In a joint forces operation, more than 400 Ontario police officers carried out raids in June 2006 that led to the arrests of the so-called Toronto 18. STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

Full story of ‘kids’ charged in ‘terror plot’ emerges as guilty verdict allows publication ban to be lifted

They were the sheep, the foot soldiers and the disciples. Easily manipulated and readily exploited. And pawns in an alleged terror plot.

With the conviction of one youth this week, the full story can now be told of all four youths originally charged with belonging to the homegrown terror cell known as the Toronto 18. It’s a tale that involves chilling wiretap intercepts, inane teenage banter and begs the question: How did these kids get wrapped up in one of Canada’s biggest terror cases?

In his testimony at the preliminary hearing and at the trial, the Crown’s star witness said the “kids” were peripheral figures who didn’t warrant close attention because they’d been kept on the “down low” of the group’s murderous machinations. So, he focused on the adult ringleaders who were engineering the deadly plot.

“It was obvious to me from Day 1 that I didn’t really have to keep too much of an eye on them,” testified police agent Mubin Shaikh, who infiltrated the group. “They were sheep … non-entities.”

But in a landmark decision Thursday, Justice John Sproat ruled one of those sheep, a naïve youth who “lacked street smarts,” was an “eager acolyte” led astray by an “extremely unsavoury” ringleader.

The judge recognized the youth, a convert to Islam who revered the ringleader as a “knowledgeable mentor,” was “easy to deceive or manipulate.” But he pointed out that as time passed, it would have been “inconceivable” for the youth not to have known what the group’s real motives were.

A winter camp that he attended in December 2005, complete with military-style exercises, jihadist rhetoric and speeches urging them to wage war, would have revealed the group’s true purpose – even if the leaders had billed it as a religious retreat. Yet rather than distance himself from the group, he fell deeper into it, stealing items for the group and attending a second training camp.

In other words, he didn’t need to know specifics about a terror plot brewing to be found guilty of participating in a terrorist group.

While the judge disagreed with Shaikh’s characterization of the youth on trial, Sproat said he displayed “a great number of the hallmarks of a truthful witness.”

Throughout the proceedings, there were chilling intercepts played in which the ringleaders discuss truck bombs, potential targets in downtown Toronto and the construction of a remote-control detonator. But none of these featured the youths.

Those that did feature all the youths, played during the preliminary, included silly teenage chatter about farting, getting high and having a threesome. One kid displayed youthful bravado when discussing the purchase of firearms and selecting a gang name from a list that included Sexy Sluts, Muslim Pimps and Mosquitoes.

There were also moments of absurdity, such as the revelation that the ringleader was so broke that he convinced a 15-year-old to donate his $20 weekly allowance.

Until now, the story of the youths netted in a mass arrest during the summer of 2006 remained partly untold because evidence heard in the preliminary was banned from publication.

Even after charges were dropped against three of them, the evidence could not be revealed, for fear it would prejudice the trial of the remaining youth.

But with Thursday’s conviction, the ban is lifted and the story can be told. (A ban still precludes identifying the remaining 10 adults, who have not yet been tried. Charges were stayed against four.)

DAYS BEFORE THE CAMP, one of the group’s leaders drew up a list titled, “Dealing with new recruits.” Scribbled underneath was: “Do not tell them anything – just give them jihadi da’wah, Give false name, Keep them on the down low.”

For the kids, who were among the “new recruits,” the camp was billed as a religious retreat. They were never told its true purpose was so that the “trainers,” one of whom was Shaikh, could assess their potential as jihadi warriors.

After all, the group’s leaders needed warriors to carry out a plan that included storming Parliament, beheading politicians and detonating fertilizer truck bombs at sites such as Toronto’s CBC building, the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Pickering Nuclear Power Plant, Shaikh testified.

A motley crew of individuals, aged between 15 and 42, attended the camp, which was held between Dec. 18 and 31 in a wooded area near Orillia. Many met there for the first time and only a select few were told why they had been invited.

The youths were high school friends from Scarborough. Because they were under 18 at the time they cannot be named. Instead, they will be referred to as the Partier, the Boy, the Friend and the Convert.

* The Partier was a “scrawny” 17-year-old who was described by his lawyer as a “party animal” with a penchant for girls and getting high. Overall, he was useless at the camp. He couldn’t be motivated to chop wood, do exercise and simply “wasn’t into it.” But the ringleader planned to “straighten him out,” testified Shaikh.
* The Boy was a “very frail little boy” of 15 who “shouldn’t have been there,” said Shaikh. He forged a letter about a bogus school trip so he could attend, but once there he was clearly out of his element, refusing to handle a 9-mm handgun.
* The Friend was the Partier’s good friend, and was also 17. He did what he was told, but lacked the zeal the camp’s trainers were looking for.
* The Convert was a 17-year-old who outshone the others. He was earnest, eager and hard working. His recent conversion to Islam resulted in being alienated from his family. He was desperate for religious guidance and the ringleader was happy to oblige. (This is the youth who was convicted Thursday.)

Court heard that because they had trekked off into the dead of winter without appropriate gear, the group’s leaders slept in vehicles with portable heaters, which suited them fine because it enabled them to privately discuss people’s skill levels.

The kids, however, were stuck sleeping in tents and often tasked with doing the grunt work, such as chopping wood, keeping the fire going and acting as sentries.

For the most part, they were a lazy bunch and not even good at stuff that didn’t require much skill, such as keeping watch over things – one kid burned the sole of his shoe because he got too close to the fire.

The Convert, however, was different. Shaikh testified the ringleader had remarked that the Convert’s skill at chopping wood made him the perfect candidate to behead the prime minister and his willingness to give his life for Islam made him an ideal suicide bomber.

All in attendance participated in an obstacle course, target practice, paintball war games and the making of a video intended for recruitment purposes.

During paintball, they wore fatigues and mimicked the Mujahideen in Chechnya, with their games resembling the Chechen rebellion against Russia. Often, the ringleader would shout words of encouragement: “Don’t you have any honour in your religion? Fight them!”

While the presence of a handgun, taken up for firearms training, may have initially excited some of the youths, they were “freaked out” when it was fired, said Shaikh. The only youth he could remember who fired the gun was the Convert.

When a video camera appeared, people were told to “play along,” said Shaikh. Playing along included shouting “God is Great” and waving a black flag commonly associated with terrorism.

Shaikh said the kids weren’t told the video was for recruitment purposes and was to be handed out to some imams in Toronto. A version of this video, which can be seen on thestar.com, ended up on the laptop of British extremist Aabid Khan, who was convicted last month of being a terrorist facilitator with international connections.

With the exception of the Convert, who excelled at the activities, the kids weren’t the kind of jihadi warriors the ringleader had hoped for. On one occasion, the sound of a wolf or a dog howling sent them scampering into a tent, where they huddled in fear.

But they could still prove useful for the ringleader, who was down to his last $18, he said, and was desperate to finance his scheme. So, he cajoled the Boy into agreeing to donate his weekly allowance of $20 to the group. Shaikh said he didn’t know if the kid ever paid up.

Even if the kids had originally been kept out of the loop, it would have been clear when the ringleader declared, “We’re not officially Al Qaeda but we share their principles and methods.”

In the final days, the youths were told by the ringleader to “Keep this quiet, don’t tell people, don’t be talking about the camp.”

THE YOUTHS MAY NOT have been warriors by camp’s end, but the ringleader still found use for them and appointed them to a Procurement Unit.

In one intercept, the ringleader boasts that the Convert is “so freaking professional” at stealing and has become “addicted.” The Convert’s skill is such that the ringleader explains he’s running out of space to store the loot.

In February, when the Partier and the Convert are caught in Canadian Tire shoplifting four camping knives and forks, an LED clip light, an axe and a machete, the ringleader instructed his unit to back off on doing “BLTs,” which was a code word for theft. A month later, the Convert was caught shoplifting a box of condoms.

In a videotaped police statement after his arrest on terror charges, the Convert denied stealing for the group, saying he took the walkie-talkies because they were “wicked.” He could sell them and also use them because they’re a cheaper alternative to owning a cellphone.

Sproat noted in his ruling that “it makes little sense that (the Convert) would steal multiple walkie-talkies for personal use or to make a few dollars. It makes much more sense that he would steal for a purpose associated with (the ringleader).”

At a second training camp in May, which took place at the Rockwood Conservation Area, near Guelph, of the youths, only the Convert and the Friend attended, accompanied by a buddy of theirs named Sahl Syed.

Syed testified nothing nefarious took place, saying they spent most of their time paddling in an inflatable boat, hiking through the hills and chilling by the campfire.

But Sproat noted in his ruling that while most of the activities were recreational, Syed was sufficiently concerned with what he’d seen on the trip to speak with a teacher about whether he should notify the authorities.

Weeks later, the four youths were arrested alongside 14 adults for belonging to a terrorist group after a lengthy, and costly, investigation that involved both national and international agencies.

FOLLOWING THURSDAY’S verdict, Shaikh still stuck to his guns.

“I don’t believe that (the Convert) is a terrorist,” he said. “I don’t believe he should’ve been put through what he was put through, but that’s our system.”

As this case winds its way through the courts, and the new anti-terror law is tested, he said he hopes to see the legislation fine-tuned so that guys like the Partier, the Boy, the Friend and the Convert aren’t in the same category as the ringleader.

“From Day 1, I used the word sheep,” he told the Star. “And that’s what they were. Sheep.”

Isabel Teotonio
Toronto Star - Staff Reporter

Two Afghan elders receive packages of flour, cooking oil, tea and gifts from Canadian soldiers to help them celebrate the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Friday. (Bob Weber/Canadian Press)

The Canadian military handed out food supplies to Afghans at its base in Kandahar City as locals prepared to celebrate the end of a month of fasting with three days of Eid celebrations.

The military handed out flour, rice and cooking oil among other items after a local leader helped pick 200 of the poorest families living around the base.

“It is a great help to my family,” one Afghan man told the CBC’s Mellissa Fung.

For Canadian soldiers, it was a welcome change from their normal duties.

“This stuff here certainly makes us feel much better about ourselves,” said Petty Officer Shawn Coates. “We’re representing our country well and the people of our country.”

Another local, Zhalil Ahmad, said that he was grateful for the help but complained that many of the recipients were not the poorest but those who had connections to the local leader the military used to help identify the neediest.

The military, which has provided Eid gifts in previous years, said it relied on a local district manager to help pick the families who he believed were the most deserving.

Despite the criticism, Coates said it’s a small token of goodwill to help build trust between the military and locals.

Canada’s first convicted terrorist was a naive 17-year-old Muslim convert who was easily manipulated as well as lacking education and street smarts. But in a landmark decision yesterday a judge ruled there was overwhelming evidence he belonged to a homegrown terrorist group.

In a Brampton court on Sept. 25, 2008, Justice John Sproat reads from his ruling convicting Canada’s first terrorist. The now 20-year-old was accused of attending two terrorist training camps and stealing items for the Toronto 18.

The young man, accused of attending two terrorist training camps and stealing items for the so-called Toronto 18, displayed no emotion when the verdict was read in a Brampton court.

“(The youth) clearly understood that the camps were training for a terrorist purpose,” said Justice John Sproat as he read from his 94-page decision. “He also understood that contributing materials to be used at the camp enhanced the ability of the group to conduct the training.”

Prominent in the judge’s decision was the testimony of paid police agent Mubin Shaikh, who had come under attack during the trial from Crown prosecutors when they accused their own star witness of fabricating evidence to protect the youth.

But Sproat said Shaikh was credible, adding, “I found him to be a truthful and generally reliable witness” who “exhibited a great number of the hallmarks of a truthful witness.”

“I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that a terror group existed,” he said, disagreeing with the defence that an alleged terror plot amounted to “musings and fantasies” dreamed up by a deluded ringleader who planned to storm Parliament Hill and behead the prime minister.

The ringleader, arrested among 14 adults and four youths in the summer of 2006, was not a “hapless fanatic who posed no risk,” he said.

Members of the group are accused of ordering fertilizer to build truck bombs, constructing a remote-control detonator and scouting a safe house to store weapons and harbour terrorists. The youth, whose conviction marks the first decision under Canada’s new anti-terrorism laws, was not alleged to have played a role in the bomb conspiracy.

The courtroom was filled with supporters from the Muslim community, including relatives of the adult co-accused, who were left weeping and wondering what the verdict means for their loved ones.

Defence lawyer Raymond Motee, who represents one of the adults, cautioned against jumping to any conclusions about the implications for the others.

“We are dealing with a brand-new law and this case is merely the first guidepost along the way,” said Motee. “Legally, this verdict has essentially no effect on our case. These are completely separate proceedings and our trial judge is not bound by any ruling in this case.”

What it all means for the youth is more court time. Defence lawyers Mitchell Chernovsky and Faisal Mirza have filed an abuse of process application to be heard Dec. 15.

They say Shaikh committed illegal acts as an agent and, essentially, entrapped their client. If that motion succeeds, the charges could be stayed. If it fails, they will consider appealing the decision.

The defence lawyers say Shaikh committed a crime when he handled an illegal firearm at a terrorist training camp in December 2005 and taught participants, including the youth, how to use it. They also point out that Shaikh, who acted as a trainer, was instrumental in deciding who would be promoted to a second training camp.

Because this is a precedent-setting decision, defence lawyers and Crown prosecutors refused to speculate on the sentence the youth faces, but earlier the Crown said it would seek an adult sentence.

The verdict is a victory for prosecutors because the case appeared to be unravelling when charges were stayed against three youths and four adults and supporters of the accused men said they were provoked by two undercover agents.

During the trial, two starkly different portraits emerged of the youth, who is now 20. One was of a teenaged jihadi who attended two training camps: one in December 2005, complete with military-style exercises, firearms training and speeches exhorting participants to wage war on “Rome” – an allusion to the West; and another in May 2006, where attendees made a mock jihadi video. Prosecutors also said the youth stole items for the camps, including walkie-talkies and other outdoor gear.

The other image was of a troubled youngster, alienated from his Hindu family for converting to Islam, who went winter camping because he was told it was a religious retreat.

In his decision, the judge noted the youth lacked “street smarts” or maturity, which made him easy to deceive, and had only a rudimentary understanding of world politics and international conflicts. But the judge ruled it was “inconceivable” for him not to have known the true nature of the camp by the end.

Court heard that at the camp, the ringleader delivered a jihadist speech, saying, “We’re here to kick it off man, we’re here to get the rewards of everybody that’s gonna come after us.”

“Whether we get arrested, killed or tortured, our mission is greater than just individuals, this has to be done, Rome has to be defeated,” the ringleader says in a videotape made for recruitment purposes.

Shaikh, who has long maintained the youth’s innocence, made a surprise appearance at the courthouse yesterday and told reporters he disagreed with the verdict.

“I don’t believe that (youth) is a terrorist,” said Shaikh, who testified that the youth was a “sheep” and “non-entity” who unknowingly got caught up in a deadly conspiracy. “He was not informed of the inner plans by the inner circle.”

He also said he believes Canada is a target for terrorists and susceptible to homegrown terror cells. “The threat is real … Just because bombs haven’t gone off doesn’t mean we should be less vigilant.”

-The Star
Isabel Teotonio - Staff Reporter

The Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) is pleased to announce the launch of its national youth magazine - MY Voice. MY Voice is published quarterly and is aimed at drawing awareness around issues most relevant to Muslim Youth in Canada. Currently, the magazine is available online.

MAC is a national organization with a vision to establish an Islamic presence in Canada, that is balanced, constructive, and integrated, though distinct, within the social fabric and culture of Canada. For more details on MAC and its initiatives, click here.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Admad at the grand opening of the new Baitun Nur Mosque in northeast Calgary July 5, 2008.

CALGARY - Canada’s largest mosque was officially dedicated Saturday by an estimated crowd of 5,000 people that included religious leaders, Canada’s two top politicians and throngs of faithful.

A steady stream of worshippers walked underneath the Baitun Nur mosque’s shining steel dome and minaret tower and flowed to large white tents to witness the unveiling. The mosque, which covers 4,300 square metres is the spiritual home of Calgary’s Ahmadiyya Muslim community, which numbers between 2,000 and 3,000.

The global spiritual leader of the Ahmadi Muslims, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, arrived in Calgary last Wednesday to lead the first prayers in the new facility and was on hand Saturday for the building’s public celebration.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the crowd that the Ahmadiyya Muslim community knows the importance of tolerance and peace because it has been the target of persecution itself since its founding in the late 19th century.

“In this mosque, we see the love and benevolent faith of Islam,” Harper said. “Ahmadis embrace Canada and Canada has embraced you.”

Opposition Leader Stephane Dion said the success of the Ahmadi community in Canada, as captured by the sacrifices made to build the Calgary mosque, is at the essence of what makes the country great.

“Canada will show the world that Muslim communities can flourish in a secular state like ours,” Dion added.

He praised the Ahmadiyya community for teaching its followers that loyalty to their new homeland of Canada is an integral part of their faith.

Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier reminded the crowd of the cold, rainy June day in 2005 when the mosque’s cornerstone was laid.

48,000-square-foot Baitun Nur mosque

“What we see today is a testament to your faith and commitment to the community. Your mosque is a proud new landmark on Calgary’s skyline,” the mayor said.

Roman Catholic Bishop Fred Henry said Calgary Muslims and Christians share a common spiritual journey in their worship of God.

“My Muslim brothers and sisters, we also have a common concern for promoting moral values and addressing ethical concerns in our city through our ongoing dialogue and our work together,” said Henry.

For members of the local Ahmadiyya community, it was a day of unbridled pride.

“I hardly slept at all last night,” said Dr. Safeer Khan. “Our hearts are full of love for Canada.

“The first night we were in the mosque for prayers, I looked around and I couldn’t really believe that we did this.”

The mosque also houses classrooms, office space, a children’s area, a kitchen and a community centre.

The community’s financial sacrifices have been remarkable. Homes have been remortgaged or sold, women have contributed treasured jewelry and children have broken into their piggy banks to help pay the bills.

With carpenters and painters wrapping up their work, Ahmadiyya volunteers moved into the mosque last week. One group worked around the clock for four days to assemble the thousands of small pieces of a massive, 400-kilogram chandelier now hanging within the dome above the prayer hall.

Others with electronics expertise are completing wiring for the mosque’s state-of-the-art audio-visual systems.

“The fact that this is being broadcast all over the world is a huge source of pride,” said 17-year-old Ramzah Khan.

“I saw people in tears. I think people are honoured to have this in Calgary.”

Calgary Herald

Ingrid Mattson

The largest Muslim organization in North America has elected a Canadian-born professor as its first female president — a result the group says signals support for women as leaders throughout their community.

Ingrid Mattson, a convert to Islam from Catholicism and an Islamic law scholar at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, was elected to lead the Islamic Society of North America just ahead of its annual convention, which starts Friday in Rosemont, Ill.

Mattson, who grew up in Kitchener, Ont., and studied philosophy at the University of Waterloo in the 1980s, now lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children.

In a profile posted on the Hartford Seminary’s website, she describes how she became interested in Islam while travelling to British Columbia by train for a tree-planting job in the summer of 1987.

She later went to Pakistan to work at a refugee camp, helping women and children displaced by conflict in Afghanistan.

“Soon after I met my husband, he told me about a woman he greatly admired,” she wrote in another internet posting, on the Why Islam? website. “He spoke of her intelligence, her eloquence and her generosity. This woman, he told me, tutored her many children in traditional and modern learning. With warm approval, he spoke of her frequent arduous trips to refugee camps and orphanages to help relief efforts…

“When I finally met this woman I found that she was covered, head to toe, in traditional Islamic dress. I realized with some amazement that my husband had never seen her. He had never seen her face. Yet he knew her. He knew her by her actions, by the effects she left on other people.”

Umbrella group in existence since 1963

Formed in 1963, the Islamic Society of North America is an umbrella group that represents Muslim associations for youth, college students, engineers and others, and also provides support to Muslim chaplains and North American mosques. Its annual meeting regularly draws more than 30,000 people.

The president serves a two-year term, leading the society’s committees and executive boards that set policy through consultation with its members.

Mattson’s election represents “a wonderful message to the Muslim community that Muslim women, who are sometimes seen as less, can rise to these positions,” said Sayyid Syeed, secretary general of the Islamic Society.

American Muslims have struggled over the proper role for women, debating most recently how far mosques should go in separating men and women during worship and whether women should lead mixed-gender prayer in mosques.

Still, women have had prominent roles outside of religious services, founding and leading some Islamic groups throughout North America.

The Islamic Society president is only rarely called upon to lead prayer, Syeed said. He added that Mattson will lead only ritual worship for women.

“That does not in any way limit her role as president,” Syeed said.

Mattson succeeds Sheik Muhammad Nur Abdullah, director for the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis, as the Islamic Society president.

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