Where Is Our Intelligence?

A Canadian Muslim youth organization; that sounds like an innocuous group geared toward young people identifying as Muslim Canadians. Nothing unusual about that. It's what people who share a religious belief and perhaps also a shared heritage celebrate; that part of their inherited culture. The World Assembly of Muslim Youth, however, turns out to have been deeply involved with other organizations, which assisted in the funding of al-Qaeda operations.

Not so innocent after all. The words 'Canadian' and 'Muslim' suddenly become alienated from one another and representative of a rejection of what is taken for Canadian values, while smearing what Muslims so often insist represents their religious values. Existing for the express purpose of raising funds to benefit al-Qaeda's international operations does not reflect Canadian values. Many Muslims would add it doesn't reflect their values, either.

An audit by Canada Revenue Agency investigators linked the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, Canadian branch, to a Saudi-based group whose purpose it was to finance Islamist terrorism. Definitely un-Canadian.

"Our analysis of the Organization's operations has led the CRA to believe ...[it] was established to support the goals and operations of its parent organization, located in Saudi Arabia, which has been alleged to support terrorism." CRA director-general Cathy Hawara

The World Assembly of Muslim Youth had gained a reputation for doing ordinary things, good things within the Muslim community, like operating Islamic camps and pilgrimages for youth. It was, however, found by the CRA to have failed to maintain adequate books and records to maintain a specific charitable purpose and to distinguish its operations from the Saudi Arabian group.

The Saudi-based World Assembly of Muslim Youth which was alleged to be supporting terrorist activity.

"The audit findings did not reveal any apparent separation between the activities of WAMY (Saudi Arabia) and WAMY, with all related financial and operating positions being made by WAMY (Saudi Arabia). This leads to a reasonable inference that WAMY has little or no independent function; therefore, it cannot be concluded that it is carrying its own charitable activities for which it is registered."

Therefore, its charitable status has been revoked. Now doesn't that make everyone feel really good about the situation? Don't adhere to Canadian rules, and suffer the consequences. Your charitable status is revoked. That's it? A purported organization established to represent Muslim youth by giving them camping opportunities turns out to be a conduit for cash for terror, and that's it?

Feasible enough evidence that a Canadian Muslim group appears to have groomed youth to become complicit with the carnage that has been heaped upon the world by raging-mad jihadists and steps are duly taken - to revoke charitable status. Has the RCMP or CSIS investigated the activities of the group? What did the camps consist of in their programs?

The Benevolence International Fund in Canada was seen to be linked to funding Osama bin Laden's plans to acquire nuclear and chemical weapons, its assets frozen by the government in 2002. But the youth group, with clear links to the the BIF in the U.S. funnelling over $50,000 to it in 2001 has been tracked by the CRA through its audit. And it has been given that slap on the wrist revoking charitable status.

The United Nations Security Council's al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions committee identified these groups for the threat they represented. Why have Canadian authorities been so slack in pursuing the evidence? And having done so, what other actions have been taken to neutralize the influence of these sinister groups within Canada?

Counter-terrorism authorities in the United States claim the WAMY organization there had been founded by bin Laden's nephew. The Canadian branch office was in Mississauga, Ontario, operating directly under the supervision of the U.S. WAMY authority, clearly shown in the group's literature.

Where is our intelligence in all of this? No idea at all about all this covert activity?