The Canadian Voice of Islamic State

"[He had been the one to] translate and read the productions and news reports of the Islamic State in the English language."
"This hero did not surrender, did not flee, and did not deliver himself to the [Kurdish] militias, nor did he search for a way out to return to Canada."
"Instead he remained, fought, and waged jihad with his voice and weapon until the last moment."
Al Muhajireen Foundation, ISIL-linked

A man caught fighting with the Islamic State during a firefight with the Kurdish forces in eastern Syria says he's a Canadian from Toronto named Mohammad Abdullah Mohammad.   Kurdish forces video

The Middle East Media Research Institute also known by its acronym, MEMRI, is well known for its surveys of the Internet to capture video events and statements by Islamists all over the world, translating their speeches and comments and interviews into English which the monitor later makes available to a wider, English-speaking audience to familiarize them with terrorist communications, alerting authorities to risks and occurrences and the public to an ongoing threat.

MEMRI recently picked up a statement issued in Arabic praising a Canadian of Ethiopian extraction who had joined Islamic State and whose voice became familiar to the world at large as he narrated various Islamic State videos which were triumphantly released for propaganda purposes to an audience all over the world, fascinated and at the same time horrified by the atrocities mounted by the terrorist group, extolling their degraded enthusiasm over torturing and slaughtering their opponents.

MEMRI had picked up a poster in praise of an Islamic State "hero", published on Sunday by the Al-Muhajireen Foundation, linked to ISIL. A photograph was featured on the poster bearing a strong resemblance to a man who had identified himself, during interrogation by his Kurdish captors a short while ago, as Mohammad Abdullah Mohammad, from Toronto, captured January 13 during a gunfight with the Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of militias supported by the U.S. and dominated by Kurdish fighters.

MEMRI had also translated this complaint, following its posting of the above:

"In their folly they publish publications which serve the Crusaders and the enemies of the (Islamic) State."
"We see what the dogs and donkeys, the (Islamic) State’s enemies, publish regarding the martyrs, the prisoners and their families, whether via photos or video clips."
"Since publishing these kinds of photos serves the interests of the media, they publish for you things which would make children’s hair turn gray. However, there is no benefit in publishing these things. On the contrary, their harm vastly exceeds their benefit."
"The fact that it diminishes the brothers’ morale is enough (to deem these publications harmful). Therefore, we ask these foundations to focus on that which raises morale, and on what benefits media activities, rather than the opposite."
Qadih, a prominent voice in pro-ISIL Telegram groups, likely connected to the ISIL central media department

The Canadian man in question, known as the fighter Abu Ridwan Al-Kanadi has been identified as the masked host and gunman in the notorious ISIL execution video where a group of men identified as captured Syrian soldiers were surrounded by ISIL fighters who ordered them to dig what appeared to be a trench, but which became their graves as the ISIL fighters, including the narrator, gunned the victims down, and they fell into the graves they had themselves dug under duress.

That same masked narrator appeared in a number of other videos, some of which were meant to claim responsibility for a variety of deadly terror attacks in the West, including the November 13, 2015 attacks on the Bataclan Concert Hall and sport arena in Paris.That same voice is heard on multiple video claims for additional ISIL-inspired terrorist attacks.

A frame grabs from a notorious ISIL propaganda video distributed in 2014 which features an English-speaking, masked ISIL soldier narrating and apparently participating in a mass execution of prisoners in Syria. A terrorism expert alleges the man is Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed, a Toronto man captured Sunday by Kurdish forces.

The man behind the voice spoke in a video released by the Kurds who had taken him prisoner: "I was captured by them [Kurdish forces] after attacking one of t heir points and entering into a gun battle with them. After they called me to surender, I surrendered myself", he states. It was in the shrinking areas that remain under ISIL controlin the Middle Euphrates Valley of eastern Syria, close to the Iraq border where this man was taken prisoner.

He joined the jihadi group Jaysh Al Muhajireen Wal-Ansar after he left Canada in 2013, travelling through Turkey to Syria. The group, he said, led by Chechen jihadi Abu Omar Al-Shishani which had sworn allegiance to Islamic State, later moved to Raqqa, the 'capital' of the Islamic State where they remained for a few years before retreating east in response to the presence of coalition forces closing in on Raqqa to liberate it from the terrorist group.

A frame grab from a notorious ISIL propaganda video distributed in 2014 which features an English-speaking, masked ISIL soldier narrating and apparently participating in a mass execution of prisoners in Syria. A terrorism expert alleges the man is Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed, a Toronto man captured Sunday by Kurdish forces.

Securing the Safety of Canadians

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank the public for all of their ongoing support and concern for us in this past year. We are aware that so many people reached out to the police to provide information and we were so grateful for that."
"We would also like to thank the media for all of their attention to Marrisa's case. Lastly, we would like to thank the police for all their hard work and specifically IHIT [Integrated Homicide Investigation Team for their perseverance."
"We hope that justice will now be served and that Marrisa can finally be at peace in heaven."
Shen family, Burnaby, British Columbia

28-year-old Ibrahim Ali has been charged in the first degree murder of Burnaby teen Marrisa Shen, whose body was found in Central Park in July 2017. (Supplied by family)

"When a tragedy like this happens, it can and does impact public opinion and it's unfortunate that entire communities can be white-washed by the horrific alleged behaviour of one individual."
"We have found the vast, vast majority have left all of that behind -- the trauma, the war -- and just want to live a peaceful and productive life in Canada, paying taxes and supporting their kids in school."
Chris Friesen, director, Immigrant Services Society of B.C.

"[Marrisa Shen's case was] one of the biggest, if not the biggest murder investigations that IHIT has had [in terms of hours and effort by officers and the] leading edge [investigave techniques used]."
"The investigative path was extraordinary and I couldn't be more proud."
Eric Stubbs, RCMP assistant commissioner, criminal investigations, B.C.

Marrisa Shen was reported missing by her parents on July 18, 2017 in Burnaby, British Columbia. The city's Central Park was where the child's body was found the next morning. In the investigation police had identified and eventually eliminated over two thousand "persons of interest". It took over a year, but eventually police closed in on a suspect, and named 28-year-old Syrian refugee Ibrahim Ali, accusing and charging him of first-degree murder. Details of what caused Marrisa's death have not been revealed. The arrested man had no criminal record, and it was not revealed how the police were led to identify him as a suspect in the murder.

He had been in Canada for three months at the time of the murder. When he was arrested and charged he had the status of a permanent resident of Canada, was employed, and had family living in Burnaby. Immigration and Refugee Board authorities have been unable to find records of any public proceedings where this man was involved, but it is known he hadn't arrived at a port of entry to claim asylum. He is only one of 3,500 Syrian refugees living in 69 communities in British Columbia. Another Syrian man with the same name, in prison, was confused with the man arrested for the murder.

Over 1,300 residents of the city had been canvassed resulting in over 600 interviews, with more than a thousand hours of video footage. The public responded to a website the police launched in hopes of receiving tips, and that site had 80,000 visits. Although the RCMP's behavioural sciences group had developed a likely criminal profile of the-then unknown killer, no details have been released indicating what led them to identify this man as the murderer of 13-year-old Marrisa. The local Syrian community has expressed sadness and their full support in finding justice for the girl.

When the government of Canada set out to respond to a UN appeal for countries to absorb Syrian refugees, the decision could have been made to rescue women and children, Christians, and Kurds, all of whom are threatened Syrian demographics. Single Muslim men are known to have been a cause of criminal activities and in particular, violence against women where they have settled in great numbers in Germany, for example. Through both government and private auspices, an estimated 40,000 Syrian refugees were brought into Canada.

In Syria's Kurdistan, the Kurdish military have long since arrested and placed in prison Western nationals who had travelled to Syria to join Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Among them is a number of Canadian nationals, deeply involved in ISIS terrorist activities. One in particular, is known to have brutalized and murdered captives of ISIS, and to have been one of their 'voices' for narration of the horrifying videos of atrocities committed by the terrorists.

A screen shot from the ISIS execution video Flames of War, showing the narrator.
SITE Intelligence Group

One of the Muslim Canadians had informed the New York Times podcast Caliphate that he had executed captives while serving as a loyal ISIS operative. That man is known to have since returned to university studies in the Toronto area and has not been charged with any crime. Of the Canadians known to have joined ISIS and returned to Canada, few have been charged, despite that Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale announced that Canada and its allies were collaborating to "assemble evidence from the battlefield that will be usable in courts of law".

That glib assurance aside, thus far no Canadian investigators have yet spoken with Ali, captured by the YPG armed group in northern Syria four months ago, even though he declared he had been interrogated by American, British and Kurdish officials. "From a recruitment perspective, it actually speaks to the people here saying, 'Hey, if that wanker from Mississauga or Hamilton or Calgary can do it, well then so can I'," said Phil Gurski, formerly an analyst with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, who now heads Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting.

Protesters gathered outside the B.C. provincial courthouse protesting the government's refugee screening process; the man accused of killing 13-year-old Marrisa Shen, Ibrahim Ali, 28, is a Syrian refugee.  Photo: Tessa Vikaner, StarMetro