My, my, my good ole Teee-ronto is becoming infamous within RIFT circles for it's inviting and nurturing climate of being a safe haven to convene terrorist meetings and greeting terrorist delegations.
Jihad Toronto, should become the city's new tourism slogan.
Toronto Star
Apr. 22, 2006. 01:00 AM
TIM HARPER AND MICHELLE SHEPHARD
Two Georgia men met in Toronto with Islamic extremists to discuss potential terror strikes in the United States, including attacks on oil refineries and military bases, according to U.S. court documents unsealed yesterday.
The documents say the pair met with at least three people, who are under international surveillance, to plot ways to disable the Global Positioning System which would disrupt military and commercial communications and air traffic. They also discussed a trip to Pakistan to receive military training at a terrorist-sponsored camp.
FBI agent Michael Scherk, a member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Atlanta, says in a sworn affidavit 19-year-old Eshanul Islam Sadequee of Roswell, Ga., and Syed Haris Ahmed, 21, of Atlanta, made the trip to Toronto in March 2005.
The two men are American citizens but Sadequee attended high school in Canada and told investigators he has an aunt in Toronto.
Ahmed has been charged with suspicion of giving material support of terrorism and is being held at an undisclosed location. He pleaded not guilty during a brief court appearance Wednesday in Georgia.
Sadequee is accused of making materially false statements in connection with a terrorist investigation, and he was arrested in Bangladesh, where he told the FBI that he had gone to get married.
He is being returned to New York to face formal charges.
Canadian authorities are working with the FBI concerning the three Canadian men who are identified in the document as "like-minded Islamic extremists.''
Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress and host of the television show The Muslim Chronicle, says he has recently become concerned about the change in the thinking of some young Canadians.
"In talking to young people there is evidence of militancy, and that is not just about conservatism or traditional Islam, which has always been there," Fatah said.
"What we're seeing is a militant attitude and they're using this notion that any criticism of Muslim fanaticism would be seen as Islamaphobia.
"There's a change in the nature of some of the conversations that are going on in some young groups ... the politicization of the chatter is what is worrisome."
The U.S. Attorney in Georgia, David Nahmias, said in a statement that the charge against Ahmed is "serious and involves national security.''
In an interview with the Toronto Star last fall, CSIS director Jim Judd cautioned that homegrown terrorism is a pressing concern in most Western countries because it's more difficult to detect. Last February, CSIS deputy director Dale Neufeld had similar warnings for senators reviewing Canada's anti-terrorism legislation.
"If I was sitting before you two or three years ago, I wouldn't talk about two of the real trends that we see in this country. Our allies see it as well. It's the second generation, the children of Muslims who are born in this country. They have a very normal upbringing, according to our analysis, but at some point in their teenage years or young twenties, they decide that radical Islam is the path they want to take," Neufeld, who has since retired, told the senators.
They are also disillusioned in many cases, he said, and sometimes take up Islam "in the radical form."
"I do believe that when the time comes, a number of these people will attempt to do something quite serious."
Jihad Toronto, should become the city's new tourism slogan.
Toronto Star
Apr. 22, 2006. 01:00 AM
TIM HARPER AND MICHELLE SHEPHARD
Two Georgia men met in Toronto with Islamic extremists to discuss potential terror strikes in the United States, including attacks on oil refineries and military bases, according to U.S. court documents unsealed yesterday.
The documents say the pair met with at least three people, who are under international surveillance, to plot ways to disable the Global Positioning System which would disrupt military and commercial communications and air traffic. They also discussed a trip to Pakistan to receive military training at a terrorist-sponsored camp.
FBI agent Michael Scherk, a member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Atlanta, says in a sworn affidavit 19-year-old Eshanul Islam Sadequee of Roswell, Ga., and Syed Haris Ahmed, 21, of Atlanta, made the trip to Toronto in March 2005.
The two men are American citizens but Sadequee attended high school in Canada and told investigators he has an aunt in Toronto.
Ahmed has been charged with suspicion of giving material support of terrorism and is being held at an undisclosed location. He pleaded not guilty during a brief court appearance Wednesday in Georgia.
Sadequee is accused of making materially false statements in connection with a terrorist investigation, and he was arrested in Bangladesh, where he told the FBI that he had gone to get married.
He is being returned to New York to face formal charges.
Canadian authorities are working with the FBI concerning the three Canadian men who are identified in the document as "like-minded Islamic extremists.''
Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress and host of the television show The Muslim Chronicle, says he has recently become concerned about the change in the thinking of some young Canadians.
"In talking to young people there is evidence of militancy, and that is not just about conservatism or traditional Islam, which has always been there," Fatah said.
"What we're seeing is a militant attitude and they're using this notion that any criticism of Muslim fanaticism would be seen as Islamaphobia.
"There's a change in the nature of some of the conversations that are going on in some young groups ... the politicization of the chatter is what is worrisome."
The U.S. Attorney in Georgia, David Nahmias, said in a statement that the charge against Ahmed is "serious and involves national security.''
In an interview with the Toronto Star last fall, CSIS director Jim Judd cautioned that homegrown terrorism is a pressing concern in most Western countries because it's more difficult to detect. Last February, CSIS deputy director Dale Neufeld had similar warnings for senators reviewing Canada's anti-terrorism legislation.
"If I was sitting before you two or three years ago, I wouldn't talk about two of the real trends that we see in this country. Our allies see it as well. It's the second generation, the children of Muslims who are born in this country. They have a very normal upbringing, according to our analysis, but at some point in their teenage years or young twenties, they decide that radical Islam is the path they want to take," Neufeld, who has since retired, told the senators.
They are also disillusioned in many cases, he said, and sometimes take up Islam "in the radical form."
"I do believe that when the time comes, a number of these people will attempt to do something quite serious."
