Someone close to one of the 10 men, who agreed to an interview with Radio-Canada on condition of anonymity, said the young men are more victims than anything else.
“They left, I think, with good intentions, to do their duty as Muslims,” he said. “But I think that they were manipulated.”
Note how the victimhood narrative is employed in an attempt to exonerate the exposed jihadis. If Islamic jihadis are not victims of “Islamophobia” and historic colonialism, then they are victims of some so-called “manipulation” that led them to hate and try to murder infidels. Presumably this “manipulation” was by jihad recruiters whom we are told represent an aberrant form of Islam that actually has nothing to do with genuine Islam. Those who assert this forget or ignore or are unaware of the fact that normative Islam contains exhortations to human rights abuses and subjugation of infidels.
Another report in the Montreal Gazette echoes some of the information in the article below: among the 10 Quebecers who went to join the jihadist opposition in Syria were “recent converts to Islam” and that Boughadou “may have spent time fighting for ISIS.” Witnesses pointed out that “some of the men would pray between turns firing the rifle,” and “one of the young men” was overheard saying “he wished the targets were infidels.”
Ismael Habib is identified as one of the men who trained at the shooting range, and in a conversation authorities found on his computer, Habib stated: “As for me, I love jihad more than everything.”
“Identities of 2 Quebec men who fought in Syria revealed,” by Sonia Desmarais, Chantal Lavigne, Karine Bastien, CBC News, December 8, 2016:
An investigation by Radio-Canada’s Enquête has uncovered the identities of a group of 10 young Quebecers who secretly joined militants in Syria to fight against the Bashar al-Assad regime.
The group was made up of friends who often gathered at a Montreal-area shooting range to practise before seven of them left for the Middle East between the summers of 2012 and 2013, Radio-Canada has learned.
According to witnesses, the young men brought two firearms to the shooting range. One of them was an imitation Soviet semi-automatic carbine, called an SKS, similar to the one used by rebels in Syria.
Some of the young men trained at the shooting range over a period of several months, two to three times a week.
Several of them are believed to have been converts to Islam. Witnesses said that during their practice sessions, they would interrupt their shooting to pray.
Comment triggers police monitoring
Radio-Canada learned that after one of those practices, a client overheard one of the men say he was unhappy the targets weren’t non-believers.
The owners of the centre were notified about that incident and contacted authorities, who launched an investigation.
After that, police were present during the men’s practices. The RCMP started monitoring several of the men with electronic surveillance, following some of them closely — in some cases, day and night.
CBC learned, in collaboration with Enquête, that members of the group were the first wave of Quebecers to leave the country to fight in Syria.
Some of them are believed to have joined the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group that fights against Assad and collaborates with radical Islamists with links to al-Qaeda.
At the time of their departure, the youngest Quebecer was just 17 and the oldest was 26.
They are now being investigated by the RCMP, suspected of terrorist acts linked to the kidnapping and extortion of two Americans in Syria.
Quebecers Wassim Boughadou and Tarek Sakr were two members of that group who, along with one other man, organized the practices at the shooting range….
Neither Boughadou nor Sakr could be reached for comment. They are believed to still be travelling around Turkey, and Syria, and Boughadou may have spent time with ISIS.Other members of the group are back in Quebec and are still under investigation.
Police investigators suspect the group of Montreal men committed terrorist acts linked to the kidnapping and extortion of two Americans in Syria — Theo Padnos and Matthew Schrier.
CBC News has previously reported that following his escape, Schrier uncovered information possibly linking one of his masked captors to a Westmount address in Montreal.
Schrier told CBC News that he noticed the men’s distinct accents and that he and Padnos were convinced that two of their jailers were Canadians.
Schrier said during his imprisonment he was asked to hand over his passwords and social security number. Later, he learned that his credit card was used to buy two Samsung tablets, delivered to an address in Westmount.
According to Radio-Canada’s investigation, the two tablets may have ended up in the hands of Wassim Boughadou….
Ismael Habib is another one of the young men who trained at the shooting range.He left Quebec in 2013, after the kidnapping of the two American hostages.
He is now on trial in Montreal on charges of attempting to leave Canada to commit terrorist acts and of giving false information to obtain a passport.
Witnesses at that trial have testified that Habib confessed to them about having spent time in Syria and wanting to go back. Video presented as court evidence shows Habib whipping a man, who, according to police testimony, Habib said was a Syrian prisoner. The undercover agent said Habib told him the video was shot in Syria.
Since his return to Canada, Habib is believed to have received threats from his former brother-in-law Wassim Boughadou.
Victims of manipulation?
Radio-Canada’s Enquête repeatedly asked the young men who have returned to Quebec for interviews.
All refused, except for one, who wrote the following response:
“I reiterate that I have nothing to do with the crimes that were committed against Schrier and Padnos … I find that it’s unfair to associate my face with this just because of a shooting range where there was no question of joining a terrorist group nor of committing a crime.”
Someone close to one of the 10 men, who agreed to an interview with Radio-Canada on condition of anonymity, said the young men are more victims than anything else.
“They left, I think, with good intentions, to do their duty as Muslims,” he said. “But I think that they were manipulated.”……

cs says
Sure thing, best of intentions.
Angemon says
They can shove the victim narrative in the place they clean with their left hand.
Lynne says
Why did they get back into Canada after visiting Syria? They are certainly not victims and if the police or gov’t doesn’t do something about it, we are in trouble for our future. What were the two Americans doing in Syria?
Jack Winner says
when these pinheads leave a Western country to go fight the JIHAD in the M,E., why stop them? Let them go. BUT, should they not get killed over there, they DO NOT GET BACK IN! Simple way to deal with these toe legged cockroaches….
American Pragmatism says
“They left, I think, with good intentions, to do their duty as Muslims,”
The interviewee states something we all know, Jihad means war against non-believers. Contrast with the usual lies about Jihad:
Interview wirh NFL player Jihad Ward, Mr. Ward says many people in Philadelphia are named Jihad. Furthermore he states we should really look into what Jihad means because it is beautiful.
No Fear says
People called “Jihad”? I suppose there are people called “Mein Kampf” as well.
How unfortunate that so many people read garbage such as Mein Kampf and the Quran and actually believe it.
UNCLE VLADDI says
I’ve met muslims named “Jihad.”
It’s a fairly common muslim name.
PRCS says
“Note how the victimhood narrative is employed in an attempt to exonerate the exposed jihadis. If Islamic jihadis are not victims of “Islamophobia” and historic colonialism, then they are victims of some so-called “manipulation” that led them to hate and try to murder infidels. Presumably this “manipulation” was by jihad recruiters whom we are told represent an aberrant form of Islam that actually has nothing to do with genuine Islam.”
As regurgitated–pretty much every day–by politicians, “journalists” and others who either (a) don’t know what they’re talking about or are (b) constrained/prevented–for whatever purpose–from just “calling it what it is”.
Examples of the deceit include words, terms, phrases and euphemisms such as “radical”, “radicalized”, self-radicalized”, “radical Islam”, “radical Islamic terrorism”, “extremism”, “perversion/twisting/bastardization of Islam”, etc.
And a few real head-scratchers like “radical Islamists” to boot.
SoCalMike says
The American and European political and cultural Left are the real enemy.
Any advantages jihadis enjoy in no small measure come from the Left.
We should just declare war on them now.
Berengaria says
The Quebec Provence GOV sure loves their young Muslim, Returning Jihadists. All protections & GOV services will now be heaped upon this pile of Punks, who escaped death in their chosen profession of (Terrorists).
Quebec is too close to our Border in US, we need to seal off every Province that salutes their crazed Cult Fanatics. Trudeau, the Fop, is the leader of this Islamitized Country, No More Canadians of Quebec should be allowed to cross into US, especially the oafs who come to Florida.
Mac-101 says
If 90+ year old NAZI Concentration Camp Accountants and Medics are being hunted down and Prosecuted, why isn’t every ISIS member that returns to the West hunted down and charged with Crimes against Humanity/War Crimes?
I. Matei says
This article is very biaised. First, they say “young quebeckers” And worst, is that article say they converted to Islam. Their names are arabic, Algerian and Syrian backgrounds. Quebeckers dont talk about killing infidels, loving jihad and other…they have nothing canadian, even less quebecker, except nationalitt by birth. Born here, educated but not integrated. How can this be?
They aren’t radicalised muslim terrorists, but canadian terrorists! Very biaised and sold out media.
mach37 says
Their “duty as Muslims” is to jihad, in Syria or anywhere else in the world that they personally feel needs their Jihad: S 9:14 – “Fight them, and Allah will punish them by your hands, …”
Cretius says
Mohammed and his ‘companions’ posed as ‘refugees’ and as ‘persecuted’ and then, having gotten inside the gates, preyed upon the well-meaning and naive compassion of the Christians and Jews of Yathrib, now Mecca. Mohammed then proceeded to behave atrociously toward his kind-hearted hosts.
UNCLE VLADDI says
This is the typical response of all criminals (muslims, leftists) everywhere: “While we may seem to have free-will choices which risk being mislabeled as criminal intent, in reality there was always some mysterious, unknown and unknowable force behind it all which caused those “choices” – so there are no real crimes nor criminals, because we’re really all only ever helpless victims – of society/mere products of our environments, and of course proudly Submissive slaves of allah! So the only real crime is insulting victims by calling them “criminals” simply because they committed some “crimes” against innocent other VICTIMS – you hateful racist bigots!”
CAPISCE?
😉
UNCLE VLADDI says
PS: There is no islamic religious obligation to travel to foreign, MUSLIM-ruled countries, to commit mass-murder against other muslims there.
THEIR INTENTIONS WERE TO TRAVEL TO COMMIT MASS-MURDERS IN AREAS WHERE THEY KNEW THERE WAS NO RULE OF LAW SO THEY COULD GET AWAY WITH IT.
They conspired to commit mass murder.
That’s all there was to it.
They should be arrested tried convicted and imprisoned for their crimes when they return to civilized lands.