Fahim Ahmad

Last updated
Fahim Ahmad
SpouseMariya Ahmad
Conviction(s) Pleaded Guilty
Criminal charge 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests
  • Participating in a terrorist group
  • Receiving and providing terrorist training and requirement
  • Intent to harm or kill with explosives
  • Importing a firearm

Fahim Ahmad (born August 10, 1984) is one of 11 people convicted in the 2006 Toronto terrorism case. He was a ringleader in the group. He was 21 years old at the time of arrest, and married with two children. [1]

Contents

Life

Fahim Ahmad was born in Afghanistan and immigrated to Canada at age 10. [2] He attended Meadowvale Secondary School with fellow suspects Saad Khalid and Zakaria Amara. Friends suggest that he made statements supporting the September 11, 2001 attacks. [3]

Ahmad was unemployed [2] and reportedly handed out self-burned CDs of the as-Sahab video detailing the lives of the hijackers in the September 11 attacks at the Salaheddin Islamic Centre in Toronto. [4] [5]

Ahmad had been under surveillance since 2002, when the 17-year old's internet usage demonstrated that he was in contact with "jihadists in Alberta." [6] [7]

In 2004, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) noticed that he had joined Clearguidance.com a year earlier, [8] an "anti-Western" website on which he logged 754 posts. [9]

Among his posts were statements like:

"Parents' anti-jihad/anti-'religiousness' talks are starting to effect [...] come on bros, i need some jihad talks, anything! its like so dead my sources for videos is no more either, [...] i know u guys can hook me up."

"Nowadays, for the most part, parents don't practice their [religion] much to begin with, and when a kid says, 'o mommy, daddy, i want to fight for ALLAH' automatically they say "NO! U WILL GO TO SCHOOL AND HAVE A FUTURE."

When moderator Salmaan Ziauddin resigned from the website, CSIS approached him several times, asking about specific members of the website, including Ahmad and Zakaria Amara. [9] Ahmad's wife, Mariya, was a student at the University of Toronto and went by the online moniker "Zawjatu Faheem" [10]

Terrorist activities

Fahim Ahmad has been described by law enforcement and the police as the primary ringleader in the plot and a spiritual leader among the men. His original "second in command" was Zakaria Amara; however he apparently grew disenchanted with Ahmad’s lack of action and broke away. Ahmad’s group became the Scarborough group and Amara’s became the Mississauga group. The widely reported goal of "beheading politicians" originated with Ahmad’s group. [2]

In March 2005, Americans Ehsanul Sadequee and Syed Haris Ahmed traveled to Toronto together aboard a Greyhound bus, to meet with Ahmad, Jahmaal James and another youth, [11] whom they had spoken to online about their mutual interpretations of Islam and jihad. [5] While the group discussed hypothetical scenarios in which North America was attacked, the government noted there was "no imminent danger".

Police informant Mubin Shaikh later stated that he believed the two Americans had been asking whether they would be able to hide in Canada if they were to carry out attacks in the United States. [5] Shaikh later stated that Ahmad had told him that "if CSIS ever came to my door," he would shoot them, imitating a gun with his fingers. [5]

Ahmad organized a training camp in December 2005 and held a second camp the following spring. He also sought a safe house in northern Ontario to use as a hideout. Ahmad claimed to have ordered a shipment of weaponry from Mexico. [2]

Arrest

Ahmad was arrested on June 2, 2006. [12] He was charged with receiving and providing terrorist training, and intent to harm or kill with explosives. He was represented by attorney Dennis Edney.

Imam Aly Hindy, referring to the four suspects who attended Salaheddin Islamic Centre, said that Ahmad was the only one who might be guilty of a crime, although not terrorism, for his role in renting a car that Ali Dirie and Yasim Mohamed used to smuggle two handguns across the border. [13]

A year and a half after his arrest, Ahmad said he remained "baffled" why the government thought there was a terrorist plot, and was "still waiting for the government to produce a snippet of credible evidence". [14]

Trial and guilty plea

Ahmad was tried simultaneously with Steven Chand and Asad Ansari, and all pleaded not guilty at the beginning of the trial. The jury heard that he had been a ringleader in a group having held two training camps in 2005. The idea of attacking parliament and beheading politicians was attributed to Ahmad. The court also accused him of plotting to attack nuclear stations and power grids. Police agent Mubin Shaikh testified as to the extremist content of the camps and Ahmad's intent and leadership. [12] On May 10, 2010, in mid-trial, jurors learned that Ahmad had changed his plea to guilty. [15]

On October 25, 2010, Ahmad was sentenced to 16 years in prison, with double credit for the four years he had already spent in custody. [16] This was the first terrorism case in Canada to be decided by a jury. [15]

Related Research Articles

<i>Anti-Terrorism Act</i> (Canada) Canadian law extending security measures to combat terrorism

The Canadian Anti-terrorism Act was passed by the Parliament of Canada in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. It received Royal Assent on December 18, 2001, as Bill C-36. The "omnibus bill" extended the powers of government and institutions within the Canadian security establishment to respond to the threat of terrorism.

Mahmoud Es-Sayyid Jaballah is an Egyptian who has been detained in Canada without charge on a "security certificate" since August 2001 due to his association with members of al-Jihad. He has consistently asserted that he does not believe in violence, and just because he phones or visits people, does not mean that he shares their beliefs.

Syed Haris Ahmed is a naturalized American citizen born in Pakistan who was convicted on June 9, 2009, of conspiring to provide material support to terrorism in the United States and abroad. His trial was a bench trial. He was sentenced in 2009 to 13 years in prison, to be followed by 30 years of supervised release. At the time of his arrest, he was an undergraduate at the Georgia Institute of Technology, majoring in mechanical engineering.

The 2006 Ontario terrorism case is the plotting of a series of attacks against targets in Southern Ontario, Canada, and the June 2, 2006 counter-terrorism raids in and around the Greater Toronto Area that resulted in the arrest of 14 adults and 4 youths . These individuals have been characterized as having been inspired by al-Qaeda.

Zakaria Amara is one of 17 people detained on June 2 and 3, 2006, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests. He was convicted for planning to launch terrorist attacks against targets in Southern Ontario and was believed to be one of the ringleaders. A dual Canadian-Jordanian citizen at the time of his arrest, Amara was stripped of his Canadian citizenship on September 26, 2015. However, on June 19, 2017, his Canadian citizenship was automatically restored following the passage of Bill C-6.

Saad Khalid was one of 17 people detained and arrested on June 2 and June 3, 2006, in the Greater Toronto Area in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests.

Abdul Qayyum Jamal is a Canadian janitor and school bus driver who was labelled the ringleader of an alleged terrorist plot in Toronto in June 2006 after a Canadian Member of Parliament reported his virulent criticism of Canadian troops in Afghanistan to police. He was held for nearly two years protesting his innocence before all charges against him were dropped.

Muhammad Shareef Abdelhaleem, a database engineer, is one of 17 people initially arrested in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests. He is alleged to have plotted coordinated bombing attacks against targets in southern Ontario.

Steven Vikash Chand is one of 17 people arrested in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests. He and his conspirators are alleged to have plotted coordinated bombing attacks against targets in southern Ontario.

Mohammed Ali Dirie was one of 17 people connected to arrests on June 2 and June 3, 2006, in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests. He was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in prison. He was released in October 2011, left Canada in 2012, and reportedly died in 2013 fighting in the Syrian Civil War, although his death has not been conclusively verified.

Jahmaal James is one of 17 people detained on June 2 and June 3, 2006, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests. He and the others arrested are alleged to have plotted coordinated bombing attacks against targets in southern Ontario.

Among the 18 arrests during the 2006 Toronto terrorism case were four youths whose names could not be published because of the provisions of Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act. One of them had the charges against him dropped nine months after his arrest and two others have been released on bail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mubin Shaikh</span>

Mubin Shaikh is a Canadian former security intelligence and counter terrorism operative, currently a Professor of Public Safety at Seneca College and also Counter Extremism Specialist for the U.S.-based NGO, Parents for Peace.

Anser Farooq is a Canadian defence attorney based in Mississauga, Ontario, who gained notability defending suspects during the 2006 Ontario terrorism plot.

Saeed Sobrahatollah Muhammad Rasoul and Masoud Rasoul are Kurdistani-Canadian brothers who are alleged members of the terrorist group Ansar al-Islam. Former worshippers at Salaheddin Mosque, it is alleged they may have been recruited to fight in Iraq by Hassan Farhat. They went missing in northern Iraq in 2003.

Hassan Farhat is an Iraqi Imam who founded Salaheddin Mosque in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salaheddin Islamic Centre</span> Mosque in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Salaheddin Islamic Centre is a mosque located in the Scarborough district of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada noted for its outspoken Imam Aly Hindy.

Unfair Dealing is an independent 2008 documentary film produced by Canadian broadcaster David Weingarten. The film was originally marketed to an online audience.

Ehsanul "Shifa" Sadequee is an American who was arrested by the FBI on four terrorism charges, convicted, and sentenced to 17 years in prison, to be followed by 30 years of supervised release.

A prominent Egyptian-Canadian Muslim, Shaher Elsohemy was paid $4 million by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for his role in infiltrating the alleged terrorist plot in the 2006 Toronto terrorism case; although some have claimed he acted as an agent provocateur, their claim failed in court.

References

  1. ↑ "Globe and Mail 12 June 2006". The Globe and Mail . Archived from the original on 14 June 2006. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "TORONTO 18 - thestar.com". Archived from the original on 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
  3. ↑ CBC.ca 16 June 2006
  4. ↑ Macleans.ca 19 June 2006 [ permanent dead link ]
  5. 1 2 3 4 PBS, Frontline, Canada: The Cell Next Door, January 30, 2007
  6. ↑ CBC.ca fifth estate
  7. ↑ PBS.org
  8. ↑ Globe and Mail 19 August 2006 [ permanent dead link ]
  9. 1 2 "Globe and Mail 19 August 2006". The Globe and Mail . Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  10. ↑ "Globe and Mail 29 June 2006". The Globe and Mail . Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  11. ↑ CBC, Among the Believers; Timeline
  12. 1 2 Teotonio, Isabel. Toronto man planned widespread terror attacks, jury hears. Toronto Star, April 12, 2010. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  13. ↑ Thomas, Vanessa and Make Becker. Buffalo News, A portrait of terrorist suspects, June 5, 2006
  14. ↑ Walkom, Thomas. Toronto Star, "Confusion, despair from terror suspect isolated in Don Jail", November 8, 2007
  15. 1 2 Teotonio, Isabel. Toronto 18 ringleader pleads guilty in terror trial. Toronto Star, May 10, 2010. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  16. ↑ Fahim Ahmad Sentenced For Leading Canadian Terrorism Plot, The Huffington Post, October 25, 2010. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.