The Will Finds a Way

Oh Canada, you received many warnings. You were told many times what will happen to those who fight against the Islamic State. Today is the day you experience what it's like to be targeted for your belief inshallah [God willing]."
"There's a fire burning in the chests of every Muslim and this fire can be cooled only by the spilling of your blood."
"Your war on Islam is not the kind of crime we allow ourselves to dismiss, to forgive or forget. You will pay for everything you ever brought against us."
Aaron Driver aka Harun Abdurahman, Islamic State faithful

Driver's page contained pro-ISIS messages

"The mosque knew of his views, and chose not to turn a blind eye to the problem of violent extremism. We engaged him with the hope of changing his views on Islam and to show him the true, peaceful nature of our religion."
"We constantly monitored his activities within the mosque and did our best to keep the authorities engaged with our activities."
London Muslim Mosque statement

"There was an explosion inside the taxi and the taxi driver sustained minor injuries. He then exited the vehicle and there was a tactical response by our ERT [emergency response team], which resulted in the use of deadly force and the suspect was killed."
RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson

"Our worst nightmare has come true."
"As sad and shocked as I am, it doesn't surprise me that it has come to this. Aaron was a good kid who went down a dark path and couldn't find the light again."
Wayne Driver, Aaron Driver's father

"The executor of the attack targeting police in Canada was a soldier of the Islamic State and carried out the operation in response to calls to target coalition countries."
Amaq, ISIL propaganda arm statement

Another 'troubled' youth. Another convert to Islam. He was unable to find what he was looking for in Christianity and looked elsewhere. A mere 24 years of age when he was killed in a self-propelled violent stand-off with police. As happens so frequently when these issues come up and there is a puzzled response from authorities who cannot explain to themselves or to the public why a seemingly normal young man raised in an average community would choose to commit violent attacks in the name of Islam, he is described as 'troubled'.

Just as when one commits a vicious crime and the criminal justice system will entertain exceptions at variance with those accused of dire crimes knowing full well what they are doing, in the instance of those claiming mental disturbance an enlightened society becomes a forgiving society and extends the offer of treatment, not punishment for the condition. In the case of those who are born into Islam or convert to Islam and cleave to the Islamic obligation to jihad, they are viewed as 'troubled'.

In interviews he took part in with an academic investigator, Amarnath Amarasingam, co-director of a study of western foreign fighters at the University of Waterloo, who makes it his business to interact with people like Harun Abdurahman/Aaron Driver, the young man's response to Mr. Amarasingam's questions are lucid and well-considered. They simply reach the wrong conclusions in the sense that the terrorist-at-heart developed a viral hatred for those he claims slander Islam and prey on Muslims.

He, and his ilk, are not troubled so much as they are troubling for society. Their dedication to what is politely termed 'radical' Islam and the resulting eagerness to take up the universal Salafist cause of dealing mercilessly with infidels, Jews and heretics as befits true Muslims is indeed troubling to society in collateral damage; lives lost and injured and the cost associated with intelligence agencies and police in tracking and monitoring their activities.

Afflicted societies impose new restrictions leading to a sense of safety, on themselves. And then there is the issue of imprisoning terrorists, providing them in the process of incarceration the opportunity to proselytize to induction into terrorism among the receptive incarcerants who may or may not be Muslim. But the presence of Muslims in Canadian prisons does happen to be disproportional to their general numbers in society; petty crime, drug and arms trafficking, gang activity appear to appeal to young Muslim men, who may indeed be 'troubled'.

This young man's fascination with Islamic State and its extremist violent ideology which in fact faithfully reflects Islamic values, just as they are respected and reflected in societies such as those in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, Somalia and Libya, Algeria and Turkey among others, leads to the surrender of personal agency to Islam. And while the RCMP was tracking this young man's activities, and he had been placed under a terrorism peace bond as someone whose potential to be a disruptive threat, he never ceased being a threat.

The bond he was under forbade him from the kinds of activities he excelled at in promulgating the terrorist message of Islam. He was ordered to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and to receive religious counselling in reflection of bail conditions. He didn't bother with the orders because they were inconvenient to his lifestyle, values and purpose. He continued his vital work of persuading others online of their duty-bound obligations to Islamist jihad.

And he built explosives though one of the conditions was that he not possess firearms or explosives. He produced a martyr's video preparatory to mounting an explosive attack in a crowded venue.  But as RCMP Deputy Commissioner Mike Cabana explained: "Our ability to monitor people 24 hours a day, seven days a week simply does not exist". It was the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation that contacted the RCMP to alert them of the imminent nature of an attack by Aaron Driver.

Which led the RCMP to mount its take-down of the jihadist.

Aaron Driver died in an altercation with police in Strathroy, Ont., on Wednesday night. RCMP believe he was planning a terrorist attack. (Facebook)