Washington professed surprise of ISIL’s rapid advance in Iraq and Syria is the result of intelligence failure caused by the White House refusal to identify Islaname the the is is Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has spoken out frequently about the growing threat of Islamic terrorism. who was severely criticized for stating two years ago, a decade after 9/11, that the biggest security threat to Canada is Islamic terrorism. In an inUterview with CBC News Harper said that “There are other threats out there, but that is the one that I can tell you occupies the security apparatus most regularly in terms of actual terrorist threats”. “The major threat is still Islamicism”.
Public Safety Canada’s annual Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada in 2012 acknowledged that no attacks occurred within Canada in 2012, but the likelihood of terrorism within Canada has increased in the past year due to external radical influences, particularly al Qaida and its affiliates, as well as from Canadian individuals travelling abroad to participate in Jihadi terrorist activity.
The conservative Canadian government is accused by some of its detractors of fanning Islamophobia and falsely highlighting the threat of ‘Islamic terrorism’ on political and ideological grounds. They maintain that Muslim terrorists do not represent true Islam, that they misinterpret Islam, and are a small minority within the general Muslim population in Canada.
How serious is the threat of homegrown Islamic terrorism in Canada? Are we witnessing an ever increasing trend as asserted by the government and the security apparatuses, or are these simply marginal individuals as government critics allege?
In order to examine this question we shall introduce the facts that are not in dispute. Since July 2012 there have been several reported cases of Canadian citizens involved in terrorist activity, or suspected of participating in terrorism, or enlisting with semi-military groups, some of which are affiliated with al-Qaida or ISIS in Syria. Following is a detailed list of those individuals:
May 2014 – Egyptian security forces arrested Canadian Solar Energy Engineer, Yusri Maurice Tawadros, 65, on his way to Cairo through the desert road. According media reports, the security forces seized in his possession 3 handguns, a sword and bottles of wine.
May 2014 – Suliman M., a 15-year-old Canadian and a student at Azhari Sheikh Zayed Institute for Boys middle school in Giza, was arrested in Egypt for allegedly being a member of “a terrorist cell.” Egyptian authorities alleged that the teenager was part of a group linked to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood that set police stations and vehicles on fire in 6th of October City, in the urban area of Cairo, Egypt. They also alleged the youth and his group funded protests that incited violence against the Egyptian army and police forces.
April 2014 – The Syrian army reported (April 8, 2014) that military forces operating in the southern rural area of the district of Idlib managed to kill several insurgents, including the Canadian national Mahmoud Ahmed Abdou.
January 2014 – Damian Clairmont (a.k.a. Mustafa Gharib and Abu Talha al-Canadi), resident of Calgary, who converted to Islam and joined the émigré brigade in Syria affiliated with al-Qaida, was reportedly executed by the Free Syrian Army.
November 2013 – Salman Ashrafi (Abu Abdullah Al Khorasani), Calgary resident, who joined the ranks of ISIS [the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria), carried out a suicide bombing attack in Iraq killing dozens.
October 2013 – Two Libyan students/ graduates of Canadian universities, Jamal al-Ratimi (Tripoli) and Samir al-Triki (Misrata) joined the ranks of Jabhat al-Nusra and in Syria and were reported killed in the field of jihad.
September 2013 – Omar Shafik Hammami (Abu Mansoor al-Amriki), US citizen, resided several years in Canada and married Canadian woman (later divorced). Joined al-Shabab in Somalia, affiliated with al-Qaida. Hammami was murdered in internal power struggle.
September 2013 – Ali Muhammad Dirie, Toronto resident of Somali descent. Dirie Joined Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria, affiliated with al-Qaida and killed in action. He was convicted of involvement in Toronto -18 terrorist plot in 2006 and served a long prison term.
August 2013 – Andre Poulin, resident of Timmis, Ontario, who was converted to Islam and joined the ranks of ISIS (the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria), was killed in action during the attack on Ming military airport in Aleppo.
July 2013 – John Stewart Nuttall and Amanda Marie Korody, couple from Surry in British Columbia. Both converts to Islam, were arrested on suspicion of planning to bomb parliament building in Victoria.
July 2013 – unidentified individual, possibly Canadian resident, filmed with weapon in Homs, Syria, while fighting with rebel forces.
May 2013 – unidentified individual, presumably Canadian resident, was killed by the Syrian Army while planning to carry out a terrorist attack on behalf of group identified with al-Qaida. The two other foreigners who were also killed in the same attack are the American woman Nicole Lynn Mansfield (convert to Islam) and the British Ali al Manasfi.
April 2013 – Chihab Esseghaier, resident of Montreal of Tunisian descent, and Raed Jaser, resident of Markham, born in Kuwait of Palestinian descent, arrested on suspicion of planning to blow up VIA train on Niagara bridge on course to US. Ahmed Abbasi, Tunisian citizen, resided in Canada between 2010-2012, arrested in US on suspicion of involvement in plans to blow up the train.
April 2013 – Mahad Ali Dhore, 25 year old Canadian of Somali descent, student at York University, joined al-Shabab group, affiliated with al-Qaida, killed in terrorist attack in Somalia.
February 2013 – Jamal Muhammad Abdulkader, student from Montreal, member of Kurdish family from north Syria, joined Jabhat al-Nusra, affiliated with al-Qaida. He was killed while driving a boobby-trapped attack in central Damascus.
January 2013 – Ali Medlej and Xristos Katsiroubas (convert to Islam), residents of London, Ontario, joined al-Qaida, and were killed while committing a suicide attack, after participating in the murder of dozens of civilians in an attack on an Algerian gas plant. Muhajid ‘Ryan’ Enderi, additional member of this group from London, Ontario traveled with them abroad and has since disappeared.
December 2012 – Aaron Yoon, resident of London, Ontario. Converted to Islam and allegedly established ties to groups affiliated with al-Qaida. Visited Mali. He was arrested in Mauritania on charges of ties to terrorist groups and later released and returned to Canada.
November 2012 – Hussam Samir al-Hams, Canadian of Palestinian descent, enlisted with Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades. Hams was killed during operation ‘Pillar of Fire’ in Gaza Strip.
July 2012 – Hassan El Hajj Hassan, holding dual nationality, Canadian and Lebanese, Hizballah activist, member of the terrorist cell that bombed an Israeli tourist bus in Bulgaria.
July 2012 – William Plotnikov, 23 year old Canadian of Russian descent. Converted to Islam and joined a terrorist group in Dagestan. Plotnikov was killed in gun battle with Russian security forces.