Mark John Taylor

Mark John Taylor, also known as Mohammad Daniel and Abu Abdul Rahman, is a New Zealand citizen who traveled to Syria in 2014 to join the Islamic State. In early March 2019, it was reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he had been captured and imprisoned by Kurdish forces. Taylor has since sought to return to New Zealand, triggering considerable media coverage and political commentary.

Background Mark Taylor grew up in Hamilton in the North Island. According to a relative, he suffered brain damage following a "major fit with teething." He attended a special needs school but was brought up as a normal child. During the 1990s, Taylor served in the New Zealand Army. He married a Christian woman and became a "born again" Christian.

In 2003, Taylor lived in Lakemba, a suburb of Sydney in Australia. Taylor was actively engaged with the Muslim community there, claiming that he was unlike most Muslim converts in that he had converted to Islam through the medium of the internet.

In 2009, Taylor traveled to Yemen and Pakistan, drawing the attention of New Zealand authorities. Following his arrest by Pakistani authorities while trying to reach an Al-Qaeda and Taliban stronghold on the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, the New Zealand Government imposed travel restrictions on him. According to a Muslim elder from the Hamilton Muslim community, Taylor struggled with mental health issues and was influenced by the sermons of radical American preacher Anwar Al-Awlaki.

In 2010, Taylor was deported from Australia after his visa was cancelled when he was classified as a "security risk" by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. Taylor had lived between Australia and New Zealand for 25 years.

Joining the Islamic State In June 2014, Taylor entered Syria through the Turkish border before joining the Islamic State. In late 2014, Taylor deleted 45 Twitter posts after they reportedly exposed an Islamic State presence in the Kafar Roma area in Syria.

During an interview with journalist Campell MacDiarmid of the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National, Taylor claimed that he had been in contact with New Zealand intelligence officers who had encouraged him to leave the Islamic State and had offered him assistance to return home. Taylor has also expressed an interest in setting up a medical marijuana company after returning to New Zealand. However, Andrew Little, the Minister in charge of New Zealand's intelligence services, has asserted that no New Zealand government representatives have been in contact with Taylor since his capture.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has described Taylor as a traitor to his country and Western civilization, opining that he had forfeited his right to return to New Zealand by joining the Islamic State. National Party Deputy Leader Paula Bennett and New Zealand First Member of Parliament and government minister Shane Jones have described Taylor as a disgrace to New Zealand and said he should face justice.

Media and public responses Media coverage of Taylor's capture has drawn considerable media coverage and public commentary. Several New Zealand academics including University of Waikato law professor Alexander Gillespie, University of Otago political scientist Robert Patman, and University of Auckland political scientist Chris Wilson have welcomed the New Zealand Government's decision not to strip Taylor of his citizenship and called for Taylor to face trial in New Zealand. New Zealand radio and television broadcaster Mike Hosking has criticised Ardern's decision not to strip Taylor of his citizenship.

By contrast, broadcaster Andrew Dickens has rejected calls to strip Taylor of his citizenship, describing it as a policy characteristic of totalitarian regimes. Similar sentiments were echoed by the editorial of The Press newspaper. International security analyst Paul Buchanan has argued that Taylor is a prisoner of war who could provide valuable intelligence to the New Zealand authorities. Buchanan has also opined that Taylor could also face war crime charges if he is linked to war crimes such as complicity in slavery and executions.

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