The Chilliwack Progress Thursday, July 4, 2013
www.theprogress.com
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B.C. Muslims feel ‘ill’ as search begins for terror plot answers Jeff Nagel Black Press
Who are they and why did they allegedly want to kill Canada Day revellers in Victoria? That’s the biggest unanswered question after police announced the arrest of a Surrey man and woman on terrorism-related charges in a plot to detonate pressure cooker bombs outside the Legislature July 1. Early attention focused on music purportedly posted online by John Stewart Nuttall, including death-metal rock songs titled “In League With Satan� and “The End of the World.� Meanwhile, Nuttall’s lawyer described him as a convert to Islam and neighbours told reporters the two lived simply and listened to Islamic recordings. Nuttall also has a criminal record and a history as a drug addict. B.C. Muslim Association president Musa Ismail said it dismays Muslims that a would-be act of terrorism right here in B.C. would be associated with their religion.
“It creates this ill feeling in your stomach – here we go again,� he said. Ismail said Nuttall and his co-accused Amanda Marie Korody are not known to be active in local mosques or the B.C. Muslim community. “We don’t know these people, we’ve never seen these people,� he said. “We are proud citizens, we are proud Canadians. These two individuals have nothing to do with Islam, as far as we know.� And while the entire B.C. Muslim community is “absolutely delighted� that Mounties intervened to stop a “potentially huge disaster�, Ismail said the RCMP’s description of the duo as inspired by Al-Qaeda is an “ill-worded reference� that will focus undue attention on Muslims. Al-Qaeda’s beliefs and actions contradict the basic tenets of Islam, Ismail said, and to draw any such connection is unfair. “These are just individuals who copied whatever happened in Boston,� Ismail said,
referring to the Boston Marathon bombers who also used pressure cookers as improvised explosive devices. Security experts say Al-Qaeda and similar groups have sought to foment home-grown terror in North America, in part through the use of websites that instruct those inclined to terrorism on how to make a
bomb – regardless of their motivation. Some have predicted Al-Qaeda would target Canada over its participation in the war in Afghanistan. SFU terrorism expert Joshua Labove said the motive for the alleged plot is unclear, except that the RCMP have ruled out environmental activism.
“Beyond that, it’s anybody’s guess at this point,� he said. “It could be any number of grievances and any number of issues – or none at all.� Regardless of any connections to Islam, Labove said Nuttall and Korody appear “unsophisticated� and undercapitalized.
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RCMP photo of ‘pressure cooker’ devises found.
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