Does My Bomb Look Big in This?

‘But she ain’t just a “case study”. It’s B.S man, these police try and say “everyone’s story is the same”.’

When schoolgirl Yasmin leaves her South London home for the promise of a better life in Syria, her best friend Aisha is left to pick up the pieces.

Plunging us into her world of teenage crushes, whatsapp groups and ‘Prevent’ leaflets, Aisha is on a mission to find the truth about her friend, and what it means to belong.

With fast paced wit and disarming honesty, Does My Bomb Look Big In This? examines how alienated young people can fall victim to online forces, and how close, or far, we really are from multicultural harmony.

First conceived in 2016 after being cast in roles as a ‘jihadi bride’ or ‘terrorist girlfriend’ and generally dissatisfied with the narrative being told, Nyla Levy ran research workshops with school children and interviewed Muslim community leaders as well as terrorism defence solicitor Tasnime Akunjee. The result voices the complexities of the choices made by disaffected youth, their vulnerability, and how the decisions made can changes lives, communities and countries forever.