In my previous post I told you about the Ethiopian political demonstrations yesterday in Toronto and now I see that Canadian authorities think as many as twenty former refugees to Canada have joined the Jihad in Africa. Just think how boring Canada would be without all this multicultural fun to liven things up.
From the National Post:
TORONTO — About 20 Canadians have travelled to Somalia to join Al-Shabab, a federal official said two weeks after a Toronto man was arrested as he was allegedly leaving to enlist in the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group.
As many as three of the Canadians may have been killed so far, the official added, although such deaths are hard to verify because of the armed conflict and the lack of a diplomatic corps in Somalia.
The figures suggest the scale of Canada’s problem with Al-Shabab recruitment is comparable to that experienced by the United States and Europe, which also have sizable populations of ethnic Somalis.
The Al-Shabab threat was underscored late last month when police arrested Mohamed Hersi at Toronto’s Pearson airport. The RCMP alleged he was on his way to Somalia “to join Al-Shabab and participate in their terrorist activities.”
The 25-year-old former Toronto security guard, who is scheduled to have a bail hearing on Wednesday, was the first Canadian to be charged with terrorism offences related to Al-Shabab, but the group has been actively recruiting members in Canada for at least two years.
So what is the big worry, they are fighting and dying in Africa right?
The RCMP is concerned about the potential for violence in Canada should the Al-Shabab recruits return home with the indoctrination and the weapons training necessary to carry out terrorist attacks. A Canadian Security Intelligence Service report recently obtained by the National Post under the Access to Information Act calls foreign travel an “important part in the radicalization process” of Islamist extremists.
“Those who have jihad experience are often transformed by it and return to their home countries enthused with a zeal to convince others to share their new-found desire to defend Islam,” reads the report, marked Secret. “This combination of enthusiasm, charisma and … tales of jihad can be a potent mix that can be used to draw the vulnerable into violence. The influence that these veterans can have in their communities is significant.”
I’ve written ad nauseam about the American, Canadian and European Somalis who have thumbed their noses at the good life in the West and gone off to Africa to fight the Jihad. Please just use our search function for more such posts.