Author: Khadija Abdul Qahaar | JUSone News Magazine

On June 2 and June 3, 2006, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service carried out a series of brutal raids in eastern Canada arresting 17 people, five of whom are teenagers, in what was pitched and swallowed by the media as a Canada’s “home grown” Islamic terrorist cell.  Quickly dubbed the “Toronto Seventeen”, authorities alleged that this group of “Muslim extremists” were planning to blow up Canada’s Parliament, the CSIS's headquarters, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and even planned to storm the Canadian parliament and behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper and that by only a stoke of luck, Canada’s security apparatus was able to foil the so-called plot.

The long and the short of the government’s case against Qayyum Jamal, Steven Chand, Shareef Abdelhaleem, Yasim Mohamed, Jahmaal James, Mohammed Dirie, Fahim Ahmad, Asad Ansari, Ahmad Ghany, Zakaria Amara, Amin Durrani, Saad Khalid and five other young offenders who can not be named was, at the time, said to be based on the allegation that Zakaria Amara, age 20, had allegedly ordered three metric tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer to be used to manufacture a bomb capable of carrying out an attack on the scale of the Oklahoma bombing.

From the start, it read like a page out of RCMP Special Forces handbook presented by Canada's leak-dripping Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).  But soon after, the story quickly changed when it was learned that the RCMP used an informant to carry out a “sting” operation and had replaced the real ammonium nitrate fertilizer with “a harmless substance”  No ammonium nitrate, no crime right?  Not so. Regardless of the brutality of the raids, the discrimination and racism, the guilty-before-trial press made hay, the Canadian government is proceeding with the case and for the most part, Canadians breathed easier knowing that the authorities had thwarted an “Al-Qaeda styled” attack just in the nick of time.

That was until last Friday when a so-called “devout Canadian Muslim” by the name of Mubin Shaikh revealed that he was the informant that pulled off the sting. Citing his desire to help his “fellow” Muslims in Canada, Mr. Shaikh revealed that he willfully offered his services to CSIS out of first his love and knowledge of Islam and secondly, through his great desire to help Canada.  Indeed, CSIS hired him to entrap Canadian Muslims and was well paid to do so; Mr. Shiakh earned some $70,000 in the process and claims he is still owned another $300,000 from Canadian taxpayers. It was this self-motivated agent provocateur that was sent to agitate the Muslim youth; it was this 'mole' who proposed buying fertilizer and attacking buildings and who arranged the so-called 'terrorist training' in the woods.  It has now come to light that prior to his work with CSIS, Mr. Shaikh was himself supporting some of the most extremist groups in Canada, was considered a bully, was a vocal advocate for Sharia law, was largely rejected by Muslim Canadians and had himself a dubious and criminal past, raising questions as to his real motives. 

While what is left of the government’s so-called case is unraveling by the minute and the Muslim-turned-mole has the media spotlight for now, the real story for the most part has been overlooked. Behind all of the horrific, dirty and I would dare say illegal acts, a 'terrorist plot' was hatched against seventeen real individuals by the Canadian government. Whether its motives are to keep the anti-terrorist money flowing, for Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper to show his pal George Bush that Canada is 'tough on terror' or to get Canadians to buy into the US Missile defence program is a mute point.  Seventeen Canadians have been entrapped, charged, detained without bail and in some cases abused; their families have lived a nightmare of ridicule and accusation at the hands of an irresponsible press and the Canadian government has shown a reckless disregard for their civil rights. Make no mistake; these individuals have experienced the worst form of treatment as citizens of Canada simply because they are Muslim.

The alleged “kingpin” in the fabricated Toronto Seventeen case is 43 year old Abdul Qayyum Jamal.  While Canadian press didn’t even take the time to get his name right, Mr. Jamal is currently being held without bail at Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton, Ontario pending trial.  His wife Cheryfa, or UmmTayyab, the mother of seven children, the last four with Abdul Qayyum, has not only had to take on the leadership role in the family but has also been the target of sordid character assassination from a blood thirsty press that has painted both her and her husband as the most despicable of human beings and (I dare say it) “terrorists”.  At the same time, fellow Muslims have, for the most part run for cover and who, with this latest information, may just feel shamed for their actions and who should realize clearly that they are merely one day away from crying over their own sons and husbands unless the government of Canada is held responsible for this clear act of abuse and racism.

Sister Cheryfa recently shared her thoughts in an exclusive interview with JUSone News.  Here is her story.

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JUS: Assalamualeikum Wa Rahmatulahi Wa Barakatu.  My dear sister, thank you for agreeing to this interview.  InshaAllah you are in the best of health and strongest of Imaan. Sister, the question is where to start in this horrific story.  I understand that you may not be able to answer all of my questions due to the pending trial of our Brother Abdul Qayyum Jamal but lets us start at the beginning.  Can you please tell our readers the nature of the charges against your husband?

Sister Cheryfa: Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatoh Sister, May Allah bless you for your invaluable service to the Ummah, may He make it easy for you to continue, Ameen.
As per your first question, it is difficult for me to figure this out myself as Abdul Qayyum’s lawyer hasn’t even received the disclosure of his charges yet.  I have seen what the media is saying, but I neither believe the charges nor the so-called evidence they have presented to the media so until we know what he is actually charged with, I can’t really comment on them.

JUS: What were the circumstances that lead to his arrest?

Sister Cheryfa: Well, as far as I know, CSIS has been coming to our door for 2 years or more, always wanting to ask us about our friends and once about a local Imam, Aly Hindi, but we have always told them that we will not answer their questions, if they want to know about a person, go ask that person themselves.  I even told them that we will never talk about anyone, that this is a grave sin in our religion, backbiting.

We knew they were asking our friends and their parents about us, even telling them that Abdul Qayyum was recruiting teens for Jihad, but everyone knew this was untrue, that he was only teaching Tafsir in the mosque and guiding the youth with problems they were experiencing with their parents (like University issues or marriage arguments) or with their wives, etc.  He found many wonderful friends among the young men, and loved to take them to local lectures, go fishing and camping with them, play soccer, tennis, basketball, whatever with them.  My sons love these guys, and have such good role models to look up to, Masha’Allah.  Their wives are friends of mine and we get together quite often to talk about marriage or babies or just hang out with a pot luck dinner.