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Globe and Mail Update – July 28, 2006
Canadian Intelligence has spies in many mosques
BY OMAR EL AKKAD
TORONTO — Canada's police and intelligence agencies, through their use of paid Muslim informants, effectively have spies in virtually every major mosque in Toronto, according to well-connected members of the Muslim community.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service does not deny operating inside Muslim religious institutions, but insists that it hires informants to report on people, not places.
Those knowledgeable about mosques and the tactics of security services say it often amounts to the same thing.
“If they're following certain people, an imam for example, and that imam is spending a lot of time at the mosque, then [the informant] is also spending a lot of time at the mosque,” even though they're not specifically instructed to, said Yahya Fadalla, a Hamilton-based imam. Besides his religious education, Mr. Fadalla has a doctorate in computer science with a specialization in cyberterrorism and information warfare.
Spying within the Muslim community appears to be far more widespread than previously thought. In fact, one prominent Toronto imam claims Fahim Ahmad, who has been characterized as a leader among the 17 individuals charged with terror-related offences in June, was himself once offered the opportunity to become a paid informant.
The issue has taken on greater prominence since Mubin Shaikh, a CSIS and RCMP informant, publicly disclosed he played an integral part in that investigation. Mr. Shaikh said it's a given that intelligence authorities have many informants within the community. “If [intelligence authorities] want to do anything, it has to be done through the Muslims,” he said in an interview. “Of course they're going to have eyes and ears everywhere.”
Aly Hindy — the controversial imam of the Salaheddin Islamic Centre in Scarborough — said he has long been monitored by spies. “I feel sorry for them, so sometimes I try to give them something [in my speeches],” he joked.
Mr. Fadalla said most informants aren't asked to infiltrate groups in the same way Mr. Shaikh did, but instead just keep their eyes and ears open for suspicious activity. It is unclear how much informants are paid for their work, although Mr. Hindy said some make upwards of $3,000 a month. Mr. Shaikh has claimed CSIS still owes him $300,000 for his work.
Some Muslims worry the quality of information provided to the spy agency may be compromised by an informant's desire for income. Others complain that tipoffs may be based less on fact than personal vendettas. “People know that if I don't like you, I can say you're involved in terror activity and they have to investigate,” said Abdul Hai Patel, head of the Canadian Islamic Council of Imams.
Mr. Patel recalls an incident last year where a Muslim woman tried to divorce her husband. The proceedings turned acrimonious when the husband would not grant the woman a divorce — he called the RCMP to claim the woman's brother was involved in terrorist activity. The police found no evidence to back that claim.
The use of informants within the community, although a long-standing tactic, became a particularly sensitive issue in the few weeks since Mr. Shaikh publicly disclosed he worked for the RCMP and CSIS. While some within the community applaud his work, others counter that his involvement may constitute entrapment.
After conducting numerous interviews to explain his role in the investigation, Mr. Shaikh has largely shied away from the news media spotlight in the past week….
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