The Enemy Within, Undermining Democracy At Will

"Allah, take care of these Zionist aggressors."

"Allah, take care of the enemies of the people of Gaza."

"Allah, identify them all, then exterminate them. And don't spare any of them."

Video clip, Imam Adil Charkaoui, "Stop the Genocide in Gaza" rally, Montreal

"This is a call for violence against Jews."

"It does nothing to advance peace in the Middle East. Such hate has no place in Quebec, in Canada, nor anywhere."

"It contributes to rising antisemitism and must be condemned."

Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs

"[The speech incited] hate and violence [and law enforcement must take notice]."

"It's not my place to tell [police] how to do their job, but inciting violence is not allowed."

Quebec Premier Francois Legault

Adil Charkaoui's speech has drawn broad condemnation from politicians like Premier François Legault and groups like the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. (Adil Charkaoui/X)

 

Prior to the 9/11 attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, RCMP and CSIS investigators had observed Imam Charkaoui carrying out credit card fraud for the purpose of funding overseas terrorism. An intercepted telephone call in 2000 alerted investigators to the man discussing "seizing control of a plane for aggressive reasons". At least two former members of Charkaoui's Centre Communautaire Islamique de l'Est de Montreal (Montreal East Islamic Community Centre) had been arrested in 2015 as they attempted to reach Syria to join ISIS.

More recently, leaders of Quebec's four major political parties saw fit to call for the controversial imam to be investigated for possible hate crimes in the wake of having delivered a prayer that called for the extermination of "Zionist aggressors" during a pro-Palestinian demonstration that took place in downtown Montreal over the weekend. He addressed thousands of demonstrators gathered at Place des Arts, taking part in a worldwide day of pro-Palestinian protests against the Israel Defense Forces bombing Gaza.

This, in response to the terrorist Hamas barbaric incursion into southern Israel on October 7, which left over 1,400 people dead, and over 240 others abducted, taken into Gaza to be used as hostages. Girls and women had been raped repeatedly, so violently their pelvic bones cracked before they were murdered. Infants were killed by rampaging terrorists who murdered entire families in their homes, lighting others on fire where live inhabitants burned to death. The savage atrocities perpetrated by the Hamas operatives were recorded for posterity, their own videos of the carnage recording their pride of accomplishment.

Imam Charkaoui posted a video clip of his speech in Arabic on social media, bringing the event to the attention of the public. An Arabic language program director at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, was asked to view the video to confirm its translation content and Shokry Gohar reported: "We attest that we did not find the prayer calling for the elimination of all Jewish people (i.e. there was no generalization at all.) In the video clip, the prayer was limited for calling of the elimination of those who are waging war against the people of Gaza."

In 2003 Charkaoui had been arrested under Canada's security certificate system when authorities alleged him to be a terrorist, trained in an Afghanistan camp. The case was dropped in 2009 because authorities were unwilling to reveal their sources. For the past twenty years allegations and police investigations linked him to Islamist groups such as al-Qaeda, the Taliban and Islamic State. And despite all of this he was somehow granted Canadian citizenship. The 2003 charge by Canadian intelligence agencies identifying him as an al-Qaeda sleeper agent saw the security certificate withdrawn for fear intelligence sources would be revealed.

Around 2015 Charkaoui founded the Quebec Collective Against Islamophobia. He testified at a 2015 Quebec National Assembly hearing as an 'expert' on Islamophobia. Reuters, the year before, cited him as an expert on a purported rise in "Anti-Muslim bullying" in the wake of an Islamist terror attack on Parliament Hill.

Two years ago, while Canada evacuated former allies from Afghanistan on the heels of the Taliban takeover, Charkaoui issued social media posts praising the Taliban as religious warriors who chased out foreign "invaders. Men, women and children can finally know liberation", he wrote.

"The only solution is the end of the occupation. [The] Zionist entity [could be destroyed in 24 hours were it not for [traitors] in the Arab world staying their hand]."

"The Zionist entity has lost the battle of public opinion ... it is therefore normal that the Zionist narrative would change."

"In brief, the strategy of the Zionist lobby is to attack -- via biased and amoral journalists -- all those who denounce genocide."

"It [speech] contains no hates or calls to violence; on the contrary, it was a clear condemnation of the violence, war crimes and crimes against humanity executed by the Zionist army of occupation."

"[I did not say the] kill them all [prayer was mistranslated] only that it was directed at] Zionist aggressors committing what I consider to be a genocide."

"The word Jew was never used in my speech, nor in my prayer. It was a prayer for judgement."

Adil Charkaoui

Journée de chasse mémorable. Al hamdoulilah.
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ