HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS ARTICLE
Imam Munir el-Kassem was appointed Chaplain of the London Police Service on April 15, 2011.
In 2008 and 2009, Munir el-Kassem was identified as a leader of a substructure of the Libyan World Islamic Call Society on the organization’s website. This organization was involved in the financing of terrorism.
In a plea agreement with a U.S. Court in 2004, WICS leader Abdurahman M. Alamoudi admitted that the organization was financing the terrorist organization Hamas and that he received $340,000 from Libyan leader Gaddafi to orchestrate an assassination.
In 2011, the charity status of WICS-Canada was revoked after the Canada Revenue Agency concluded that it had been involved in the financing of a terrorist organization.
Munir el-Kassem is associated with many other pro-jihad organizations.
Bottom left – Imam Munir el-Kassem is pictured in the London Link after he was appointed Chaplain of the London Police Service on April 15, 2011.
Bottom right – On Friday April 5, 2013, London Police Chief Bradley Duncan visited the Islamic Centre of Southwest Ontario “in a display of solidarity” with Imam Munir el-Kassem (standing in the background) four days after it was revealed that two Muslim Londoners were among the terrorists who attacked a gas plant in Algeria.
After CBC News revealed on April 1st that two al-Qaeda-linked-terrorists involved in the attack on a gas plant in Algeria were from London (Ontario), Imam Munir el-Kassem gave numerous interviews to spread the idea that the radicalization of these young men could not have resulted from what was being taught at his mosque and at the other Muslim institutions in London.
On Friday April 5th, London Police Chief Bradley Duncan skipped convocation at the Ontario Police College and instead visited the Islamic Centre of Southwest Ontario (ICSO) “in a display of solidarity” with its Imam Munir el-Kassem.
Apart from being Imam at the ICSO mosque since its opening in 1994, Munir el-Kassem is also a Chaplain of the London Police Service. He was appointed by Chief Duncan in 2011 (London Police Service 2011 Annual Report – London Link).
In his April 2nd press conference, Imam el-Kassem told the media that “terrorism has no religious identity” (05:33), that “faith and terrorism is an oxymoron. They do not exist together” (11:47), etc. El-Kassem and his allies portray those who link Islamic doctrine and terrorism as racists or islamophobes (this latter term having been coined by a US-based Muslim Brotherhood think-tank to silence the opponents of political Islam).
Numerous reports produced by Western police and intelligence agencies contradict Imam Munir el-Kassem and conclude that Islamic institutions can play important roles in the radicalization of young Muslims. In a recent CSIS report, mosques, jails and travel abroad are listed among the venues where the radicalization of young Sunni Muslims takes place.
A 2007 NYPD report (p. 68) described the Muslim Students Association run by the Muslim Brotherhood in most colleges and universities in North America as “incubators” for radicalizing young Muslims. Munir el-Kassem is the Chaplain of the MSA chapter at the University of Western Ontario in London.
London Link – May 2011
Munir el-Kassem – A leader of the terror-funding Libyan World Islamic Call Society (WICS)
Imam Munir el-Kassem’s assertion that no links can be established between Muslim doctrine and terrorism is misleading given the fact that, until recently, as a religious leader himself, he played a key role in a Libyan organization whose interfaith activities served to cover the financing of terrorism and the bribing of politicians. In 2008 and 2009, el-Kassem was identified as a member of a WICS’ substructure on the organization’s website and as its representative for Canada.
In the early seventies, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi established the World Islamic Call Society (WICS) to further the Islamization of non-Muslim countries.
In a new book, Gaddafi’s former foreign minister, Abdel Rahman Shalgam, alleges that “the dictator used the Society as a back channel to secretly agitate against Christian heads of state in Africa and support Muslim groups seeking power. He accuses the Society’s former secretary general, Mohammad Ahmed Al Sharif, of personally delivering cash to African leaders to finance election campaigns.”
“From the start, Gaddafi wanted the WICS to be one of the foreign arms affiliated to him personally,” added Shalgam in his Arabic-language book Men around Gaddafi.
Tom Heneghan (REUTERS – March 29, 2012): Report about Muammar Gaddafi’s World Islamic Call Society
In 2004, US-based Muslim Brotherhood leader “Abdurahman M. Alamoudi, admitted in (a) plea agreement with a U.S. court that he was ordered by Gadhafi to help orchestrate (an) assassination and was provided by the Libyan leader with $340,000 toward that end.” Alamoudi also admitted that WICS’ religious leaders transferred funds to Hamas on behalf of the Libyan government. (Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad, Matthew Levitt, Dennis Ross, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2006, p. 187)
WICS’ Canadian branch had its charitable status revoked in 2011 after the Canada Revenue Agency found out that it transferred money to a radical group involved in a coup in Trinidad and Tobago in 1990 and in a plot to bomb New York Kennedy Airport in 2007.
In the most recent financial report submitted by WICS-Canada to the Canada Revenue Agency, Assem Fadel was listed as its president and Youssef Mankai as a director. A man by the name Assem Fadel is currently the treasurer of the Islamic Centre of Southwest Ontario and another one by the name of Yussef Mankal (instead of Youssef Mankai) are currently on ICSO’s board. ICSO is the mosque where Munir el-Kassem is Imam since 1994. This is also the mosque that was visited by London Police Chief Duncan “in a display of solidarity” at the beginning of April 2013. In its October 2010 audit that led to the revocation of WICS-Canada’s charitable status for its financing of terrorism, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) examined the financial links between Assem Fadel and Libya.
In its audit of WICS, the CRA also quotes a pledge (p. 3) addressed by the participants at WICS’ 5th Conference to the Revolution’s Leader (Muammar Gaddafi):
The Islamic Call Conference, in its fifth session, puts all the resources of the Muslim people at your disposal to reinforce your Jihad so that the Islamic fronts may be integrated to support the right and subdue falsehood.
We pledge to you that we shall stand firmly until victory is achieved; shall sacrifice until martyrdom; and shall act relentlessly in order to establish the strength of our Ummah (Muslim community).
WICS’ activities served to “establish the strength of (the) Ummah” in non-Muslim countries, to further their Islamization. In 2006, Gaddafi told a large crowd of supporters in Mali that “the fifty million Muslims of Europe will turn it into a Muslim continent within a few decades” and that Europe and America “should agree to become Islamic in the course of time, or else declare war on the Muslims.” (Video – Transcript)
According to WICS’ documents, Munir el-Kassem showed his gratitude to Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2008 and, according to Maclean’s counsel in a case heard by the B.C. Human Rights Commission, he praised him in 2000.
Pursuing Gaddafi’s goal to transform Europe and North America into Muslim continents, WICS not only funded terrorist organizations engaged in military jihad but also numerous Muslim associations engaged in dawa (proselytism / ideological jihad). Among them, the Edmonton-based Arabian Moslem Association received $1.5 million in 1981 for the construction of a mosque and the Quebec City-based Centre culturel islamique (p. 35) received an undetermined amount from the Libyan embassy in Ottawa for the organization of activities promoting Islam in 2004.
Although Muammar Gaddafi was killed after Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual guide Youssef Qaradawi issued a fatwa calling for his death, it must be stressed that the Muslim Brotherhood and Gaddafi’s regime collaborated for many years.
In a 1991 speech in Algeria that was the base for his book Priorities of the Islamic Movement (Chapter 4 – Section The Religious [Islamic Christian] Dialogue), Qaradawi praised Libya’s involvement in interfaith activities. In various texts, Qaradawi explains that interreligious dialogue is a powerful tool to convert non-Muslims, to discourage Christian leaders from supporting fellow Christians involved in conflicts with Muslims and to rally Christians against Israel.
A reportwritten for the US Department of the Army recalls that after Gaddafi fought the Muslim Brothers on Libyan soil in the eighties, he offered them financial support if they were to openly spread their ideology in the West:
Although the brotherhood’s activities in Libya were banned in the mid-1980s, it was present in the country but maintained a low profile. In 1983 a member of the brotherhood was executed in Tripoli, and in 1986 a group of brotherhood adherents was arrested after the murder of a high-ranking political official in Benghazi. Qadhafi has challenged the brotherhood to establish itself openly in non-Muslim countries and has promised its leaders that, if it does, he will support its activities.
Gaddafi kept his word. Barely one week before Qaradawi called for his death, Gaddafi made an important donation to Mustafa Ceric, one of Qaradawi’s closest associates in Europe. Ceric was then the mufti of Bosnia.
GMBDR (February 28, 2011): Bosnian Grand Mufti Visited Libya In Mid-February; Accepted Donation From Qadhafi
IPT News (March 22, 2011): CAIR Officials Sought Gaddafi Money
Point de Bascule (February 28, 2011): The Muslim Brotherhood and Gaddafi were partners not too long ago
Munir el-Kassem – Leader of two London mosques involved in money transfers to Hamas’ fund collectors in Canada
According to information available on the Canada Revenue Agency’s website, Munir el-Kassem was on the board of the London Moslem Mosque in 2000. That year, the mosque transferred $8,000 (Section H) to the Jerusalem Fund for Human Services (JFHS). According to a detailed document produced by the Canada Revenue Agency, JFHS was a fund collector for the terrorist organization Hamas in Canada.
More than likely, the Jerusalem Fund was not even a qualified donee for the London Moslem Mosque since it was not a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency.
Hamas is the branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza. Its leaders frequently advocate for an Islamic conquest of the West (2008 – 2011 – 2012). Locally, Hamas vows to wage jihad against Israel until it is wiped off the map. At the beginning of Hamas’ charter, a quote by Muslim Brotherhood’s founder Hassan al-Banna advocates for the destruction of Israel: “Israel will exist, and will continue to exist, until Islam abolishes it, as it abolished that which was before it.”
In 2002, Hamas was added to a list of terror groups by the Canadian government.
The Islamic Centre of Southwest Ontario (ICSO) has transferred funds to another Hamas’ fund collector. As the imam of ICSO, Munir el-Kassem has an important leadership role but is not on the board of the mosque. ICSO transferred $850 to IRFAN-Canada in 2006 and $2,800 in 2007. From 2002 to 2009, the London Moslem Mosque transferred $215,024 to IRFAN.
In April 2011, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) revoked IRFAN’s charity status after having concluded that for the 2005-2009 period alone, it transferred $14.6 million to Hamas (GMBDR – Toronto Star).
Munir el-Kassem – An important role in the Muslim Brotherhood infrastructure in Canada
In its Ramadan 2012 issue, the London Link magazine announced that Munir el-Kassem, Jamal Badawi and the Muslim Association of Canada are involved in the project of building a third mosque in London.
The Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) is the main Muslim Brotherhood organization in the country. On its own website, it states that its “modern roots can be traced to the Islamic revival of the early twentieth century, culminating in the movement of the Muslim Brotherhood … MAC adopts and strives to implement Islam … as understood in its contemporary context by the late Imam, Hassan Albanna (1906-1949), the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood.”
In his 50-point manifesto, Hassan al-Banna urged his supporters to abolish political parties and replace them by a single party system. He favoured the modification of laws so that they conform to sharia and called for the multiplication of associations dedicated to promoting the spirit of jihad amongst the youth.
In his essay On Jihad, al-Banna explained that “it’s an obligation for us (Muslims) to fight against them (the infidels) after inviting them (to join Islam), even if they do not fight against us”. (Five Tracts, Translated by Charles Wendell, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1978, p. 147)
In his essay To what Do We Invite Humanity?, Hassan al-Banna referred to Adolf Hitler as a role model for Muslims looking for “success and fortune”.
Besides his involvement in the construction of another MAC-run mosque in London, Munir el-Kassem has been involved in other important MAC-led projects elsewhere in Canada. In October 2012, he was invited by MAC leader Chiheb Battikh to speak on the Montreal South Shore at the inaugural fundraising event held for a new MAC substructure, the Canadian Institute of Islamic Civilization (CIIC). CIIC’s mission is to further the Islamization of Canada and to determine the most appropriate tactics to implement locally the general decisions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood leadership. CIIC’s leader Chiheb Battikh is now in jail, awaiting his trial for the kidnapping of a child for ransom in December 2012.
Although Jamal Badawi is based in Halifax, he is involved in the construction of a mosque in London because his leadership role in the Muslim Brotherhood goes way beyond Nova Scotia, Canada and even North America. Badawi is a member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), an organization led by the Muslim Brotherhood spiritual guide Youssef Qaradawi. GMBDR has posted numerous articles about Badawi’s activities around the world.
In a 2004 text, Badawi praised the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna, by stating that “more than any other individual, he has epitomised twentieth century Islamic thought and ideology.”
Already in 1991, Badawi was identified as a Muslim Brotherhood leader in the U.S. in an internal memorandum of the organization (Point 20).
This 1991 memorandum was seized by police and produced for evidentiary purposes in the 2007-2008 Holy Land Foundation trials that led to the conviction of all Muslim Brotherhood leaders charged of terrorism financing (GMBDR).
This document clearly sums up the Muslim Brotherhood’s mission in North America:
Point 4.4 The Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood) must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and “sabotaging” its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions… It is a Muslim’s destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes.
This third mosque in London (Ontario) will radicalize its attendees as much as the other ones controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood in London and elsewhere. In Hassan al-Banna’s mind, the mosque must be the “center of the Islamic revolution.” This mission statement for Muslim Brotherhood-controlled mosques was summarized by Hassan al-Banna’s disciple Ibrahim Abu-Rabi (1956-2011) in his 1996 essay about the Intellectual origins of Islamic resurgence in the modern Arab world(pp. 76-77). Until his sudden death, Abu-Rabi was the Chair in Islamic Studies at the University of Alberta and a scholar involved in Muslim Brotherhood activities throughout North America.
Other radical positions taken by Munir el-Kassem that are incompatible with his Chaplain position in the London Police Service
Undated
In his text Worship: The Islamic Perspective, Munir el-Kassem praised Muslim Brotherhood leader Ismail Faruqi as “one of the great Muslim scholars of modern times.”
Ismail Faruqi is the founder of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), an important Muslim Brotherhood think-tank based in Virginia. A manual of sharia endorsed by his organization justifies resorting to deception and lies to further the implementation of sharia.
In a lecture given in Edmonton in 1980, Faruqi stated that Muslim immigrants have two duties in North America: calling non-Muslims to Islam and transforming the society so that it conforms to Islamic standards.
Point de Bascule (October 4, 2012): Edmonton / May 1980 – Muslim Brotherhood leader Ismail Faruqi highlighted the role of Muslim immigration in the Islamization of North America
February 26-28, 2000
As a leader of WICS, Munir el-Kassem collaborated with many other Islamists. One of them was Ekrima Sabri, the former Mufti of Jerusalem. Sabri took part in numerous activities sponsored by Gaddafi’s Libya. In February 2000, he was in Chicago with Munir el-Kassem in a meeting organized by the World Islamic People’s Leadership (WIPL), another organization sponsored by Libya closely linked with WICS. Nation of Islam’s leader Louis Farrakhan had a leadership role in the WIPL.
Ekrima Sabri actively promotes suicide operations. In 2000, he stated: “The younger the martyr, the greater and the more I respect him.” (MEMRI)
In 2009, Hamas fund-collector IRFAN-Canada invited Sabri to speak at a fundraising event held in a Muslim Association of Canada’s building on Laurentien Boulevard in Montreal. Like el-Kassem, Alamoudi, Mahmoud Ayoub and others, Sabri is an Islamist leader who was involved simultaneously with Gaddafi’s organizations and Muslim Brotherhood entities.
July 6-8, 2001
Munir el-Kassem endorses the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), an organization linked with the Pakistani Jamaat-e-Islami that advocates the destruction of all non-Islamic States and Governments anywhere on the face of the earth.
On August 1, 2003, the Mississauga News announced that Munir el-Kassem was scheduled to speak at an event organized by ICNA and MAC in Mississauga. British convert Yvonne Ridley and Toronto Star columnist Haroon Siddiqui were also scheduled to address ICNA’s supporters
In 2001, Munir el-Kassem was one of the main speakers at ICNA’s 26th annual convention in Cleveland (Ohio).
Steven Emerson of the Investigative Project on Terrorism reports that, as part of a fundraising dinner, Munir el-Kassem called on the crowd to make a donation of $10,000 each to ICNA because “We need to accumulate enough with actions to deserve to go home safely. And we know what I mean by home, not the home of this duniya (this world), but the home that we all yearn for: the home of al-Akhira (the next world). If you really want to have that you should do jihad with your wealth.” (IPT News – Google Books)
ICNA is a close ally of the Muslim Brotherhood organizations in North America. While most MB leaders are Arabs, ICNA’s supporters are mostly from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
Steven Emerson mentions in his book American Jihad: The Terrorists Living among us (p. 209) that the 2000 ICNA convention featured JEI leader Qazi Hussain Ahmad. Emerson describes the Jamaat-e-Islami as “the most prominent radical Islamic movement in Pakistan and its members openly support(ed) the Taliban governement and learn the ways of jihad.”
When Canada-based Human Concern International’s leader Ahmed Said Khadr (Omar’s father) was arrested for his activities with al-Qaeda in 1996, the Globe and Mail reported that it was JEI which provided him a lawyer.
In Canada, ICNA actively promotes Syed Maududi’s ideas. He founded the Jamaat-e-Islami in 1941. On April 1, 2012, Sun News broadcast a report about the subversive books sold by ICNA at its Toronto bookstore. The Investigative Project and GMBDR have also extensively covered the radical literature spread by ICNA.
In order to reach a larger audience, ICNA has also set up the Young Muslims website that contains a large selection of Islamist books. It is an easily accessible source of radicalization for North American Muslim Students Associations. The MSA at the University of Western Ontario (where Munir el-Kassem is Chaplain) links to the Young Muslims website.
January 4-5, 2003
Munir el-Kassem spoke at the Second Conference of the International Committee for the Support of the Final Prophet that was sponsored by the Saudi terror-funding World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) in Toronto. The theme of the conference was Reviving the Islamic Spirit (RIS).
Militant Islam Monitor (August 17, 2004): The Committee for the Support of the Final Prophet Conference is sponsored by WAMY
What was initially the theme of a WAMY-sponsored conference was institutionalized and became the Reviving the Islamic Spirit (RIS) conventions as we know them today. These conventions are organized on a yearly basis in Toronto by Muslim Brotherhood entities at Christmas time.
Like RIS 2003, RIS 2012 was sponsored by a terror-funding organization. In 2012, IRFAN was the sponsor. As mentioned previously, IRFAN-Canada had its charitable status revoked in 2011 after the Canada Revenue Agency discovered that it transferred millions of dollars to Hamas (GMBDR – Toronto Star).
Point de Bascule: Reviving the Islamic Spirit (RIS) Convention – Dossier (2003-2012)
In 2012, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) revoked WAMY’s charitable status because it shared a common director, contact information, and a bank account with another organization (Benevolence International Foundation) linked to al-Qaeda. WAMY transferred funds to this al-Qaeda affiliate in 2001.
According to information available on the CRA website, WAMY also funded numerous Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated organizations, including the Muslim Association of Canada ($9,815 in 2002), the Dar al-Iman Institute in Montreal ($21,890 in 2001), al-Taqwa Islamic school in London ($15,000 in 2002 and $11,000 in 2003), the London Moslem Mosque ($500 in 2003), etc.
January 4-5, 2003 – Toronto
Munir el-Kassem speaker at the Second Conference of the International Committee for the Support of the Final Prophet
Theme: Reviving the Islamic Spirit
Cases of pro-jihad Chaplains who were dismissed
Kifah Mustapha – Chaplain / Illinois State Police (ISP)
Kifah Mustapha became the ISP’s first Muslim chaplain in late 2009. In his application, he failed to disclose his work as fundraiser for the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The foundation was convicted a year earlier of illegally routing millions of dollars to Hamas. The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) reported on Mustapha’s documented connections to the Holy Land Foundation in January 2010.
After the Illinois State Police was notified of IPT’s report, a second background check resulted in Mustapha’s invitation to be a chaplain, being rescinded. He sued, claiming violations of his 1st and 14th Amendment rights.
Investigative Project on Terrorism (March 12, 2013): Illinois Police: Terror Ties Cost Imam Chaplain Post
Zul-Qarnain Abdu-Shahid – Chaplain / New York City Department of Correction
While a Muslim chaplain with the New York City Department of Correction, Zul-Qarnain Abdu-Shahid was arrested on February 2, 2010 for carrying scissors and utility blades into a Manhattan jail. Authorities said Imam Zul-Qarnain Abdu-Shahid, who served 14 years in prison for murder before being appointed Chaplain, was caught with the scissors and the blades used in box cutters in his duffle bag when he arrived at the Manhattan Detention Complex to begin his shift.
Abdu-Shahid, 58, was arrested and charged with four counts of promoting prison contraband in the first degree – a felony which carries a maximum seven-year prison term.
Investigative Project on Terrorism (February 4, 2010): Imam’s Contraband Arrest Puts Focus on Islamists in Prisons
Abdullah Faaruuq – Chaplain / Northeastern University (Boston)
Northeastern University appears to have removed Abdullah Faaruuq from his position as the school’s Muslim chaplain after a new video showed him supporting “convicted Islamist terrorists, and [as] a religious leader who is inciting Boston Muslims against the U.S government.”
The university has not issued any statement about Farruuq, but his Northeastern web page has been taken down (Web Archive – Taken down page).
Farruuq spoke at a December 8, 2011 fundraiser for Aafia Siddiqui, also known as “Lady al-Qaida.” Siddiqui, an MIT-educated neuroscientist, was carrying notes about mass casualty attacks when Afghan officials arrested her in 2008 and handed her over to American officials. During questioning, she grabbed an Army officer’s M-4 rifle and fired it at the Americans.
“What a brave woman she is,” Faaruuq said of Siddiqui. “What a brave woman she continues to be, and how much her bravery and her faith and her belief warrants our support at this time.” Had his mother been in Siddiqui’s shoes, “she would have took (sic) her West Indian machete and cut her way through those kafirs [unbelievers].”
Siddiqui was convicted in 2010 and is serving an 86-year prison sentence.
Faaruuq got to know Siddiqui when she attended his mosque in Boston. Faaruuq also served as a Muslim chaplain in Massachusetts prisons, and the two worked together to distribute Jihadist literature.
Investigative Project on Terrorism (September 5, 2012): Radical Imam May be Out at Northeastern
The 2007 detention of Munir el-Kassem at the U.S. border discussed at the House of Commons
PARLIAMENT OF CANADA – HANSARD (JUNE 8, 2007)
Mr. Glen Pearson (London North Centre, LPC)
Mr. Speaker, yesterday we learned from the media that Dr. Munir El-Kassem, a well-respected professor of dentistry and community leader in London, Ontario, was detained, fingerprinted and subjected to four hours of indignities at the border. He was asked if he personally knew Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and if he loved God or Allah.
When will these indignities end? I have known this good man for years. He is beyond reproach in our community and deserves better.
Will the Minister of Foreign Affairs seek an apology from the U.S. administration, undertake an investigation of this incident, and discover why news of this indignity took a month to see the light of day?
Hon. Peter MacKay (Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, CPC)
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question. As the hon. member has pointed out, this was a very, very unfortunate incident.
Our society is built on a foundation of respect for cultural diversity, religious and ethnic differences and certainly tolerance. Followers of all religion should be accorded dignity and respect, and in matters of border security, we expect Canadian citizens to be treated with respect and in a manner that does not target them on the basis of any faith or cultural background.
We will take this matter up with the U.S. authorities. I have done so in the initial stages. With respect to the timing of this, I would appreciate any information the hon. member has and I would like to hear directly from Dr. El-Kassem so that we can sort out this very, very unfortunate incident.
Excerpts of Munir el-Kassem’s April 2nd press conference
http://video.stcatharinesstandard.ca/search/all/source/windsor-this-week/raw-video-press-conference-at-london-mosque/2272916593001/page/6
Excerpts of a press conference held by Munir el-Kassem at the London Moslem Mosque in London (Ontario)
April 2, 2013
04:45 This morning, it was mentioned on one of the radio stations that London is a hotbed for extremism and for terrorist acts and I would like to say that actions speak for themselves. We have roots in this community that extend for almost a hundred years now and the Muslim community has been a member of this society at large. Our actions speak for themselves.
05:33 Terrorism has no religious identity. Terrorism exists all over the world.
06:16 The fact that they appear to be from London, Ontario, has no bearing on the city, on the community itself.
06:45 The London Moslem Mosque as well as the Islamic Centre (of Soutwest Ontario) as well as all the other places of worship in London do not welcome any radical views. Everybody comes here to pray and to engage in intellectual discussions that have interfaith dialogue as part of their spirit.
11:47 When something like this happened, that puts a religious identity on a terrorist attack, we should all come together to denounce that and say that faith and terrorism is an oxymoron. They do not exist together.
14:15 CSIS and the RCMP determined through research that terrorism is a very complex phenomenon and that it is not due to religious association or association with any thought system.
Further reading
Point de Bascule: File Munir el-Kassem
Point de Bascule: File Islamic Centre of Southwest Ontario
Point de Bascule: File London Moslem Mosque