CSIS tracking 80 Canadians who came home after going abroad for ‘terrorist purposes’

2014/03/25 Leave a comment

CSIS doing its job:

But the speaking notes provided to the CSIS director acknowledge that the intelligence community faces challenges identifying and tracking the movements of such individuals, and bringing charges against them.

The number of individuals overseas is constantly in flux and their motivations are not always easy to discern, according to the notes. Their destinations are often in active conflict zones or failed states, meaning cooperation with foreign partners — and getting sound intelligence — can be difficult.

Further, those engaged in terrorist activities often travel on falsified documents and “Canada has not, to date, systematically collected exit information that could be used to reliably confirm an individual’s departure,” the notes state.

“Despite our best efforts it is highly likely there are Canadians we do not know of who are travelling overseas to engage in terrorist activities.”

CSIS tracking 80 Canadians who came home after going abroad for ‘terrorist purposes’.

Filed under Multiculturalism, Radicalization, Religion Tagged with , ,

Radicalization

2014/03/14 Leave a comment

Some good pieces on radicalization, starting with a RCMP initiative to curb radicalization among at risk youth:

RCMP set to tackle extremism at home with program to curb radicalization of Canadian youth

Secondly, an overview of the case of Damian Clairmont, a Muslim convert from Calgary, who became radicalized and was killed in Syria:

Not His War: How a Catholic Canadian Became an Islamic Extremist

Filed under Multiculturalism, Radicalization, Religion Tagged with ,

UK Use of ‘Anti-Social Behaviour Orders – ASBO’ in case of Muslim Extremist

2014/02/18 1 Comment

One application of quasi-anti-hate speech measures, the case of a Muslim extremist calling his neighbourhood a ‘sharia controlled zone’ with vigilante patrols etc:

The Met said: “Waltham Forest is one of London’s most culturally diverse boroughs with almost half of its 235,000 residents being of a minority ethnic origin and from a multitude of religious backgrounds.

“Discrimination and persecution based on a person’s cultural or religious background is something the police or council will not tolerate.

Chief Superintendent Mark Collins – Waltham Forest borough’s commander – said: “The granting of an asbo against Jordan Horner sends a clear message that extremist behaviour will not be tolerated on our streets.”

The asbo will run for five years and be in effect throughout London.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/feb/15/sharia-law-campaign-muslim-groundbreaking-asbo

Filed under Hate crimes, Multiculturalism, Radicalization, Religion Tagged with

New Saudi writers offer form of Islamic liberation theology – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

2014/01/30 Leave a comment

An interesting piece about Saudi Arabia and how some of the new generation of thinkers are questioning Saudi Salafism, a mini-reformation so to speak:

These writers and many others long for a new liberation theology that frees people from political oppression that is deeply rooted in religion. They represent a new generation of Saudi intellectuals who are prepared to challenge Salafist dogma, especially those aspects that have allowed absolute government to pacify society, criminalize civil and political activism and isolate people from the decision-making process. They challenge the meaning of concepts used by official Saudi religious scholars to “domesticate” the population and ensure its acquiescence in showing obedience to rulers and avoiding dissent and chaos.

These Saudis have not abandoned Islam but are searching in its history and interpretations for ways to challenge Saudi Arabia’s political stagnation and religious dogma. They all cherish the freedom to discuss and debate openly and reach out to audiences beyond the limited circles of the educated and intellectuals. Yet, they are denied this opportunity as a result of traditional Salafist resistance and the government’s fear of the new discourse they are attempting to propagate. The Saudi government is frightened by these revisionist approaches to religion and their potential consequences, especially if they empower a young generation tired of rehearsing old religious ideas.

If real political change needs an intellectual framework, then this new generation of writers is definitely contributing to the debate that may in the future lead Saudis to endorse a revisionist liberation theology. All they need at this juncture is a group of dedicated activists who can put their ideas into action.

New Saudi writers offer form of Islamic liberation theology – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East.

Filed under Radicalization, Religion Tagged with ,

Australians fighting in Syria could lose citizenship, Scott Morrison signals | World news | theguardian.com

2014/01/21 Leave a comment

Further to similar British measures (British fighters in Syria stripped of UK citizenship), appears that Australia is also considering similar measures. Given upcoming changes to The Canadian Citizenship Act, this may be something that we may see in Canada as well:

Australia, the minister said, had powers to stop potential combatants leaving Australia through the cancellation of travel documents, but added the Australian government lacked the British government’s more wide-ranging powers under the citizenship act. In the UK, the home secretary can strip dual nationals of their British citizenship if it has been obtained fraudulently, or if citizenship is not in the public interest.

“We are looking right now at all the options that are before us to strengthen powers when necessary,” Morrison told 2GB on Monday. “We are looking at every option available to us. We don’t want those troubles in this country and people who bring them here should not come.”

Referring explicitly to the revocation of Australian citizenship for dual nationals, Morrison said the Australian government would “definitely want to have things of that order to enable you to protect the country from the incursion of that sort of violent and unhelpful views”.

“You want to arm yourself with all the necessary powers to deal with what is a very serious threat to Australia if people come here and seek to stir up trouble,” the minister said. “The Abbott government is pretty clear: we are not going to put up with this sort of thing.”

Australians fighting in Syria could lose citizenship, Scott Morrison signals | World news | theguardian.com.

Filed under Citizenship, Radicalization Tagged with ,

Liberals’ Quebec charter would combat religious extremism, Couillard says

2013/12/19 Leave a comment

The Liberal Party of Quebec response to the Charter are unspecified initiatives to combat religious extremism. Will be interesting to see the details:

“To those who come here and take advantage of our freedoms and democracy to then attack them and ultimately destroy them, we are saying loud and clear: ‘You are not welcome here, we will fight you, we will go after you,’ ” Mr. Couillard said …

« À ceux qui viennent chez nous pour profiter de nos libertés et de notre démocratie pour ensuite s’y attaquer et ultimement les détruire, nous disons haut et fort : vous n’êtes pas les bienvenus chez nous, nous vous combattrons, nous vous poursuivrons sans relâche. »

Liberals’ Quebec charter would combat religious extremism, Couillard says – The Globe and Mail.

Couillard veut débarrasser le Québec des intégristes religieux | Le Devoir

Filed under Charte des valeurs québécoise, Interculturalisme, Multiculturalism, Radicalization, Religion Tagged with , ,

Campus segregation: ‘religious freedom’ cannot be allowed to trump equality – Telegraph

2013/12/17 Leave a comment

There has been a fair amount of controversy in the UK over segregated lectures by Islamic or other fundamentalists in universities. This opinion piece in the Telegraph argues, correctly, that such segregation is a step backwards and should not be encouraged or tolerated:

In any society, pluralist or otherwise, we are constantly forced to assign priorities to different values. Religious freedom – the right to worship, to free association, to a diet consistent with one’s faith, and so on – is rightly accorded respect. But that freedom cannot be allowed to distort and trump the ideals of the modern academy, at the heart of which is the notion of a scholarly community divided by civilised argument, not race, faith or gender.

Campus segregation: ‘religious freedom’ cannot be allowed to trump equality – Telegraph.

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Counter-extremism is getting smarter

2013/12/05 Leave a comment

Commentary on the new UK counter-terrorism strategy, praising the broadening of focus to tackle extremism of all kinds, not just radical Islam, and ongoing serious effort to reduce anti-Muslim prejudice:

no counter-extremism strategy will unite us all. Such work lies at the notoriously fragile intersection that separates civil liberties from national security. But for the first time in a long while there are signs that we are moving in a better direction, and have acknowledged some failings in the past. While this week’s recommendations provide us with a foundation rather than a coherent strategy, they are a useful starting point for us all.

Counter-extremism is getting smarter | Matthew Goodwin | Comment is free | The Guardian.

And from the other side of the political spectrum, The Daily Mail takes this tack, which reads it into a broader critique of multiculturalism, defined in UK terms as promoting separateness:

David Cameron: Mistake of multiculturalism aided extremists | Mail Online

For the actual report, well-thought out and written as most UK strategies, link below:

Link to UK counter-extremism strategy

Filed under Hate crimes, Multiculturalism, Racism, Radicalization, Religion Tagged with , , ,

Muslim countries must tackle gender gap head-on

2013/12/02 Leave a comment

Usual good commentary by Sheema Khan on gender equality issues in Muslim countries. Arab Development Report has similar findings (not all Arabs are Muslim and vice versa of course).

Reflects, in part, the weakness of the madrassas, mosques and Imams in not addressing and advocating these issues head-on. As she notes, the efforts to educate women will likely change things in the long-term, but as we have seen, some of the most fundamentalist and radicalized have benefited from good education.

Muslim countries must tackle gender gap head-on – The Globe and Mail.

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Theresa May must not further erode Britons’ rights to citizenship

2013/11/14 Leave a comment

An opinion piece in the Guardian by Matthew Gibney on removal of citizenship rights for suspected terrorists. Given there has been some talk in Canadian circles as well of similar measures, of interest. While the people that have been stripped of their citizenship are “not nice people”, the question of due process and the rule of law is an important one, although I would not be as absolutist of the right of citizenship in such cases.

Theresa May must not further erode Britons’ rights to citizenship | Matthew Gibney | Comment is free | The Guardian.

Filed under Citizenship, Radicalization Tagged with , , ,

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