Geek
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
CAIRO A Canadian Muslim leader has accused security agencies of sending informants into main mosques in Canadas largest city of Toronto to spy on worshippers, The Toronto Sun reported Monday, November 22.
There are CSIS informants in all the main mosques in the Toronto area, Khaled Mouammar, the national president of the Canadian Arab Federation, said.
He said agents of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) were being sent into mosques to offer cash for information about worshippers.
They are given money and forced to bring back information, Mouammar said, adding that imams, young men and unemployed people are the main target of the informants.
People were interviewed by agents two days after something was said at one mosque.
He said CSIS agents also offer people to rectify their immigration status in return for working as spies.
Mouammar said he received dozens complaints about agents showing up during work hours to interview Muslim women without their husbands and young people pressured by agents to report on their friends or co-workers.
This activity has been going on for some time, Mouammar said.
The amount of activity has increased dramatically in the last few months.
Sending informants into mosques to spy on worshippers has been a thorny issue in Canada and the United States.
Last year, Muslim groups in the US have threatened to boycott the FBI over sending spies into mosques.
Harmful
The CSIS defended sending informants into mosques, saying that the agencys mandate is to advise the government of potential security threats.
CSIS works with various communities in Canada via outreach and liaison programs, CSIS spokesman Tahera Mufti said in a statement.
We receive useful information from all segments of Canadian society.
But the argument was vehemently rejected by Canadian Muslims, warning that the behaviour would harm ties with law enforcement authorities.
People cant talk freely at their mosques and are cautious to speak out, Mouammar said.
People are concerned and worried.
Muslims make around 1.9 percent of Canada's 32.8 million population, and Islam is the number one non-Christian faith in the Roman Catholic country.
A recent survey showed that the overwhelming majority of Muslims are proud to be Canadian, and that they are more educated than the general population.
Spying on Toronto Mosques
http://www.onislam.net/english/news/americas/449824-spying-on-toronto-mosques.html
There are CSIS informants in all the main mosques in the Toronto area, Khaled Mouammar, the national president of the Canadian Arab Federation, said.
He said agents of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) were being sent into mosques to offer cash for information about worshippers.
They are given money and forced to bring back information, Mouammar said, adding that imams, young men and unemployed people are the main target of the informants.
People were interviewed by agents two days after something was said at one mosque.
He said CSIS agents also offer people to rectify their immigration status in return for working as spies.
Mouammar said he received dozens complaints about agents showing up during work hours to interview Muslim women without their husbands and young people pressured by agents to report on their friends or co-workers.
This activity has been going on for some time, Mouammar said.
The amount of activity has increased dramatically in the last few months.
Sending informants into mosques to spy on worshippers has been a thorny issue in Canada and the United States.
Last year, Muslim groups in the US have threatened to boycott the FBI over sending spies into mosques.
Harmful
The CSIS defended sending informants into mosques, saying that the agencys mandate is to advise the government of potential security threats.
CSIS works with various communities in Canada via outreach and liaison programs, CSIS spokesman Tahera Mufti said in a statement.
We receive useful information from all segments of Canadian society.
But the argument was vehemently rejected by Canadian Muslims, warning that the behaviour would harm ties with law enforcement authorities.
People cant talk freely at their mosques and are cautious to speak out, Mouammar said.
People are concerned and worried.
Muslims make around 1.9 percent of Canada's 32.8 million population, and Islam is the number one non-Christian faith in the Roman Catholic country.
A recent survey showed that the overwhelming majority of Muslims are proud to be Canadian, and that they are more educated than the general population.
Spying on Toronto Mosques
http://www.onislam.net/english/news/americas/449824-spying-on-toronto-mosques.html
