MONTREAL: A Canadian imam known for his pacifist sermons warned Friday that militant group IS was actively recruiting in Canada and said one member issued him a death threat.
Syed Soharwardy, founder of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada (ISCC), called on Canadian and Western authorities to intensify the fight against militancy. "Absolutely I am convinced that this recruitment is going on right here in this country, under our noses, in our universities, in our colleges, in the places of worship, in our community," he told CBC public television.
Soharwardy added that a Muslim man from Ottawa who was fighting with IS in Mosul in northern Iraq had sent him a death threat on Facebook. "He was condemning me for condemning ISIS, and he was saying that 'You are a deviant imam and your version of Islam is not the right version,'" Soharwardy said, using another acronym by which IS is known.
The Calgary-based imam said such threats were nothing new. "I get death threats from everybody," he said, adding that "just last month I had a death threat posted on a website." In February, intelligence services said at least 130 Canadians were fighting with IS in Iraq and Syria.
"Three Calgarian young fellows died in Iraq and Syria fighting for ISIS. One of them was well known to me," he said. "These people are brainwashing people here in this country," he added.
Soharwardy also began a 48-hour hunger strike "to create awareness about the dangerous nature of ISIS" and pay homage to American journalist James Foley, who was executed by his captors in a video released Tuesday by IS.
IS declared itself a "caliphate" in late June and has since added a swath of northern Iraq to territory it already held in eastern Syria. The move has prompted a US campaign of air raids backing regional Kurdish and Iraqi forces fighting IS in the country's north.
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@A.R.Taylor: You certainly have a point. This is why rational Muslims must build a counter narrative to the ones that seems to represent Islam.
If moderate Muslims don't stand up and be counted now, the damage done to Islam may not be reversible.
Not surprising,one of my muslim colleague is anti-Modi and pro-Gaza sympathizer and posts lot about them in facebook...He was once contacted by someone who sent him videos about ISIS and need to join them....
Jihadists use Western technology only when it suits their needs
Western countries should facilitate everyone who wants to join ISIS. Once this garbage is out of the country, they should close the door behind them and cancel their passports. Arab countries should reap what they have sown. They are the ones who spread extremism to the world. ISIS's ideology is no different than these oil rich nations, but fortunately for world, this ideology has returned to haunt them. Rich Arab Shiekhs and their governments who have been paying billions to spread this ideology are shivering with fear of ISIS. Now they are begging West to stop ISIS. The greedy West would follow what these fools would order them to do.
The death count in Iraq is approaching 200000. If ISIS is not put out of business they will start exporting terror around the world in an effort to convert everyone to their brand of Islam.
The religion has been usurped by violent lunatics to the point where it can no longer be salvaged. As a result of the irreparable damage, most people I know view all Muslims as closet mental cases that should never be trusted. Is that racist, no. An individual has no control over what they were born, only for what they become. Islam isn't a race, it's a choice and I choose not to trust anyone who has chosen Islam.
Isis is a Muslim problem. Isis is massacring people of every faith in the name Islam on behalf of a so called Islamic government. Muslims need to unify and put aside their petty differences. For godsake people are being massacred and beheaded like lamb in the name of Islam and shia and Sunnis leaders are too busy on distrusting each other and focuses on interest. The rise of Isis and the massacre in Syria is full responsibility of the Muslim world to work together and fix this killing of innocent people. Allah would least expect this from a muslim to stop torture and injustice to anybody. Islam is there for peace. Muslims are doing a terrible job in maintaining peace thus not a good job to living up to our creators expectation from us and what was taught by our messenger peace be upon him.
Certainly a good omen. More Imams across the Muslim World need to come forward and stand up against the likes of ISIS.
I guess what we are waiting for is for the rest of the Muslim leaders worldwide to condemn the Foley beheading. Speak up, people, because otherwise we feel that your silence condones deeds like this.... If you don't distance yourself from acts like this... your silence appears to condone what we label as "radical islam"
These so called Islamists should be taken care of before its too late