The 73-page report, “Paths to Radicalization of Home-Grown Islamic Extremists in Canada,” reveals an increasing number of homegrown Canadian terrorists. From Canada’s National Post:
A “secret” intelligence study obtained by the National Post says a “high percentage” of the Canadian Muslims involved in extremist activities were born in Canada, a marked shift from the past when they were mostly refugees and immigrants.
“Increasingly, we are learning of more and more extremists that are homegrown,” says the Canadian Security Intelligence Service document, adding that the “Canadianness” of the new generation makes them more difficult to detect.
“These radicalized Canadians are involved in a wide range of extremist activities, including downloading and translating documents from the Internet that promote violence, networking and physically training for jihad,” it says.
“Some undergo training abroad or in Canada, including commando-like paintball and extreme martial arts,” says the report. “In a few cases, Canadian extremists have participated in jihad and a few have been killed in the process.”
A handful of such terrorists have already emerged from Canada. Mohammed Jabarah of St. Catharines, Ont., joined al-Qaeda and tried to blow up the American and Israeli embassies in Southeast Asia. His brother Abdul Rahman, a member of a Saudi al-Qaeda cell, was killed in 2003.
Canadian-born Momin Khawaja was arrested in Ottawa last year on charges he was part of a British bombing plot and is awaiting trial. U.S. authorities recently charged Canadian-born Omar Khadr with joining an al-Qaeda faction in Afghanistan and killing a U.S. soldier.
“A small number of Muslims in Canada have adopted the path of violence and jihad in the pursuit of political and/or religious aims,” the CSIS report says. “The reasons for this are varied, and include parental influence, the efforts of charismatic spiritual leaders with extremist views and a general sense of anger at what is seen as Muslim oppression.
“There does not appear to be a single process that leads to extremism; the transformation is highly individual. Once this change has taken place, such individuals move on to a series of activities, ranging from propaganda and recruiting, to terrorist training and participation in extremist operations.”
Could Allah’s injunction to Muslims to terrorize non-Muslims on his behalf – “Strike terror (into the hearts of) the enemies of Allah and your enemies” (Sura 8:60) – be the “single process that leads to extremism”?