Mubin Shaikh
Encyclopedia
Mubin Shaikh was one of two informant
s for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
(CSIS) in the 2006 Toronto Terrorism case
, and moved on to become a paid Royal Canadian Mounted Police
agent. He has expressed his dismay at many Canadians who were skeptical of the allegations of a legitimate terrorist plot.
Despite allegations of entrapment
, in March 2009 judge John Sproat vindicated Shaikh of any wrongdoing and that the groups plans were already underway prior to Shaikh's involvement with the group. The full text of Judge Sproat's ruling can be found at http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2008/2008canlii51935/2008canlii51935.html
At the end of the trial in June 2010, a comprehensive presentation of previously restricted information including court exhibits entered as evidence was put forward by Isabel Teotonio of the Toronto Star. It can be accessed at: http://www3.thestar.com/static/toronto18/index.html
in Toronto, to India
n parents who had emigrated from the United Kingdom
.
Shaikh attended Grade 7 and 8 at Kane Senior Public School and joined the Royal Canadian Army Cadets
at the age of 13. He then attended York Memorial Collegiate, where he briefly fought the urge to travel to Chechnya
or Bosnia
to participate in jihad
.
In May 1995, he volunteered with Tablighi Jamaat
and traveled to the United States, Pakistan, India and Britain with the group.
He met his future wife at York Collegiate and they married in December 1998 after her conversion to Islam. They honeymoon
ed in Mecca
and Medina
, and have four children.
A Sunni Muslim, Shaikh is also a member of the Liberal Party of Canada
.
through the mosque in 2003, Shaikh became a volunteer with the Masjid al-Noor's arbitration process.In 2005, he began actively campaigning for recognition of Sharia law as a voluntary method of dispute-resolution in Ontario's Muslim community. When public outcry condemned the practice, Shaikh believed that racism and "hate speech" played a large role.
He is also a noted activist and public speaker, speaking on a 2004 panel for the Millennium Scholarship Foundation at Parliament Hill in Ottawa and the International Law Student Conference of November 2004. He has appeared as a panel speaker at the University of Toronto
and McGill University
.
He has travelled extensively throughout the world and lived in Syria
from 2002 through 2004.
Upon his return to Canada from Syria in 2004, he heard of Mohammad Khawaja's arrest. Khawaja and Shaikh knew each other from childhood and subsequent meetings with CSIS convinced him to work as an informant, meanwhile continuing to volunteer at Masjid el-Noor where he had worked for at least ten years.
On November 27, 2005 - Shaikh met with members of the terrorist plot at an information meeting at the Taj Banquet Hall regarding the controversial use of security certificates in the country, and began his "infiltration" of the group. He was allegedly told that a training trip to Orillia had been planned, and asked Shaikh if he would train them in guerilla tactics and teach them how to use a gun, since he mentioned his military training and later showed them his Possession and Acquisition License. He later went "shopping" for firearms with one of the suspects, Zakaria Amara, leader of the bomb plot and who eventually plead guilty in 2009. Amara was given a life sentence.
In January 2007, he was paid $297,000 by the RCMP as further compensation for his role prior to the youth preliminary hearings - the first legal proceeding in this case. It would be followed by four others in three years.
Shaikh also testified at the adult preliminary hearings that took place in September 2007. It was halted by the Prosecution mid-way and proceeded to trial in 2010.
In the summer of 2008, Shaikh testified at the trial of the 1 young offender, without having been paid the additional compensation he was seeking. The youth was found guilty but released on time served.
In 2009 an 'abuse of process' motion was heard where the issue of entrapment was discussed at length. Judge Sproat took into consideration all allegations and concluded that no such entrapment took place and that Shaikh 'exhibited a great number of the hallmarks of a truthful and credible witness'.
Shaikh testified yet again at the adult trial by jury of ringleader Fahim Ahmad, Asad Ansari and Steven Chand in April 2010 - the fifth such legal proceeding. Fahim Ahmed plead guilty mid-way through this trial and has since been sentenced to 16 years.
Shaikh's testimony in this landmark prosecution ended May 2010.
A comprehensive and detailed account of the case was done by Isabel Teotonio of the Toronto Star and is available at http://www3.thestar.com/static/toronto18/index.html
For his part, Shaikh claims CSIS has made efforts to remove him from the list and as proof, travelled to Dublin, Ireland as a speaker for Google Idea's, "Summit Against violent Extremism" shortly after the alleged listing.
See: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1014887--searching-for-a-radical-solution-to-islamic-extremism
His profile from the Summit is available here: http://www.againstviolentextremism.org/network#mubin-shaikh
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
s for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...
(CSIS) in the 2006 Toronto Terrorism case
2006 Toronto terrorism case
The 2006 Ontario terrorism case refers to the plotting of a series of attacks against targets in Southern Ontario, Canada, and the June 2, 2006, counter-terrorism raids in and around the Greater Toronto Area that resulted in the arrest of 18 people found to be Al-Qaeda members of an Islamic...
, and moved on to become a paid Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
agent. He has expressed his dismay at many Canadians who were skeptical of the allegations of a legitimate terrorist plot.
Despite allegations of entrapment
Entrapment
In criminal law, entrapment is conduct by a law enforcement agent inducing a person to commit an offense that the person would otherwise have been unlikely to commit. In many jurisdictions, entrapment is a possible defense against criminal liability...
, in March 2009 judge John Sproat vindicated Shaikh of any wrongdoing and that the groups plans were already underway prior to Shaikh's involvement with the group. The full text of Judge Sproat's ruling can be found at http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2008/2008canlii51935/2008canlii51935.html
At the end of the trial in June 2010, a comprehensive presentation of previously restricted information including court exhibits entered as evidence was put forward by Isabel Teotonio of the Toronto Star. It can be accessed at: http://www3.thestar.com/static/toronto18/index.html
Personal life
Shaikh was born at St. Michael's HospitalSt. Michael's Hospital (Toronto)
St. Michael's Hospital is a teaching hospital and medical centre in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was established by the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1892, with the founding goal of taking care of the sick and poor of Toronto's inner city. The hospital provides tertiary and quaternary services...
in Toronto, to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n parents who had emigrated from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Shaikh attended Grade 7 and 8 at Kane Senior Public School and joined the Royal Canadian Army Cadets
Royal Canadian Army Cadets
The Royal Canadian Army Cadets is a Canadian national youth program sponsored by the Canadian Forces and the civilian Army Cadet League of Canada. Administered by the Canadian Forces, the program is funded through the Department of National Defence with the civilian partner providing support in...
at the age of 13. He then attended York Memorial Collegiate, where he briefly fought the urge to travel to Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
or Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
to participate in jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
.
In May 1995, he volunteered with Tablighi Jamaat
Tablighi Jamaat
Tablighi Jamaat is a religious movement which was founded in 1926 by Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandhlawi in India. The movement primarily aims at Tablighi spiritual reformation by working at the grass roots level, reaching out to Muslims across all social and economic spectra to bring them closer to...
and traveled to the United States, Pakistan, India and Britain with the group.
He met his future wife at York Collegiate and they married in December 1998 after her conversion to Islam. They honeymoon
Honeymoon
-History:One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him...
ed in Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
and Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
, and have four children.
A Sunni Muslim, Shaikh is also a member of the Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
.
Activism
After helping his sister obtain an Islamic divorceTalaq (Nikah)
In Islam there are separate rules for divorce for men and women under the terms of Islamic law . When a man has initiated a divorce the procedure is called . When a woman has initiated a divorce it is called khula ....
through the mosque in 2003, Shaikh became a volunteer with the Masjid al-Noor's arbitration process.In 2005, he began actively campaigning for recognition of Sharia law as a voluntary method of dispute-resolution in Ontario's Muslim community. When public outcry condemned the practice, Shaikh believed that racism and "hate speech" played a large role.
He is also a noted activist and public speaker, speaking on a 2004 panel for the Millennium Scholarship Foundation at Parliament Hill in Ottawa and the International Law Student Conference of November 2004. He has appeared as a panel speaker at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
and McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
.
He has travelled extensively throughout the world and lived in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
from 2002 through 2004.
Public and police role
On November 27, 2005 - Shaikh met with members of the terrorist plot at an information meeting at the Taj Banquet Hall regarding the controversial use of security certificates in the country, and began his "infiltration" of the group. He was allegedly told that a training trip to Orillia had been planned, and asked Shaikh if he would train them in guerilla tactics and teach them how to use a gun, since he mentioned his military training and later showed them his Possession and Acquisition License. He later went "shopping" for firearms with one of the suspects, Zakaria Amara, leader of the bomb plot and who eventually plead guilty in 2009. Amara was given a life sentence.
In January 2007, he was paid $297,000 by the RCMP as further compensation for his role prior to the youth preliminary hearings - the first legal proceeding in this case. It would be followed by four others in three years.
Shaikh also testified at the adult preliminary hearings that took place in September 2007. It was halted by the Prosecution mid-way and proceeded to trial in 2010.
In the summer of 2008, Shaikh testified at the trial of the 1 young offender, without having been paid the additional compensation he was seeking. The youth was found guilty but released on time served.
In 2009 an 'abuse of process' motion was heard where the issue of entrapment was discussed at length. Judge Sproat took into consideration all allegations and concluded that no such entrapment took place and that Shaikh 'exhibited a great number of the hallmarks of a truthful and credible witness'.
Shaikh testified yet again at the adult trial by jury of ringleader Fahim Ahmad, Asad Ansari and Steven Chand in April 2010 - the fifth such legal proceeding. Fahim Ahmed plead guilty mid-way through this trial and has since been sentenced to 16 years.
Shaikh's testimony in this landmark prosecution ended May 2010.
A comprehensive and detailed account of the case was done by Isabel Teotonio of the Toronto Star and is available at http://www3.thestar.com/static/toronto18/index.html
U.S. Terrorism Watch List
On May 19, 2011, the Toronto Star, from a Wikileaks dispatch, reported that paid CSIS and RCMP informant, Mubin Shaikh, had been added to the U.S. terrorism watch list.For his part, Shaikh claims CSIS has made efforts to remove him from the list and as proof, travelled to Dublin, Ireland as a speaker for Google Idea's, "Summit Against violent Extremism" shortly after the alleged listing.
See: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1014887--searching-for-a-radical-solution-to-islamic-extremism
His profile from the Summit is available here: http://www.againstviolentextremism.org/network#mubin-shaikh
External links
- Interview with Mubin Shaikh, CBCCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
, July 15, 2006 - http://www3.thestar.com/static/toronto18/index.html