Imams divided on how much scrutiny to give would-be Muslim converts in wake of recent terror charges

2015/02/20 Leave a comment

Good debate regarding some of the challenges:

Syed Soharwardy, a Calgary imam who founded Muslims Against Terrorism and the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, says he will publish in the coming weeks a checklist of questions that he thinks all imams should ask prospective converts.

This is not meant to be an interrogation, Mr. Soharwardy said, but rather “passive” questioning aimed at finding out why the person wants to become a Muslim.

“I’m not saying imams should be detectives, but I need to know what kind of person I’m talking to,” Mr. Soharwardy said. “Since many have become Muslim and have shown violent behaviour, I think it is an obligation of our imams to not let Islam be dragged [down] by people who don’t understand Islam.”

It is also “absolutely critical,” he said, that leaders work to stay connected with new Muslims by inviting them to social gatherings and assigning trusted individuals to serve as their mentors.

Aasim Rashid, a spokesman for the B.C. Muslim Association, said the handling of new Muslims can’t be overly prescriptive; otherwise, you run the risk of unfairly stigmatizing them.

“As long as they are accepting Islam for the right reasons I would feel compelled to welcome them warmly and give them the benefit of the doubt,” he said.

He does agree with Mr. Soharwardy about the need to encourage new Muslims to join classes and programs so that they acquire a solid understanding of the religion and are more integrated into the Muslim community.

There is also a need for Muslim leaders to come up with programming that has broader appeal, said Amira Elghawaby, human rights coordinator with the National Council of Canadian Muslims.

One Ottawa mosque held a discussion a few weeks ago about the term “jihad” and it drew hundreds of attendees, she said. But people do not always believe that the topics discussed at sermons are that relevant to them, she said.

Inclusivity is key, said Lorne Dawson, a University of Waterloo expert on radicalization. “Converts to Islam — and especially those who later radicalize — commonly report that while their conversion was encouraged, they did not feel welcome in the often very ethnic mosques and communities with which they tried to associate,” Dawson said in an email.

As a result, they go “searching on and off-line for a Muslim home and that can be the kind of de-cultured fundamentalist forms of Islam associated with the promotion of jihadism.”

Imams divided on how much scrutiny to give would-be Muslim converts in wake of recent terror charges

Filed under Radicalization Tagged with , ,

More articles on radicalization of interest

2014/10/29 Leave a comment

Ongoing amount of reporting and commentary on radicalization and fundamentalism.

Starting with Premier Couillard’s measured (i.e., not rushing it) legislation requiring faces to be uncovered when giving or receiving government services, and what initiatives, if any, are planned with respect to non-violent fundamentalists inPhilippe Couillard promet d’agir sur lintégrisme religieux | Politique québécoise.

More meetings within the Muslim community in Montreal, reminding of the need for measures to improve the economic integration as part of any anti-radicalization in L’intégration plutôt que la stigmatisation.

CBC report on Self-radicalized and adrift: The shared traits of the ‘lone wolf’ killers discussed the commonalities but with experts (Dawson, Zekulin) noting correctly that there is no one pattern for those drawn to violent extremism.

For those interested, a fairly good overview of the respective roles and responsibilities of the security agencies involved in countering radicalization in Michael Zehaf-Bibeau and Martin Couture-Rouleau: How Canada tracks homegrown radicals.

And while only one “slice” of those radicalized, Maclean’s discusses issues related to converts as many extremists are in Islam’s conversion problem, echoing Imam Soharwardy’s call for more “vetting” by mosques of those wishing to convert (Prominent Muslim cleric urges imams to vet new Islamic converts).

Filed under Multiculturalism Tagged with , , ,

Prominent Muslim cleric urges imams to vet new Islamic converts

2014/10/25 1 Comment

Imam Soharwardy being pro-active:

A prominent Muslim cleric says he intends to reach out to other imams to make sure that new converts to Islam are watched closely for signs of radical beliefs.

While authorities have made links to extremism in both the Ottawa and Quebec attacks, Imam Syed Soharwardy of Calgary says he is concerned about media reports that the two perpetrators were recent converts to Islam.Soharwardy, the founder of Muslims Against Terrorism and the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, said imams should look for warning signs, such as a criminal record or drug abuse, before allowing an individual to convert.

“I’m not sure who helped them to convert to Islam. Who was the imam? What kind of relationship did those people have with those people who converted them to Islam? Those very important questions need to be answered,” said Soharwardy.

“They should take on the responsibility of checking backgrounds and staying in touch and make sure this person is not being recruited by any radical organization or terrorist organizations.”

Prominent Muslim cleric urges imams to vet new Islamic converts | CTVNews.

From Quebec, reporting on discussions between the Quebec government and representatives of the Muslim community, on security cooperation (already ongoing) but also raising integration issues for Canadian Muslims:

Mais cette conversation ne doit pas être à sens unique, prévient Salam Elmenyawi, président du Conseil. L’écoute doit être réciproque et d’autres sujets doivent être abordés, dit-il, comme une meilleure intégration des musulmans dans la société.

«S’il s’agit d’une conversation à sens unique, elle sera rejetée», dit-il. Et si cela vise juste à recruter des informateurs, cela ne marchera pas non plus, prévient-il.

Et bien qu’il reconnaisse qu’il y a des problèmes dans la communauté, «il n’est pas question d’une épidémie. Il s’agit de cas isolés», soutient-il. Mais, évidemment, un cas est déjà un cas de trop, ajoute-t-il.

M. Elmenyawi souligne qu’il ne faut pas sauter aux conclusions et que tous les faits de l’attaque de mercredi ne sont pas encore connus.

«Les médias cherchent toujours la mosquée la plus près», déplore-t-il. Mais il fait valoir que les gens peuvent être influencés par des idées radicales ailleurs.

La religion des musulmans n’est pas un problème, c’est la façon dont certains la pratiquent et la détournent qui est en cause, a souligné de son côté Hussein Nehme.

Il affirme ne jamais avoir rencontré de jeunes dans son centre qui auraient évoqué des idées de violence. Il assure que si c’était le cas, il discuterait avec lui pour voir d’où proviennent ces idées, et que s’il découvrait qu’un centre ou un groupe d’ici diffuse de telles idées, il contacterait les autorités.

«C’est notre devoir», dit-il.

Il se dit inquiet lui-même de ce que les extrémistes religieux peuvent faire à sa communauté. Il songe d’ailleurs à demander la protection de la police à quelques jours d’une fête, désapprouvée par certains.

Personnes à risques: des musulmans du Québec prêts à coopérer

Shallow, descriptive commentary by David Frum in the Atlantic, trying to explain Canada to American readers, without saying much in The Allure of Radical Islam in Canada.

Filed under Radicalization Tagged with , , ,

ISIS betraying Muslims, says Calgary imam before hunger strike – Calgary

2014/08/25 Leave a comment

Consistent in his messaging and good both within the Muslim and broader communities:

Imam Syed Soharwardy, founder of Muslims Against Terrorism and the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, says he wants to draw attention to the actions of ISIS — a group of militants fighting for an Islamic state in the Middle East whose violent activities show they are not Muslims.

“The atrocity that is being carried out by ISIS is quite horrible. It’s quite inhumane. Its terrorism and in Canada they have successfully recruited more than 100 people to go and fight for them in Iraq and Syria,” Soharwardy said.

“I want to create awareness about the nature of their work — they are using Islam, they are quoting Quran, they look like Muslims, they pray like Muslims but they are not Muslim. They are deviant people, and they are doing exactly everything which goes against Islam.”

Soharwardy said he wants to make sure Muslim youth know that ISIS militants are not Muslims because many are being brainwashed by the terror group and other radical leaders.

ISIS betraying Muslims, says Calgary imam before hunger strike – Calgary – CBC News.

Filed under Multiculturalism, Radicalization, Religion Tagged with

Canada’s young men joining foreign jihad: Are we doing enough to stop it?

2014/06/07 Leave a comment

More on home-grown radicalization and extremism (see Suicide bomber killed in Iraq part of wider jihadi base in Calgary):

Mahdi Qasqas, a Calgary Muslim youth leader and psychologist, says early intervention is key to preventing young men from going overseas to kill themselves and others.

“If a mother calls and says, ‘My son needs help,’ how will I look at it? Criminal perspective? Call the police. Risk to self-harm? We have to admit to hospital,” Qasqas said. “If she says, ‘Look, I’m seeing some warning signs.’ If your child listen to other people more than you? Then it’s time to connect him to a mentor.”

A prominent Calgary imam, Sayed Soharwardy, told CBC News he strongly believes that increased radicalization of young local men is happening at a “faster pace now” than a decade ago. He wonders why more potential jihadis have not been stopped at airports before even stepping foot on a battlefield.

“I am convinced that the intelligence people know who is recruiting, who is going overseas, who is fighting there,” the cleric said. “If they do not know every one of them, they know some of them.” …

In Ottawa on Wednesday, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Chris Alexander offered a warning to potential violent extremists.

“If you’re a dual national and you commit an act of terrorism in Canada or abroad, you will lose your Canadian citizenship,” he said.

Whether that will be enough of a deterrent is hard to know.

Canada’s young men joining foreign jihad: Are we doing enough to stop it? – Canada – CBC News.

And in Europe, following the terrorist attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels by a young radicalized Muslim who had fought in Syria, a new initiative to identify  and prevent potential jihadists.

Looks a bit like the RCMP initiative here in Canada (RCMP set to tackle extremism at home with program to curb radicalization of Canadian youth) but as the above article indicates, some are arguing that this is not enough:

Une série de mesures pour la « détection, la prévention et la dissuasion » ont été retenues au cours d’une réunion entre les ministres de l’Intérieur de neuf pays — Belgique, France, Allemagne, Royaume-Uni, Espagne, Italie, Danemark, Suède et Autriche — spécialement consacrée à cette menace djihadiste, en marge d’une réunion avec leurs homologues des autres pays de l’UE à Luxembourg.

L’UE va s’attaquer aux réseaux de recrutement de djihadistes | Le Devoir.

 

Filed under Multiculturalism, Radicalization Tagged with , , , ,

Suicide bomber killed in Iraq part of wider jihadi base in Calgary

2014/06/06 1 Comment

More on home-grown radicalization, the most recent case being Salman Ashrafi:

Calgary is earning a reputation as a breeding ground for jihadi fighters.

The Muslim convert Damian Clairmont, who later took the name Mustafa al-Gharib, was killed while fighting with Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda-affiliated rebel group in Syria whose membership is made up largely of European, Australian and North American extremists.

Clairmont was also raised in Calgary, as were as many as two dozen other young men who, according to sources, have travelled to Syria to join rebel extremist groups to wage jihad in the last two years…..

“He might have been around certain charismatic preachers in the community that might not have had his best interests in mind,” he added.

It’s a thought shared by Soharwardy, the Calgary imam, who has received death threats for speaking out about this topic, but feels compelled to in order to stop men in his city from killing and dying on jihadi missions abroad.

“It is impossible for me to think the intelligence people do not know who is radicalizing Muslim youth. It is going on undercover; it is going on openly sometimes,” he said.

“The thing is they are recruiting Muslims to go and fight in Syria and getting them killed. It is horrible.… What is the Canadian government doing? Nothing. I mean this guy died, many, many … people died from our country. For what?”

While theoretical, given that both Clairmont and Ashrafi are dead, it is interesting to see how C-24 revocation provisions would apply in each case.

Clairmont was born in Canada and likely had no dual citizenship. Asrafi moved to Canada when he was in Grade 5 or 6, became naturalized but also has Pakistani citizenship.

Clairmont would keep his Canadian citizenship; Ashrafi would lose it even though he spent most of his childhood and early adulthood in Canada.

Easy to understand why most lawyers argue that this kind of different treatment would not be ruled Charter compliant.

Suicide bomber killed in Iraq part of wider jihadi base in Calgary – Canada – CBC News.

Filed under Multiculturalism, Radicalization Tagged with , , ,