Homegrown extremism on rise
CSIS: Briefing to PM says parents may be to blame
Stewart Bell
National Post
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
TORONTO - Canada needs to do more to fight "homegrown" Islamist terrorism, says a classified intelligence report prepared for Prime Minister Stephen Harper that puts part of the blame on parents.
The briefing, marked secret and dated five days after the arrests of 17 terror suspects in Toronto last June, says Canada is increasingly threatened by radicalized members of the Muslim community.
"The threat to Canada from homegrown Islamist extremism has been on the rise. Further investigation and research must be carried out to fully understand and counter this threat," the briefing says.
The report says that in some cases parents are responsible for turning their children towards the "narrow, literal, fundamentalist interpretation of Islam" that can rapidly evolve into terrorism.
The intelligence brief for the Prime Minister was prepared by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The National Post obtained a heavily edited version under the Access to Information Act.
It highlights the dramatic change that has taken place in Canada in recent years. While in the past foreign terrorists such as the convicted Millennium bomber Ahmed Ressam used Canada to organize attacks overseas, today homegrown extremists are targeting Canada itself.
"CSIS has investigated a number of individuals over the years, including Ahmed Ressam, Momin Khawaja [who goes on trial in Ottawa next month for an alleged plot to set off bombs in Britain], and the group arrested in Toronto in 2006-06. Jihadists have shifted from foreign attacks to Canadian targets," it says.
"Western governments need to understand the roots of radicalization and the elements which subsequently influence an individual to commit jihad. This understanding is necessary for governments and society if they are to develop and implement strategies to counter this phenomenon."
CSIS Director Jim Judd sent the memo to Mr. Harper the week after the June 2 arrests of 12 adults and five juveniles charged with belonging to a terrorist group that planned truck bombings in downtown Toronto.
A police informant allegedly infiltrated the group and trained with the suspects at a camp north of Toronto. An eighteenth suspect was arrested later in August. None of the suspects has yet been put on trial or convicted of any crimes. All charges against one of the juveniles were recently dropped.
The Toronto arrests, as well as similar cases in Canada, the United Kingdom and other Western countries, have left federal officials searching for strategies to deal with the growing number of Canadian-born citizens, immigrants and Muslim converts who are embracing extremism.
Counterterrorism officials have been canvassing their foreign allies for help and meeting with Muslim representatives but while the government says it is making progress some segments of the community deny radicalization is a problem.
The report to Mr. Harper identifies the two stages its says lead to terrorism.
First is radicalization, which it defines as the rejection of mainstream Muslim beliefs and practices in favour of a fundamentalist outlook.
"When someone radicalizes, there is often a physical and psychological change such as growing a beard, adopting Muslim dress, criticizing anyone who does not share their views, and withdrawing from the larger community," it says.
Factors that can lead someone to radicalize include the influence of charismatic spiritual leaders, overseas training and the belief that the Muslim religion must be defended from its perceived enemies in the West.
"Parents who share their radical ideologies with their children can also be a factor in radicalization," it says. In some cases, however, the parents of terror suspects do not subscribe to their children's extreme views.
The next stage, called jihadization, occurs when radicalized Muslims come to believe that terrorist violence is acceptable to defend Islam.
The report says not all radicals become jihadis, but notes, "The transformation from radical to jihadist can be a very rapid process."
There is no indication in the report that the Prime Minister was notified in advance about the RCMP terror case in Toronto but other documents show Mr. Harper was briefed about related arrests in the United States.
A "Top Secret" memo dated April 27, 2006, advises Mr. Harper that two Americans, Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, had traveled to Toronto in March, 2005 "for clandestine meetings with likeminded Canadian Islamic extremists."
"The alleged purpose of the week long Toronto trip was to discuss strategies for disabling Global Positioning Systems so as to disrupt military/commercial communications and air traffic.
The men are also reported to have discussed a possible trip to Pakistan for military training at a terrorist-sponsored camp," says the memo to the Prime Minister.
NATIONALPOST.COM
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Easy way to fix that! one way ticket back home.
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