Toronto's Muslim Community Thwarts Possible Al-Qaeda Terrorist Plot
Two Canadian men were arrested Monday in connection with a terrorist plot that aimed to derail a passenger train in Greater Toronto. And just who was responsible for the arrest? None other than the Muslim community itself.
Ever since 9/11 it has been an unfortunate reality that many people of Middle Eastern descent are viewed with a very critical eye. Whether that scrutiny is deserved or not has been up for debate for some time, but one thing is for certain: the Muslim community of Toronto were the heros on Monday.
It all started with a tip from an imam (leader of a mosque/Muslim community) to local law officials. From there the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) performed an investigation and were eventually able to mount enough evidence to arrest Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, and Raed Jaser, 35.
"We are supportive and thankful that the RCMP did the investigation and was able to apprehend the individuals before anything happened. We are pleased that they took us in and explained what was going on," says Muhammad Robert Heft, a Muslim community leader in Toronto.
It is not believed that the terrorist plot posed any immediate danger to the public, as it was still in its early stages of development. Reports indicate that the two men were tied to Al-Qaeda factions based out of Iran, something that the Iranian government strongly denies.
"While the RCMP believed the accused had the capacity and intent to carry out these criminal acts, there was no imminent threat to the general public, rail employees, train passengers or infrastructure," RCMP Assistant Commissioner James Malizia said at a news conference.
The cooperation between the Muslim community in Toronto and the police officers there represents a bond between organizations usually portrayed as being at odds with each other. The RCMP held a meeting with 22 Muslim leaders to discuss the findings of their investigation and to thank everyone for their contribution in helping Canada avoid a tragedy.
"You might think it's this way," says Heft. "You might try to come up with a conspiracy but I know some real stand-up guys inside the RCMP who took the time to take our community aside and say, 'Hey, look, you guys are part of the greater community, there might be things said about you guys but know that's not what we believe.'"
This is not the first time that Muslims have shown their willingness to stop one of their own from committing terrorist acts in America. In 2006, the FBI had an operative go into the Muslim community of Orange County, CA and attempt to rile up anti-American sentiment among the people. The result? They turned the operative in to the FBI. You can listen to the full story here.
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