United Against Terrorism handbook released at Winnipeg mosque, Government pulls support

Another initiative to help reduce radicalization:

“All of us have one objective — we want to secure Canada. We want our youth safe. We do not want them recruited by these criminal gangs,” said Shahina Siddiqui, executive director with the Islamic Social Services Association of Canada, one of the groups behind the handbook.

“Its a collaborative effort on, How do we work together to rid Canada of this phenomenon where some of our youth have been radicalized? Of Islamophobia? Of this suspicion that exists between the Muslim community and our law enforcement?”

The handbook is already resonating with some Muslim parents.

Winnipegger Imran Rahman, who has four children, said it could help him and other parents see warning signs. “We need to have our kids understand what the truth about Islam is, first of all, so that they have a basic understanding about what is radical and what is supposed to be the real Islam,” he said.

United Against Terrorism handbook released at Winnipeg mosque – Manitoba – CBC News.

And the following day, the RCMP pulled its support:

“After a final review of the handbook, the RCMP could not support the adversarial tone set by elements of the booklet and therefore directed RCMP Manitoba not to proceed with this initiative,” the statement said.

The RCMP did not elaborate on its concerns regarding the handbook.

The 38-page handbook is directed mainly at Muslims, asking readers what Islam requires from Muslim citizens in a non-Muslim country and stressing the duty to follow the law of the land.

The RCMP contributed to a section titled “Understanding radicalization and the role of RCMP in law enforcement and national security.”

On Tuesday, the police force noted that it’s not responsible for the material in the rest of the booklet.

In a joint statement, the Islamic Social Services Association (ISSA) and the National Council of Canadian Muslims pointed out that the handbook includes a disclaimer that says: “Contributors are only responsible for their respective contributions and do not necessarily endorse other material contained in this publication.

“This is a handbook for use by Canadian Muslim communities to help them identify radicalization, prevent violent extremism, build civic engagement and uphold civil rights. Canadian Muslims are entitled, like all other Canadians, to know their legal rights when interacting with law enforcement. This is a basic Canadian and core democratic concept which we all uphold,” the groups’ statement reads in part.

Not sure if this was for substantive reasons (the report, at least at the time of this writing, was not available in a convenient user-friendly format) or that one of the sponsoring organizations, NCCM, is the former CAIR-CON, and has a lawsuit against PMO (Why Stephen Harper owes Canadian Muslims an apology – The Globe and Mail) is unclear. Andrew Mitrovica argues for the link in In Harper’s world, payback’s a bitch (pay wall).

RCMP pulls support from United Against Terrorism handbook

And the Toronto Sun editorial praising the RCMP decision:

ISIS has the term “Islamic” in their name. They’re Islamic and they’re terrorists. That’s a fact.

It also tells them to “Discontinue any inappropriate information gathering techniques” including showing up at a person’s workplace to speak with them.

They’ve got a lot of nerve telling them that.

They also instruct them to “Develop your literacy in Islam and in Muslim cultures.” Really? Their job is to enforce the law, not to become fans of Muslim poetry.

We also couldn’t discuss this handbook without addressing how it smears the media.

The lay partial blame for radicalization on “sensational headlines”! Sorry but we don’t make up the crazy things done in the name of Islam — like the alleged VIA rail bombing plot. We just report and comment on them.

They also don’t like that we use the term “jihadis.” Too bad. We’ve studied the scholarly work and have decided the term fits.

We’re glad Muslim Canadians are opposing the Islamic State. But lecturing cops and the media on how to do their jobs? Jihad me at goodbye.

This book not worth a look