• Why Jihad Watch?
  • About Robert Spencer and Staff Writers
  • FAQ
  • Books
  • Muhammad
  • Islam 101
  • Privacy

Jihad Watch

Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

Lawyer for Muslim who tried to join jihad says he engaged only in “nonviolent terrorism”

Jun 25, 2014 5:53 pm By Robert Spencer

Mohamed Hersi“Nonviolent terrorism”? Is that like “moderate Islamist”? Western officials become contortionists, twisting themselves into pretzels trying to avoid facing the reality of jihad.

“Prosecutors pushing for 10-year sentence for Toronto man who tried leave Canada to join ‘brutal’ terrorists,” by Stewart Bell, National Post, June 25, 2014:

A Toronto man convicted of attempting to join the Somali terrorist group Al Shabab should serve no more than four years in prison, his lawyer argued Wednesday, claiming his client had engaged only in “non-violent terrorism.”

But federal prosecutors are seeking the 10-year maximum sentence for Mohamed Hassan Hersi, a 28-year-old former security guard who last month became the first Canadian to be convicted for attempting unsuccessfully to join an overseas terrorist group.

“I don’t know what non-violent terrorism is,” Crown attorney Jim Clark said in response to the defence argument that the sentence should distinguish between violent and non-violent forms of terrorism. “All terrorism is inherently violent.”

The judge reserved her decision until July 24.

A jury found the Somali-Canadian guilty of two terrorism-related counts last month after hearing evidence of his plans to join Al Shabab. He was also convicted of counselling another person to join. The charge stemmed from detailed advice he gave an undercover Toronto police officer playing the role of a prospective recruit.

During sentencing arguments Wednesday, the Crown called Al Shabab a “brutal” terrorist group with a history of targeting civilians, and said Hersi should receive concurrent five-year terms for each count. The prosecution also wants an order declaring him ineligible to apply for parole for five years.

Because those intent on leaving Canada to join foreign terrorist organizations are so difficult for police to detect and investigate, a sentence that packed a “hefty deterrence punch” was warranted in this case, Mr. Clark said.

“People should know that even if they try to join a foreign terrorist group and are unsuccessful, they will be heavily punished for the attempt,” he said. “Ten years is completely appropriate to reflect Mr. Hersi’s overall culpability.”

To prepare for his misadventure, Hersi had quit his job, friended a Canadian Al Shabab member on Facebook and set up an alibi, he said. He was about to board a flight to Cairo when he was arrested at Toronto’s Pearson airport in March 2011.

In addition to taking the undercover officer “under his wing,” Hersi had also tried to ensure that his plans went undetected by authorities so that he might return to Canada to commit attacks, the Crown added. “And that in my submission is a chilling prospect.”

Dressed in a pin-striped suit, Hersi remained a silent observer throughout his day in the prisoner’s box. Even when the judge gave him the opportunity to speak, he declined. “I was advised by my counsel not to say anything,” he said.

His lawyer said Hersi had no prior criminal record and was a “mainstream Muslim in his ideology” who did not subscribe to extremist beliefs. He used drugs and browsed pornography on the Internet, he said. “These are not the kinds of activities that one would expect from an extremist Muslim.”…

Really? On what basis does he say that?

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Follow me on Facebook

Filed Under: Al-Shabaab, Canada Tagged With: featured


Learn more about RevenueStripe...

Comments

  1. John C. Barile says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 6:02 pm

    “He used drugs and browsed pornography.”

    Lo! Allah is most forgiving, merciful . . . .

  2. umbra says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 6:28 pm

    Non-violent terrorism is oxymoronic. Terrorism is terror which involves violence and/or threat of violence.

    • rabrooks says

      Jun 26, 2014 at 9:26 pm

      Oh, that means that after the beheading, he hid the knife!
      Only the twisted mind of a muzzy could conjure up something like that!

  3. Angemon says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 6:51 pm

    “A Toronto man convicted of attempting to join the Somali terrorist group Al Shabab should serve no more than four years in prison, his lawyer argued Wednesday, claiming his client had engaged only in “non-violent terrorism.””

    What did he do, dressed up like satan and terrorized little kids?

    “His lawyer said Hersi had no prior criminal record and was a “mainstream Muslim in his ideology” who did not subscribe to extremist beliefs. He used drugs and browsed pornography on the Internet, he said. “These are not the kinds of activities that one would expect from an extremist Muslim.”…”

    Two words: Anjeem Choudary.
    Seriously, if anything that makes him look MORE guilty of wanting to join a terrorist group. He wanted to atone for his sins. Tell me, what else could he do than joining jihad? What deed is greater than jihad? What is the only assured way of getting into heaven? And above all: if he died he’d go to heaven, meet his 72 virgins and be the star of his own porno while enjoying alcohol.

  4. Silvia says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 8:07 pm

    “nonviolent terrorism”

    JFC!!!! If these animals weren’t so destructive and dangerous, this would have been hilarious!

  5. kevin says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    As a canadian ill happily buy this guys plane ticket out of canada with the stipulation that if he ever comes back were gonna string him up from the closet tree let them go just dont let them back in

  6. Oliver says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 10:57 pm

    My math must be off. In the second paragraph it says a 10 year sentence

    But further down, about the EIGHTH OR SO PARAGRAPH IT SAYS TW0 (2) CONCURRENT FIVE ( 5) YEAR SENTENCES.

    CONCURRENT, UNLESS THE LANGUAGE HAS CHANGED, MEANS AT THE SAME TIME.

    CLARIFY, ANYBODY.

    PLEASE????

  7. OLIVER says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 10:59 pm

    I TYPE IN CAPS–EASIER FOR ME TO READ–NOT YELLING.

    • Angemon says

      Jun 26, 2014 at 5:09 am

      Why not increasing font size on your browser, thus making everyone’s posts easier for you to read?

      • Oliver says

        Jun 26, 2014 at 9:38 am

        I don’t know how to. Would like to.

        • Angemon says

          Jun 26, 2014 at 9:43 am

          Usually holding the Control (‘Ctrl’) key and pressing the ‘+’ key increases the font size. If that doesn’t work for you tell me what browser you’re using and i’ll see if i can help.

        • Oliver says

          Jun 26, 2014 at 9:55 pm

          Angemon, thanks, it worked.

  8. Keith says

    Jun 26, 2014 at 2:23 am

    Obviously when going on terrorist attacks whilst all his companions were going to be armed with the Koran, AK47 and suicide belt he was going to be armed with a joke book and and a feather duster to be used to tickle the infidels into submission.

  9. dumbledoresarmy says

    Jun 26, 2014 at 6:58 am

    A few observations, re the article.

    “Toronto man” = “Toronto-resident Muslim”.

    “the first Canadian to be convicted…” – “the first Canadian-passport-holding Muslim to be convicted…”

    “Somali Canadian” – “ethnic Somali Canadian-passport-holding MUSLIM..”.

    And as for his being arrested in Canada, *before* he could board a flight for Cairo, en route to Jihad with Al Shabaab…

    if the Canadian authorities had their wits about him, then – given that his identity was known and his intentions also known – he would have been permitted to go; but his Canadian passport would then have been annulled and he would have been declared Exile and Outlaw.

  10. Dumbledoresarmy says

    Jun 26, 2014 at 7:17 am

    As for this mohammedan’s taste for pornography supposedly not correlating with a penchant for Jihad…. ROFLMAO.

    *I’d* suspect it – often – goes with the territory.

    I seem to recall having read, some years ago, an article that mentioned that investigators in the UK whose task it was to track down “terrorists” (i.e. jihad plotters) and *other* investigators whose specific task it was to identify and track down the creators and purveyors and eager customers of hardcore kiddie porn, kept on bumping into one another. It happened often enough that there was even a suggestion that each task force should keep a weather eye out, and report to each other anything that they thought the other should know about.

    Here’s one article, from 2008.

    Stephen Brown, writing at FrontPage – “The Depraved World of Jihadi Child Porn”.

    http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=EFC10CD9-F671-40D1-AF69-0249117FCEC3

    I am not sure that the link still works, so here are the relevant passages.

    “Besides their well-known penchant for anti-Semitism, misogyny and nihilistic violence, Muslim extremists are also gaining a disturbing reputation among British security agencies as collectors of child pornography.

    “According to a report on The Times website last week, **police in Great Britain are discovering that their investigations into Muslim terrorism are leading them into the depraved world of child sexual exploitation. The reverse is also occurring with child protection officers encountering people who are “preparing to carry out terrorist acts.”** {my emphasis – dda}.

    “At one time, the link between the two deviant behaviours was considered so strong that security officials considered establishing an anti-terrorism project involving child welfare experts, but never followed through because Scotland Yard’s hands were too full with other terrorist investigations.
    “But demand is growing in Great Britain for the setting up of such a task force that could help security agencies understand the terrorist mindset and prevent future attacks…”.

    “British security personnel first became aware of a connection between Muslim extremism and child pornography in 2006.

    “When investigating the terrorist connections of an east end London mosque preacher, Abdul Makim Khalisadar, a former primary school assistant, the 26-year-old’s DNA was found to match that of an unsolved rape case of a woman.

    “Upon his arrest, police discovered Khalisadar also had a large amount of hardcore child pornography material on his computer.

    “In the same year, police made a similar discovery after raiding a suspected Muslim terrorist’s home, looking for a chemical bomb. While no explosive device was found, police did discover 44 “indecent” pictures of children on the 23-year-old man’s home computer and cell phone.
    “Child porn, The Times reports, has been found “during investigations into some of the most advanced suspected plots.”

    “European security officials first discovered child porn images in a Muslim extremist’s possession when they raided a mosque in Milan, Italy, in 2001….”.

    Here’s the Times article cited by Brown. Again, not sure if the link will still work.

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4959002.ece

    From The Times

    October 17, 2008

    Link between child porn and Muslim terrorists discovered in police raids
    Paedophile websites are being used to pass information between terrorists

    Richard Kerbaj and Dominic Kennedy.

    …

    • Angemon says

      Jun 26, 2014 at 7:42 am

      You know, a while back i posted a site that ranked the top 10 sex searches by country on several message boards (including JW, IIRC). Muslim countries’ searches were the ones with the most terms that referred to non-consensual and/or heterosexual sex, like “goat sex”, “rape”, “child sex” or “gay sex”.

      Side remark: I remember getting several replies along the lines of “those are all countries influenced by the US” and “jews run the porn business”.

  11. mortimer says

    Jun 26, 2014 at 7:59 am

    This Libtarded lawyer is a cultural Marxist, like Obama, trying to disguise the use of Muslim surrogates to ethnically cleanse Europeans from Europe and America and replace them with rage-filled supremacists.

    This deceitful lawyer has tried to present murder, mayhem, destruction of property, ethnic cleansing and genocide in the most innocuous way possible.

    Shame! Many lawyers and judges defended the Third Reich!

  12. kaz says

    Jun 26, 2014 at 9:28 am

    now maybe someone will explain the advantage to Canada of having ANY muslims in Canada. then I would like to know what great evil would result if ALL muslims were expelled from Canada. the fact is that, absurd as it sounds, “peaceful” terrorism is real, and it is occurring in the west. muslim immigration is “peaceful” terrorism. after you import more muslims than you can get rid of, peaceful terrorism suddenly becomes the enslavement of the useful infidels, and the genocide of those not deemed useful. we should be thanking the attorney for telling us the truth about islam.

  13. rabrooks says

    Jun 26, 2014 at 9:31 pm

    OK. OK. I’ll go PC.
    Oh, maybe he did the “sex-jihad” thing for the guys? Their little dancing boy?
    Little girls are for breeding,
    Little boys are for pleasure!
    allah is most understanding and forgiving….

  14. Oliver says

    Jun 26, 2014 at 10:01 pm

    Nobody has answered my earlier question–How is it that he got 10 years? His two-(2) five (5) year sentences were to run concurrent ( at the same time). Or does concurrent in Canada have a different meaning then in the US?

    Curious.

    (I think he should go to Somalia, and take 1,878 of his friends and relatives with him–to start (Preferably, as an American, Somalis from the US). My views

  15. sidney penny says

    Jun 26, 2014 at 10:16 pm

    “Nonviolent terrorism”

    NO such thing!

    His lawyer must be very smart!

    His lawyer also knows (but did not present the evidence for it ,like lawyers are suppose to do) that extremist Muslims ,do not used drugs and browse pornography.

    Must be an expert on Islam like that judge in U.K.

    In UK, judges happen to experts on Islam. They can tell you if passages are read out of context.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/10662836/Lee-Rigby-murderers-sentenced-to-life-in-prison.html

    The Islamist killers of Drummer Lee Rigby erupted into violence in an Old Bailey courtroom as they were sentenced for murder.Michael Adebolajo, 29, and Michael Adebowale, 22, had to be manhandled out of court by security guards after being told by Mr Justice Sweeney that their crime was a “betrayal of Islam”.

    Adebolajo screamed at the judge as he was manhandled down the dock stairs in the historic Court No 2 but, in scenes lasting several minutes, his co-defendant was held to the floor and cuffed before being carried downstairs head first.

    This story gives more detail: they told the judge that their murder of Rigby was not a betrayal of Islam, and said that the U.S. and Britain would “never be safe.” It would be refreshing now if there could be a serious public discussion about whether or not their murder really was a betrayal of Islam, and what implications the answer to that question might have for domestic and foreign policy. But there won’t be. To have such a discussion would be “Islamophobic”.

    Ignorant Judge Sweeny becomes an Imam and lectures jihad murderers with his own fantasies about Islam.

    Judge Sweeny is implying that he is too stupid or too ignorant to make his own judgement, instead, he is simply repeating what “has been said elsewhere” He does not say where elsewhere is.

    No, this Muslim did not betray Islam, Judge Sweeney. They have exactly followed and obeyed the instructions given to them in the Koran. These are good Muslims killing infidels.

    Until British ( Canadian and American ) authorities come to grips with the fact that there is ample Islamic justification for such murders, and stop playing games with their Let’s Play Pretend version of Islam, there will be many more such killings.

    http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/02/uk-judge-tells-jihad-murderers-of-soldier-that-they-betrayed-islam-they-start-screaming-allahu-akbar-and-fighting-prison-guards

    http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/02/uk-jihadi-tells-judge-that-rigby-murder-not-a-betrayal-of-islam-you-dont-know-what-islam-is

    http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/02/uk-jihad-murderer-handed-blood-stained-note-full-of-quran-quotes-to-bystander

  16. Ultima_Thule says

    Jun 29, 2014 at 11:59 pm

    “Nonviolent terrorism”? Is that like “moderate Islamist”?

    Maybe … According the poster to a Muslim protester is freedom of expression terrorism: http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/06/danish-magazine-for-lawyers-free-speech-is-only-democratic-as-long-as-it-does-not-provoke-violent-people

    Perhaps the practice of freedom of speech is nonviolent terrorism, according to Islamic thought?

  17. gravenimage says

    Jul 2, 2014 at 6:51 pm

    “Nonviolent Terrorism”—*good God*.

    From the article:

    He used drugs and browsed pornography on the Internet, he said. “These are not the kinds of activities that one would expect from an extremist Muslim.”…”
    ……………………………

    Not really. We have seen *a lot* of Jihadists engaging in just such behavior.

    Technically porn is Haram, but as several astute posters above have noted, Muslims are the biggest consumers of porn—especially pedophilia and bestiality—in the world.

    Another important point: Muslims often commit Jihad terrorism to “atone” for un-Islamic activities, just a Christian concerned for the state of his soul might make a big donation to charity or go on a mission.

    Of course, the main point her is that while Jews and Christians consider charity to be a good deed, that for pious Muslims waging violent Jihad usually fits that bill. *Ugh*.

FacebookYoutubeTwitterLog in

Subscribe to the Jihad Watch Daily Digest

You will receive a daily mailing containing links to the stories posted at Jihad Watch in the last 24 hours.
Enter your email address to subscribe.

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!
If you are forwarding to a friend, please remove the unsubscribe buttons first, as they my accidentally click it.

Subscribe to all Jihad Watch posts

You will receive immediate notification.
Enter your email address to subscribe.
Note: This may be up to 15 emails a day.

Donate to JihadWatch
FrontPage Mag

Search Site

Translate

The Team

Robert Spencer in FrontPageMag
Robert Spencer in PJ Media

Articles at Jihad Watch by
Robert Spencer
Hugh Fitzgerald
Christine Douglass-Williams
Andrew Harrod
Jamie Glazov
Daniel Greenfield

Contact Us

Terror Attacks Since 9/11

Archives

  • 2020
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2019
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2018
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2017
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2016
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2015
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2014
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2013
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2012
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2011
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2010
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2009
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2008
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2007
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2006
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2005
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2004
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2003
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • March

All Categories

You Might Like

Learn more about RevenueStripe...

Recent Comments

  • William Garrison on The Fantasy Islam of Rice University’s Craig Considine (Part 3)
  • Vladimir on Islamic Republic of Iran: Turkey’s Erdogan champions Islam only as a tool to further his own interests
  • John on Muslim cleric: ‘We welcomed the takeover of ISIS because they wanted to implement the Sharia’
  • Vladimir on Muslim cleric: ‘We welcomed the takeover of ISIS because they wanted to implement the Sharia’
  • Linda McGuire on UK: Muslim stabs two women in Marks & Spencer, one in the neck, cops search for motive

Popular Categories

dhimmitude Sharia Jihad in the U.S ISIS / Islamic State / ISIL Iran Free Speech

Robert Spencer FaceBook Page

Robert Spencer Twitter

Robert Spencer twitter

Robert Spencer YouTube Channel

Books by Robert Spencer

Jihad Watch® is a registered trademark of Robert Spencer in the United States and/or other countries - Site Developed and Managed by Free Speech Defense

Content copyright Jihad Watch, Jihad Watch claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to their respective owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and you do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.

Our mailing address is: David Horowitz Freedom Center, P.O. Box 55089, Sherman Oaks, CA 91499-1964

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.