Toronto 18 Muhammad Shareef Abdelhaleem : Full Parole Denied

"I'm an intimidating individual and I'm very loud. Everyone here will testify to that. I tend to express myself vocally and vociferously."

"I'm a very loud person. I always cut people off, I vocally impose myself. These are things I have to work on."

:I hope the board does not insist or base their decision on whether for the next 30 years of my life I will ever get angry -- of course I'll get angry. It's a human thing to be angry at certain things."

"I'm being completely honest. You should appreciate the honesty."

Muhammad Shareef Abdelhaleem, 46, charged and convicted of terrorism in 2011

Muhammad Shareef Abdelhaleem, who was a key architect of the Toronto 18 terrorism plot. Photo by Postmedia files

Abdelhaleem obviously thought his 'honesty' would be disarming, would gain him a measure of respect as he addressed the panel comprised of two parole board members in his customary loud, harsh voice. A man prone to outbursts of anger, aware of that, and 'working on it'. He has been on day parole in a halfway house in Montreal for over 14 months. In 2011 he was given a life sentence with no chance to seek parole for a decade. That's the Canadian justice system's version of imprisonment for a life sentence in recognition of a crite of high treason and intent to terrorize and indulge in mass murder.

He and the other 17 arrested when he was in 2006, members of a group named the 'Toronto 18' of which he was a major conspirator, planned to detonate powerful truck bombs at the Toronto Stock Exchange, at a Canadian military base, and at Canada's spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Along with additional plans to storm Parliament and behead the prime minister. Canada's very own, home-grown Islamist terrorists. 

Before all this occurred, Abdelhaleem, the 'key architect' of the terrorism plot, was a high-paid computer engineer with a side-interest in day-trading as an investor. His commitment to Islamist jihad twinned with his passion for acquiring money. So why bomb the Toronto stock exchange, what would that have in common with a revenge jihad attack? He thought he could profit financially from the chaos that would ensue.

That was merely a secondary benefit, not his prime motivation, he assured the parole board. It was the political element that motivated him, wanting to bring the penalty of justice to those harming the interests of global Islam. He felt that after spending over a year on day parole, he should qualify for full parole to enable him to live a normal life. 

More recently, with the Russian attack on Ukraine, he felt outraged that the West was opening wide to accepting Ukrainian refugees, valuing their lives over those of Syrian refugees. Ukrainians are not Muslim, Syrians are. Another discriminatory signal that Muslim lives are worthless. His mind failed to grasp the significance of an Islamic regime having been the cause of the death of hundreds of thousands of Muslims in Syria and his belief that Western democracies have the obligation to rescue Muslims from Muslim rule.

The fact that brutal sectarian violence, pitting two sects of the same faith against one another seems not to bother this man; only his perception that non-Muslim democracies have an obligation to rescue Muslims from their Muslim rulers. Managing to overlook the acceptance of refugee Afghans and Syrians that did take place, among others fleeing violence in Muslim countries. When he mentioned his anger over the issue to  his anti-violent extremism counsellors they responded "maybe they're afraid of letting in terrorists" reminding him of his own plans to commit mass violence in Canada.

When a Board member asked Abdelhaleem his thoughts regarding the potential loss of life and damage to infrastructure his terror group planned to mount had the plot succeeded, his response was somewhat less than reassuring: 

"There's no doubt that this would have been devastating to certain families should they have lost loved ones."

"Somebody must have woken up the morning of my arrest, some worker in one of those buildings, and thought, 'Wait a minute, I could have died today'. It must have scared the living bejesus out of him. I can empathize with that."

"But I don't get to the point of tears about it because at the end of the day it did not occur."

No, it did not come to fruition, but only because the terrorist plan in its wide scope and potential had been infiltrated and apprehended, not because the group hadn't intended to fully carry out their carefully planned atrocities. So does that sound like someone who fully appreciates the consequences of his intended actions? And in so doing feels the least bit of remorse? Strangely enough his parole officer and a halfway house advisor recommended his release on full parole.

 

Describing him as a 'conformist' meticulous with rules, polite and responsible. One who participates in deradicalization counselling, enrolled with the intention to begin college in the fall. Two restrictions were proposed by his parole officer; not to associate with anyone involved in crime or radicalized activity and to have no position of leadership in a spiritual or religious activity or group. The Parole Board reached their decision after several days of deep thought. 

"It is difficult to believe and disturbing to think that he would accept a role in a plot that had the potential to cause significant amounts of death and destruction simply as a means to gain acceptance of a group of individuals."

Correctional Service of Canada

The psychologist who worked with Abdelhaleem reached the professional conclusion that remorse was 'incomplete'. For his part, at the hearing, Abdelhaleem found the psychological report wanting. That the psychologist had a personal dislike for him because he tended to argue back when told he had a “parasitic” relationship with his family, who send him an allowance to help support him. "Venal and vindictive", was how the psychologist was labelled by Abdelhaleem. Neatly encapsulating precisely what his own personality obviously is.

Shareef Abdelhaleem watches as a Crown attorney questions a witness during a Toronto 18 trial in 2010. Photo by Pam Davies/File

"It was the opinion of the Board that the seriousness of your actions and their potentially devastating nature called for caution."

"The Board concludes that you will present an undue risk to society and your release will not contribute to the protection of society by facilitating your reintegration into society as a law-abiding citizen on full parole."

"After a few years of a hedonistic lifestyle including the use of alcohol, drugs and extravagant spending, you decided to reconnect with your faith [Islam]. You attended a mosque more assiduously. You eventually met radicalized people and engaged in activities that led to the current offences,"

"Several psychological risk assessments are included in your file, the most recent being from October 2020. In her report, the psychologist identifies narcissistic and obsessive-compulsive personality traits. She notes that you are vulnerable to substance abuse and have anxiety and depressive effects, but do not meet criteria for having a clear-cut problem."

"Your family members support you in your social reintegration, and you maintain employment."

"However, you are still struggling with adjustments to the community and work has to be done in developing skills to reach full autonomy. More specifically, you need to work in the areas of self-esteem, sense of belonging, fear of displeasing others, and a need for approval."

"You do not demonstrate any radical thinking on any subjects, but you appear to be sensitive to injustice in the world."

"You generally did well in incarceration and since your return to the community. You have shown your capacity to respect rules as well as your special conditions and have been able to work with your caseworkers in what appears to be an open and transparent manner. There is no doubt for the Board that you have made progress up to now."

Parole Board of Canada

Anatomy of an al-Qaeda Convert Rejecting ISIL

"When it came to the targets the thinking was that one of them was economic and one of them was security and the other one was military."

"I was aware that people were going to be hurt but it seemed at the time that I was so focused on the symbolism of the act. Because I'm not a violent person it is easier to think of a bomb where you don't see the victims versus a close-up attack where you do physically have an intimate or a close contact with the victims."

"At some point I contemplated, unfortunately adding shrapnel to increase the casualty rate. So that's disgusting."

"The plan to construct three truck bombs was a little bit too complicated. Near the end, the technical issues became too much."

"Every time there was an obstacle, I kept doubling down and I kept going forward. I did have the intent. I would have tried something."

"I look at prison as a blessing and, in a way, I see the life sentence as a blessing too, because going to prison was the best of all possible outcomes, given how radicalized I was at the time and how determined I was to go through with it."

"Prison was very good for me because it was the only way I could be saved."

Zakaria Amara, 35, one of 18 arrested June 2, 2006 in a homegrown terrorist ring, Toronto

Zakaria Amara, one of the "Toronto 18" who were arrested in a shocking anti-terrorism probe in 2006. Photo by Reuters/File

Just as well that Zakaria Amara is so grateful that arrest, trial and sentencing took him to prison, avoiding martyrdom and Paradise. He and  his fellow conspirators were apprehended, with the help of an 'inside' informer who benefited handsomely for his undercover work, revealing a plot to wreak havoc in Canada in revenge for the Canadian military dispatched as part of NATO in a U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan to root out Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda operation, sheltered by the Taliban.

Zakaria Amara and his Islamist colleagues, the infamous 'Toronto 18' -- whose plans included blowing up truck bombs, storming Parliament to behead the prime minister, blowing up the CBC, and Canada's premier intelligence-gathering service CSIS, among other targets -- were quite ambitious in their conspiratorial organization to teach Canada and Canadians that Islamism is not to be trifled with. The greater the number of victims, particularly those in high places, the more resonant their message.

 

In gratitude for the unexpected attention on the part of Canadian Muslims living the good life in Canada, Canadian justice handed Amara a life sentence for his thwarted ambitions. As the leader of the terrorist plot, he has decided, it would seem, that his happiness at being incarcerated is now dwindling and he would at this juncture, prefer being released from prison after having served 15 years of his life-in-prison sentence. After all, he points out, he is remorseful.

While al-Qaeda's agenda was appealing to him and his cohorts, including the spectacular victory over the World Trade Towers, the Pentagon, striking terror into the hearts of Americans, he explained to a hearing of the Parole Board of Canada that ensuing news of the atrocities committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant gave  him pause for second thought. Did he really want to be aligned with these lunatic psychopaths? Re-evaluating his direction to reject his radical beliefs, he felt himself prepared for release from prison.

His verbal passion in appealing to the Board for due consideration and trust in his newfound sincerity rejecting violent Islamism had him in tears, thanking his supporters in the Muslim community; his family, his daughter, nine months old at the time her father was arrested. For three hours he addressed the Board, acquainting them with his transformation from jihadist to thoughtful and sober mature man intent on occupying a place in Canadian society he had so impetuously forsaken as a young and impressionable fervent Islamist.

"In my heart", he explained, he had praised Osama bin Laden, a loyalty he maintained while in prison. From prison he maintained contact with members of the notorious Canadian-Egyptian Khadr family whose paterfamilias had been a financial supporter of bin Laden and close friend in their mutual campaign against the West. The Parole Board hearing took place at the medium security Warkworth Institution in Ontario, where he spoke of being overwhelmed by his ambition to succeed in the terrorist plot he headed up.

He spoke of his determination to forge ahead with the many-pronged attack on Canadian institutions and government figures. Had the plot not been revealed to police, had he not been arrested, he would have persisted until reaching a successful conclusion. Convicted in 2010, he was designated to the Special Handling Unit in Canada's highest security prison in Quebec. There he mingled with other Islamist extremists, and there his sentiments and values grew in strength, flourishing in a setting that set him on a course to eventually seek completion of his Islamist mission.

And then came Islamic State, his attention fixated on the group's relentless gathering of territory in Syria and Iraq to form their Caliphate, addressing the world with sophisticated public relations material of gruesomely violent exploits in capturing journalists and other Western figures to suffer horrendous torture and death for the camera. The barbarous celebration of atrocities committed by psychopathic Islamist murderers became a recruiting tool bringing in enthusiastic ISIL volunteers for jihad from the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.

He, on the other hand, was so revulsed by ISIL in contrast to his championing of al-Qaeda, that his Islamist faith faltered. "A lot of things have changed", he assured the hearing. The actions of ISIL had him re-evaluating his ideology. ISIL "came on the scene and were doing all kinds of horrific things", that he "couldn't stomach". Obviously, he said, there was something wrong with his world view and since, he has been "building a new house" for himself. Cut ties with radicals with whom he no longer has anything in common ideologically.

Given parole, he would stay at a halfway house in downtown Toronto. Granted parole, he would undergo a deradicalization program, complete post-secondary education. He wanted to become a professional social worker. Just as it seems that all Muslim extremists aspire to be engineers, those who reform themselves from jihadist sentiments appear to aspire to become social workers. As though to expunge from their subconscious any possible further twinges urging toward jihad by turning themselves toward public good, in support of the social weal.

On his own initiative, good soul that he is, he self-started his rehabilitation with sporadic and informal conversations with imams, conversations with institutional parole officers, while reading extensively and speaking with 'reputable members of the community'. All, all to no avail. Wasted, his effort in writing a 102 page-letter to the Board, setting out his thoughts and experiences and aspirations for the future, as a completely reformed good Canadian citizen. 

For despite his earnest demeanor and pleading stance, his conscientious relaying of the truth, his sincere pledge to become a responsible member of society, his admirable ambition to join the cadre of social workers who aid those in society whom ill fortune has struck, the Parole Board denied him the parole he sought, following deliberation of an hour's duration. One Parole Board member complained that the board was unable to adequately assess the progress Amara had made while imprisoned, given a lack of objective programming.

In the end, the consensus was that those at the hearing felt the risk to public safety remained, a risk that was unmanageable without reliable, adequate further intervention to steer this self-reformed former terrorist beyond his first choice, of punishing Canada for its role in ousting bin Laden from Afghanistan, and for its part in the Western-based coalition to lead Afghanistan toward peace and security, helping to fend off the constant Taliban resurgences. 

 

All now to no avail, as the Taliban is set to resume its former violently brutal Islamist command of Afghanistan. A metaphor for rescuing Amara from his passionate love affair with jihad.