want to talk to the media.”
The family are said to be furious about the stigma caused by Mohammed Emwazi, 27, being unmasked last week as the Islamic State executioner who had been known as Jihadi John.
Security agents in the Middle East are understood to be tracking the murderer’s relatives around the clock in case he makes contact with them.
The Emwazi family moved from Kuwait to London 20 years ago when Mohammed was six.
Families in their hometown of Taima, a rundown district of Kuwait City, are angry that the terrorist has brought shame to the area.
One resident said: “Jihadi John is a bad man. But we are a good people.”
Emwazi’s former friends have revealed that during his years growing up in London he was nicknamed Little Mo and would square up to other children who mocked him for being tall and skinny.
Other old classmates said he had binged on drink and drugs.
One pal, who was two years above Emwazi at school, said: “He had some fights and he used to get a bit violent but nothing like to this degree.
“He used to lash out at the people who bullied him. It’s unbelievable [because] at the time you would never have thought he would become what he is now. He was one of those guys who had a slim build so it made him an easy target. He was a tall skinny boy, he was easy prey.
“He was a smart kid, but he wasn’t what you’d call one of the popular kids.
“When it all came out I turned to my friend and said ‘there’s Little Mo’. That’s what we called him – he’s filled out now.
“He was interested in girls, but it was more that the girls weren’t interested in him. He wasn’t one of the best-looking people in school, not the most popular... He wasn’t popular, he wasn’t unpopular he was just Little Mo.”
A woman who met Emwazi at Quintin Kynaston secondary school in St John’s Wood, North West London, in 2001 when they were 12 said he smoked dope and downed vodka as a teen.
The former friend, also a Muslim, said: “He tries to paint himself as devout, but doesn’t know the meaning of the word.”
She added: “My crew were impressed because he had attitude. He had a very aggressive nature and would not be pushed around.
“I saw him get into a fight in the sports hall... over a game of pushing and shoving.
“He wasn’t the biggest but he could look after himself. He was suspended from school for two days because of that fight, but he didn’t seem to care – he was very rebellious.”
Victims of Jihadi John
Another former friend said he was shocked the “normal” boy turned into the “madman” who appeared in IS videos showing the beheadings of hostages including British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines.
Emwazi’s ex-classmate said: “He never had girlfriends... He used to be scared of his dad so most of the time he was focused on work or football.
“People used to trouble him because he was small. He used to be one of the shortest, but he had a little temper.
“He was my good friend – it’s crazy. I can’t believe this is going on.”
The Emwazi family settled in North Kensington, in West London, after arriving from Kuwait.
The Mirror revealed last week that Emwazi was radicalised by London-based jihadi Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, who had 20 terror charges hanging over him when he gave MI5 the slip in 2013 by dressing up in a burka and fleeing the country.