Stop the crISIS

"If we hear someone expressing sympathy for ISIS, we should tell the authorities. We don't want these young men to hurt themselves or their fellow Canadians."
"We have seen new converts going abroad. Maguire [John Maguire/Abu Anwar al-Canadi] looks intelligent, and he got good grades in university. What makes him think that what he's doing is right? Who would have thought that the proverbial boy next door could become a radical militant? [Hint: ask Salim Mansur, academic, University of Western Ontario]
"But these people have an agenda of harming Canadians and harming our country, so we should be the first to report them."
"Obviously, he is getting ideas from somewhere -- at university or on the Internet. We have to find out where."
Imam Imtiaz Ahmed, leader, Stop the crISIS, imam of the Ahmadiyya Mosque

Ottawa Imam Imtiaz Ahmed, leader of Stop the CrISIS, an initiative to counter the radicalization of Canada’s Muslim youth, says new converts — like former University of Ottawa student John Maguire — appear particularly vulnerable.   Pat McGrath / Ottawa Citizen

"A nation can take reactionary measures to address such pressing issues by bombarding those who instigate bigotry and hatred."
"Prevention is far superior."
"Inclusive compassionate education is much cheaper and far more effective than missiles. It's far more successful than hatred and far more productive than sitting back, allowing extremists to spread their hateful dogma and then reacting to their atrocities."
Imam Mohamad Jebara, Ottawa Mosque

"The threats made against Canada in the name of Islam are absolutely antithetical to the authentic teachings of Islam and have no basis in any religion."
Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at

"There were no clues and no red flags. And for us that is the most concerning thing. He was isolated and not looking for answers in the right places. We (the Muslim community) have a responsibility to make sure we reach out to these isolated individuals."
Adam Gilani, former president, University of Ottawa Muslim Students Association

With all due respects the quality of the observations made by those of he Ahmadiyya Islamic sect as compared to those of the mainstream Muslims ring far truer in the embrace of Canadian values and peace and security. The implied criticisms of the West's attempts to push back at the Islamist jihadists as expressed by the Ottawa Mosque imam whisper "Islamophobia". Whereas the comments of Adam Gilani represent a vast improvement in hitting that particular nail on the head.

The fact appears to be that the Canadian man whose diatribe in a just-released video by the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham has placed Canada on alert yet again, attended University of Ottawa for a very short time, after previously having been a university student in California where, presumably, he received the grounding in Islamist jihad that set him on the course to his chosen destiny as a jihadist with ISIS in Syria. And more latterly, a propagandist for them.

New converts like John Maguire, in Imam Ahmed's estimation appear more vulnerable to the appeal of recruiters to ISIS for some reason. Perhaps that reason lies in the fact that these converts tend to be troubled people to begin with. Not mentally disturbed people in the sense of loss of reason, but mentally unstable people in the sense that they clearly find themselves at a crossroads in their lives, looking for something that will instill meaning where they have found none.

People often turn to religion during times of great personal stress, and in the case of young Canadian men brought up in the religious confines of Christianity or even casually so, in unstable homes, episodes in their lives that become conducive to reaching out for emotional security may lead them to a religion entirely new to them, but promising something elusive that the familiar one did not, perhaps because it is associated with those from whom they have become emotionally estranged.

In searching for connections, a zealous recruiter or even an appealing piece of propaganda might click into place; the promise to find a place for themselves finally, where they will be accepted, valued and become part of something significant. For those already off emotional canter, the promise of serving an omnipotent supernatural being would trump the otherwise-offputting problem that violence against others becomes the tool of serving that being.

In any event, any imam or believer belonging to the Ahmadiyya community sect of Islam, need not fear that from among their ranks anyone with such a distorted view of right and wrong would arise to perplex, confound and instill fear in the minds of those they target, as a revenge fulfilment through the claimed auspices of service to the Almighty.