TORONTO — Islamic extremism is a “significant problem” in Canada, and it is the non-violent extremists who are the most dangerous, said Tom Quiggin, a member of the Terrorism and Security Experts of Canada Network who was at Beth Tikvah Synagogue in Toronto Oct. 28 to address the issue of home-grown terror.
“Non-violent extremists are the people who bring you the concept of Islamophobia, who put a chill on the issue of multiculturalism. Those are the people undermining the foundation of your house while they’re talking to you,” Quiggin said.
“One day your house will collapse and you’ll look around and say, ‘How did that happen?’ You realize it wasn’t the guy with the bomb who got you, it was the guy with the ideology that undermined your culture and faith.”
The event, moderated by David Nitkin, president of EthicScan Canada, a consulting and educational centre on ethical practices, and co-hosted by Beth Tikvah’s Rabbi Jarrod Grover, attracted about 100 people who were concerned about the impact Islamic extremism could have on Canadian society if left unchecked.
Although many people are expressing shock about the recent attacks in Ottawa and Quebec on Canadian soldiers, Quiggin said these attacks were a long time coming.
The “Toronto 18,” a group of Canadians who planned to detonate truck bombs in Toronto and kidnap the prime minister in an Al Qaeda-inspired plot in 2006, “was the first indicator and warning that something was wrong in Canada, that folks who live here are advocating blowing up stuff in Canada,” he said.
“Now we are at a point where we are seeing that violent extremism is not only being advocated here, but being practised here. Unfortunately, I think this is a trend we’re looking at.”
He said while there have been a number of terrorist plots in Canada over the years that were thwarted by national security, the non-violent extremism, which is creating a “conveyer belt system” to radicalize Canadian youth is not being examined as hard as it should be.
“In Canada, there has been a conveyer belt system developed where young people are brought in, their heads are filled with silly thoughts, and they are put on this conveyer belt to radicalization and eventually to extremism. Most of the folks doing this in Canada are not stupid enough to put a gun in their hands and tell them to go. But what they do is… they create this idea that you should be a martyr, you should sacrifice your life for whatever cause.”
The good news, Quiggin said, is that the Canadian government has begun to address the issue of non-violent extremists who have been operating charities that fund terrorist organizations.
For example, the International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy (IRFAN), which was established to fund Hamas and raised about $14 million between 2004 and 2009, lost its charitable status in 2011.
“CIBC closed their accounts in 2013, the RCMP raided their premises this year, and the government declared them a terrorist entity,” Quiggin said.
The Islamic Society of North America Development Foundation, another organization built by the Muslim Brotherhood, lost its charitable status in 2013, for funding terrorism.
However, Quiggin warned, the response to Islamic extremism needs to be tougher.
“We have a whole bunch of fuzzy-headed, muddle-brained academics, journalists and so-called intelligentsia who say that we have to accept the fact that all cultures are equal… I don’t think people who advocate female genital mutilation is a good thing. I think there is something wrong with their culture and I believe it is inferior to ours,” Quiggin said.
“We have to challenge the narrative that says we must respect all cultures. The hell we do. If someone advocates mutilating their nine-year-old daughter, sorry, I’m against it… We need to start calling those people out and say what they’re advocating is bad. It is against the charter, against the Constitution.”
He said in his experience with members of the Muslim community, they are also disturbed by the current trends, but feel helpless to stop it.
“By and large, most of them hate this stuff. They just put their hands over their ears and wish it would go away because most of them left over there to come over here to get away from that crap,” Quiggin said.
“They’re afraid of speaking out in their own community for fear of getting their windows smashed, or being shunned by the community, and they are also afraid of the fact that the Canadian government won’t pick it up and follow them… They want a champion. They are looking for someone to lead them and say we have got to get away from these idiots.”