Canadian police may have entraped group

Jersay

House Member
Dec 1, 2005
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Independent Palestine
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario - Several members of a suspected terrorist ring prayed daily at a storefront mosque in a middle-class city west of Toronto but never spoke of hurting others, one of their prayer leaders said.

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"I will say that they were steadfast, religious people. There's no doubt about it. But here we always preach peace and moderation," Qamrul Khanson, an imam at the one-room Al-Rahman Islamic Center for Islamic Education, said Sunday.

The 40-50 Muslim families who worship at the mosque were astonished, he said, to learn that police had arrested 12 adults, ages 19 to 43, and five suspects younger than 18 on Friday and Saturday, charging them with plotting an attack in southern Ontario. Two Americans who met with the suspects also are in custody.

The group acquired three tons of ammonium nitrate from undercover Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers in a sting operation, the Toronto Star has reported. The fertilizer can be mixed with fuel oil or other ingredients to make a bomb.

That is three times the amount used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, said assistant Royal Canadian Mounted Police commissioner Mike McDonell. The bombing of the Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995, killed 168 people and injured more than 800.

Officials said the operation involved some 400 intelligence and law-enforcement officers and was the largest counterterrorism operation in Canada since the nation's Anti-Terrorism Act was adopted after the Sept. 11 attacks. The Toronto Star reported that the investigation began in 2004 with the monitoring of Internet chat rooms.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Canadian operation was "obviously a great success for the Canadians. They're to be congratulated for it."

The 17 suspects represent a spectrum of Canadian society, from the unemployed to a school bus driver to the college-educated. The 12 adults live in Toronto, Mississauga and Kingston, Ontario.

Police said the suspects, all citizens or residents of Canada, had trained together.

"For various reasons, they appeared to have become adherents of a violent ideology inspired by al-Qaida," Luc Portelance, the assistant director of operations with CSIS — Canada's spy agency, said Saturday.

The oldest suspect, Qayyum Abdul Jamal, often led prayers at the storefront mosque.

Khanson said Jamal's Friday night prayers were "more aggressive" than those of other prayer leaders, but there was no talk of hostility or terrorism.

The modest mosque is sandwiched between The Cafe Khan, which offers Pakistani kabobs, and a convenience store in Mississauga, a city of 700,000 people with many immigrants. Mohammed Jan works at the cafe and said several suspects often came in for snacks after prayers.

"It's pretty shocking. They used to come every day and they just seemed normal," Jan said. "I definitely didn't find their behavior suspicious."

Neighbors said Jamal's wife drove a school bus, and he was always home and did not seem to work regularly. The couple has three small children, neighbors said.

Jerry Tavares of Brazil lives two doors down from Jamal's home. He said Jamal was unfriendly and rarely interacted with the neighbors.

"I wasn't surprised," the construction worker said, adding that he was afraid and intends to move out of the neighborhood with his wife and toddler. "You never know who lives next door."

A woman in a burqa peeked out from behind a curtain but would not answer the door at Jamal's home in a brick townhouse rental compound.

Another neighbor, Peter Smith, said a half-dozen SWAT team officers converged on the home Friday evening and began screaming at the family to get outside and get down on the ground. Even the young children were handcuffed, Smith said.

"Other kids were yelling, 'Terrorists! Terrorists!' and they were asking their mom, 'Mom, are we terrorists?'" he said.

Nada Farooq, the wife of 20-year-old suspect Zakaria Amara, described how police crashed into the family's home as the couple played with their 8-month-old baby. Family members were moved to the garage and her husband was taken away, she said.

"They're not guilty," she told CTV News. "They're still innocent until proven guilty and yet they're taking measures as though they're monsters."

FBI Special Agent Richard Kolko said in Washington there may have been a connection between the Canadian suspects and a Georgia Tech student and another American who had traveled to Canada to meet with Islamic extremists to discuss locations for a terrorist strike.

Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, U.S. citizens who grew up in the Atlanta area, were arrested in March.

The 17 suspects are scheduled to appear again in court Tuesday.

Khanson said at least three suspects regularly prayed at the Al-Rahman Islamic Center for Islamic Education.

"I have faith that they have done a thorough investigation," Khanson said of authorities. "But just the possession of ammonium nitrate doesn't prove that they have done anything wrong.

"We value our Canadian culture and we would never allow any links with the so-called Taliban or al-Qaida."

A government official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that more warrants were being drawn up and further arrests were likely. But Cpl. Michele Paradis, a spokeswoman for the Mounties, said no more arrests were expected in coming days.

"Once we once analyze and sort through everything that was seized as a result there may be (more arrests)," she said. "At this point we are confident that we have the majority of people."

Rocco Galati, a lawyer for two of the men from Mississauga, said: "Both of their families are very well-established professionals, well-established families, no criminal pasts whatsoever. That's why we're anxious to see the particulars of the allegations against them."

He described Ahmad Ghany, 21, as a Canada-born health sciences graduate of McMaster University whose father, a physician, emigrated from Trinidad and Tobago in 1955.

His other client, Shareef Abdelhaleen, 30, is an unmarried computer programmer who emigrated from Egypt at age 10 with his father, he said.

Two suspects, Mohammed Dirie, 22, and Yasim Abdi Mohamed, 24, already are in an Ontario prison serving two-year terms for weapons possession.

Another imam, Aly Hindy, said he knew nine of the suspects and complained that CSIS has unfairly targeted his mosque and congregants for years.

"They have been harassed by CSIS agents and this is what they come up with?" Hindy said. "I'm almost sure that most of these people will be freed."

Muslim leaders were concerned that the highly publicized arrests would cause a backlash against their community. A mosque in northwest Toronto was vandalized overnight, with 25 windows and three doors smashed, police said.

Mohamed Elmasry, president of the Canadian Islamic Congress, told the AP that he and other Muslim leaders were getting threatening e-mails.

"We hope Canadians will be more rational and consider the facts," Elmasry sai
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060605...zMTGTGs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b3JuZGZhBHNlYwM3MjE-
 

Jay

Executive Branch Member
Jan 7, 2005
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Khanson said Jamal's Friday night prayers were "more aggressive" than those of other prayer leaders, but there was no talk of hostility or terrorism.

Gee, I can't imagine why....
 

fuflans

Electoral Member
May 24, 2006
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Aotearoa
What a misleading title for the thread. There isn't any suggestion in the article of 'entrapment' - unless you listen to the words of the shining beacon of truth that is Mr. Hindy - and even he doesn't outright say it. I guess that if you use the word 'may' you can accuse anybody of potentially doing anything :roll:
 

MMMike

Council Member
Mar 21, 2005
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:roll: Yes, I'm sure Mohommed was a good boy, and wouldn't hurt a flea. No doubt its part of a big conspiracy against the Muslims. Isn't that what we hear from that community leaders everytime something like this happens?
 

MMMike

Council Member
Mar 21, 2005
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missile said:
I'll bet they had a legitimate reason for wanting all those chemicals,too. I know :) they wanted to blow things up.

Maybe they are real agricultural buffs, hoping to start a big garden to tend to after prayers at the mosque?? :wink:
 

Mogz

Council Member
Jan 26, 2006
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Edmonton
My tidbit:

Ever notice that when an Arab is detained for a crime, everyone says they're innocent? Even people that don't know them. Is there a single guilty arab on this planet? 3 tons of amonium nitrate, that's quite a large chunk of potential explosives. I've got buddys who're combat engineers, and they've said that, that amount of concentrated explosives could level a large chunk of the Parliment Buildings. There is no reason why anyone would require that much amonium nitrate, even for peaceful purposes. I'd just like to point out, that I don't stereotype Muslims. I believe in the benefit of the doubt. I don't automatically cast all Arabs as terrorists until proven otherwise, quite the opposite really. Arabs always feel it's needed for them to play the race card. We're all anti-muslim, bigots, racists. They fail to realize that the reason we in the West hold this stigma for arab terrorists, is because such terrorists DO exist. This quote gets me:

"They're not guilty," she told CTV News. "They're still innocent until proven guilty and yet they're taking measures as though they're monsters."

Yes they're innocent until proven guilty, however sadly, given the circumstances surrounding this, we, the Canadian public, aren't about to give them an easy time. There are a lot of questions here, why the amonium nitrate? Why the detenation rigged cell phones? Why the firearms? Myself, i'd rather them to treated like "animals" and found not guilty, then treated softly and found guilty after a 1/2 dozen have fled the Country. Call me a racist, I don't care. I joined the Army to prevent shit like this from happening to my Country, and I have no sympathy for anyone caught in this raid. You don't just magically appear on CSIS' and the RCMP's radar for doing nothing wrong. If they snatch you, and you're found with large amounts of explosives and the means to set them off. If you're a Zealot Muslim. And if you live in my Country. You're my enemy. If the thought has even crossed your mind to hurt another member of this Nation, whether they be French or English, White or Black, Civilian or Military, I share no sympathy for you. I'm going to be blunt. These people, are not innocent, the circumstances surrouding this raid clearly outline that. I just hope they rot in jail.
 

Jay

Executive Branch Member
Jan 7, 2005
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It's a good reason to bring back the death penalty.

Your found wanting to commit mass murder and blow up our buildings, bang, you get it.
 

Mogz

Council Member
Jan 26, 2006
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I agree. Why should we convict people, then pay to keep them in jail. We should roast them, and toss them in the ground. Quick, simple, cost effective.
 

bluealberta

Council Member
Apr 19, 2005
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Proud to be in Alberta
MMMike said:
:roll: Yes, I'm sure Mohommed was a good boy, and wouldn't hurt a flea. No doubt its part of a big conspiracy against the Muslims. Isn't that what we hear from that community leaders everytime something like this happens?

Right, like security forces around the world just happened to pick up these people because they were Muslims.

Until the Mainstream Muslim community vocally and forcefully condemns all Muslim terrorists, starting with Usama, nothing will change.
 

Dexter Sinister

Unspecified Specialist
Oct 1, 2004
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bluealberta said:
Until the Mainstream Muslim community vocally and forcefully condemns all Muslim terrorists...

That'll never happen. There is the "Ummah," a concept that doesn't readily translate directly into an English word, though "Muslim brotherhood" is close. It's the notion that all Muslims world-wide are members of the same family and owe allegiance and support to each other ahead of everything else. There are individual Muslims who will condemn terrorists, I heard one of them interviewed on CBC Radio this morning, but we'll not see Muslim states issuing official condemnations in large numbers.

And at times like these, I am extremely grateful that I once had a Muslim as a supervisor. He was a very devout man, a Pakistani originally, but he was a Canadian citizen when I knew him. He was a kind and gentle man, cultured, literate, thoughtful, and tolerant, and the best manager I've ever had. Everything I know about how to be a good manager myself I learned from him, he was brilliant at it, and I learned much else as well. I once asked him, "Who is Jesus to Islam?" and that led to many long and interesting exchanges over the several years he was part of my professional and personal life.

That man will forever be the face of Islam to me, and what I see in these terrorists is a hideous perversion of that man's faith. Having known him is what saves me from lapsing into anti-Muslim bigotry.
 

aeon

Council Member
Jan 17, 2006
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This is all bullstrawberry crap,this is only to justified canadians presence in afganisthan, nothing else, there is just no proof yet, that this is true.
 

EagleSmack

Hall of Fame Member
Feb 16, 2005
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A lot of these folks can't believe that they would be targeted so they will do everything and say everything they can to sweep this under the rug.

After all the attempts to appease these muslims and say

"Hey... we're on your side. We're not like the US. We hate them too. We're nice. Please don't hurt us."

Well obviously it was all for not. Canada has been targeted and from what is being said they had enough materials to blow a lot of building up... Canadian buildings.
 

aeon

Council Member
Jan 17, 2006
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DurkaDurka said:
aeon said:
DurkaDurka said:
Try using this next time you post http://www.google.com/translate_t
I haven't a clue what you are trying to say.


Croire tout ce que notre governement dit et fait, est un signe de faiblesse.

Don t understand? then learn french.

aller au perdant d'enfer



LoL, you should learn french for real, using translation web site, will not help you.
 

fuflans

Electoral Member
May 24, 2006
155
0
16
Aotearoa
aeon said:
Croire tout ce que notre governement dit et fait, est un signe de faiblesse.

I doubt there is a single person out there who believes in everything that the government tells them. This includes the people that you are 'debating' with.

I wonder what automatically discarding anything that the government tells us and instead blindly believing in conspiracies is a sign of?
 

DurkaDurka

Internet Lawyer
Mar 15, 2006
10,385
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Toronto
aeon said:
DurkaDurka said:
aeon said:
DurkaDurka said:
Try using this next time you post http://www.google.com/translate_t
I haven't a clue what you are trying to say.


Croire tout ce que notre governement dit et fait, est un signe de faiblesse.

Don t understand? then learn french.

aller au perdant d'enfer
.

LoL, you should learn french for real, using translation web site, will not help you.


I have no desire at all to learn French... Thanks though.