CANADIAN SOMALI CONGRESS

WESTERN CANADA
1
An Open Letter to Prime Minister Harper

P. O. Box: 55 Main Station
Edmonton, AB T5J 0C0
780 991 2112 or 403 879 8303
info@cscwc.ca

Monday, September 15, 2014


Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2


Mr. Prime Minister,

I am the head of Canadian Somali Congress of Western Canada and I am writing this letter to
ask you for your support in preventing ISIS sympathizers to recruit our young and vulnerable
Canadians of Somali origin and join this deviant group.

By way of introduction, The Canadian Somali community is the largest African Diaspora
community in Edmonton/Alberta and one of the largest amongst Somali Diaspora
communities in Canada. The CSCWC aims to create an increased capacity for diversity within
the Canadian Somali community by highlighting a number of economic, human rights, civil
liberties and social justice issues.

Based on very solid and reliable sources from our community youth and elders, here in
Canada and Alberta in particular, 16-25 years old Somali youth are recruited to become ISIS
frontline soldiers at an alarming proportion.

Parents of these young men and women are extremely worried about this terrorist group and
the fact that their sympathizers are recruiting our youth to fight for this losing war.
Regrettably, this terror group is using sophisticated and professional network of recruiters
and sympathizers to brainwash these young, innocent and vulnerable group ages and it seems
that they are succeeding of their criminal activities.

These terrorist recruiters and their sympathizers usually lure their prey by offering financial
support to these young men and women who embark on war mission. They cover travel and
other expenses and subsequently indoctrinate them to say that they will be given a key to
paradise if blow themselves in planes, trains and public places, by taking their own lives and
lives of other innocent people.

There is a solid evidence of strong recruitments and radicalization efforts carry out by ISIS
and other extreme terrorist groups taking place in our community. The fact is most of those
young left to fight alongside with ISIS in the Arabian Peninsula dont have resources to even
purchase a ticket let alone travel to Middle East themselves. That means there must be strong

CANADIAN SOMALI CONGRESS
WESTERN CANADA
2
An Open Letter to Prime Minister Harper

P. O. Box: 55 Main Station
Edmonton, AB T5J 0C0
780 991 2112 or 403 879 8303
info@cscwc.ca
influential group present here, Canada, who are taking advantages of your innocent youth
misjudgments.

It is responsibility for each of us to defend our youth and our own lives as well. Truly, this is
not just our fight for our youth but also a fight to save our own existence and the future of our
country, Canada and humanity at large

We, Canadian Somalis, young and old, want to work with Canadian authorities and law
enforcement to fight against these extremists and their wicked ideologies in the Islamic faith.
We cannot sit idly to see these criminals putting our young live at risk and becoming a pawn
for ISIS terrorist.

We do not let this vicious terrorist group and its sympathizers have any kind of foothold in
Canada. We want convince our youth not to join these extremist terrorist group network.

Let me say that the majority of the Somali community in Canada are moderate and
hardworking Muslims. They despise and reject ISIS and other terrorist group ideologies by
using Islam and their extreme views of interpretation of Muslim faith to achieve their
repressive goals. The Somali Community totally condemns all sorts of terror and terror
related activities in here and aboard. We feel terrible and sad to see our peaceful religion
being hijacked by this barbaric and malicious group.

Having said that, we also understand the underline issue and cause of why these youth join
terror groups of ISIS and AlShabab. They are disgruntled and sometimes lost hope. These
young Canadians, who are first generation, are especially vulnerable and are at great risk of
feeling rootless. They often find themselves disenchanted by whom they have integrated into
the Canadian society.

Most of those who joined and died at battlefront were single, have no family or other
responsibilities to leave behind or had low self-esteem and status in their community. Of
course this feeds into itself. These young men, who is socially isolated and have no healthy
relationship with the community at large are at risk and vulnerable for ISIS and AlShabab
recruiters. The Canadian Somali community wants to keep away its young men turning into
ISIS and then Alberta and Canada in general to becoming a pipeline for jihad recruiters.

We are worried that we are loosing the battle to keep another round of young Somali
Canadians turning to or getting solace to this brutal terrorists group, like ISIS. We all still did
not forget the recruitment of AlShabab group in Canada to go and fight its evil campaign in
Somalia. The pathway from much recruitment for these extreme groups remains murky and
difficult to uncover. The latest wave of youth leaving is a chilling replay of our recent history,
where many our young men and women join AlShabab group in Somalia, who officially
affiliated themselves with Al-Qaeda.


CANADIAN SOMALI CONGRESS
WESTERN CANADA
3
An Open Letter to Prime Minister Harper

P. O. Box: 55 Main Station
Edmonton, AB T5J 0C0
780 991 2112 or 403 879 8303
info@cscwc.ca
A simple example of latest ISIS propaganda destined to Somali and Muslim youth in the West
is the blind jihadist pictured fighting alongside ISIS terror group in Syria. He was a Somali
and he urged all Muslim youth to join ISIS by stating that being a disabled person is not an
excuse to not join them. He praised himself that being blind does not stop him from coming
to Syria. He became a poster boy for jihad recruiters worldwide.

We are well aware that ISIS is a very voracious terrorist and will terrorize anyone who stands
against their deceitful interpretation of Islamic doctrine.

I can assure you that the Canadian Somali community will share with our intelligence and
other law enforcements agencies of any information of ISIS recruiter in Alberta and we
notified our youth to help us hunt down these criminals. We will educate our youth of the fact
that ISIS is a criminal organization and anyone joining them is also a crime.

To counter these terrorist elements, we need a collective approach to fight back and get our
local Imams join the fight by educating the youth on real interpretation and meaning of jihad
in Islam. They have to reach out the youth and clarify key points of Islam that prevent in
participating false jihad and extremism. We have to make sure that the youth get a crystal
clear message By joining these extreme group is a mission that will haunt them and they
cannot leave at-will at any time. It is like joining a gang group. Once you are in it there will be
no way back to freedom. Death is your ultimate destiny.

A diversionary activity may be sufficient for someone who is in the early stages of
radicalisation whereas a more focussed and structured one-on-one mentoring programme
may be required for those who are already radicalised.

It is time to implement an alternative strategy that would safeguard our safety and security.
We, therefore, need resources to be counter these terrorist. We need resources to build
resilience strategy that based on cooperation and partnerships. This includes partnerships
between the community and three level of governments (departments and agencies) as well as
engaging with all stakeholders, including NGOs and citizens. Our strategy is detect early and
prevent to protect vulnerable youth from being drawn into terrorism.

I hope that this letter is helpful to you as we turn your attention to this important matter and
I look forward to your replies in timely manner. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you
require additional information regarding this issue by Phone 780-991-2112 or email at
mxaccord@cscwc.ca.

Respectfully,

Mahamad Accord
President and Founder