Calgary terrorism charges raise concern over online recruitment

After Calgary police and RCMP arrested a youth and adult, should parents be concerned about the recruitment methods of terrorist groups?

The arrests were made on June 15, with 20-year-old Zakarya Rida Hussein facing four terrorism-related charges.

Court documents showed he posted a TikTok video that “knowingly facilitated a terrorist activity.”

It also states the activity directly or indirectly contributed to al Qaeda and/or ISIS “for the purpose of enhancing the ability of a terrorist group to facilitate or to carry out a terrorist activity.”

Meanwhile, the youth, who cannot be named due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act, appeared in court under a section of the Criminal Code that allows for a peace bond if there’s fear the person may commit a terrorism offence.

Both of them were released under conditions, and both await another trial. It’s unclear if they are directly connected to terrorist organizations.

Christine Boudreau, the mother of Mustafa al-Gharib, formerly Damien Clairmont, who was killed in action after being recruited by ISIS in 2013, shares concerns over the reports.

The founder of Mother’s for Life, a “unique global network of parents who have experienced violent jihadist radicalization in their own families,” says examples like these show organizations like ISIS continue to connect with youth and will reach those lacking a disconnect from family and friends.

“If you look at the historical side of any of the religious cults, any extremist movements have a strong presence of drawing people in for that sense of community,” she told CityNews.

“They speak to the vulnerabilities. They speak strongly to something that’s lacking within. And even as adults, we have that need for belonging, that place, productivity, a path where we are, and without that support that guidance, it’s something that’s going to happen.”

Watch: Second Calgarian faces terrorism charges

Michael Zedekulin, a senior lecturer at Australian National University who studies terrorism, extremism, and radicalization, says there are numerous signs, including changes in behaviour, but adds they are not always indicative of someone “adopting a terrorist ideology.”

“Things, such as abrupt sort of changes in social behaviour, not going out any longer, changing friends, changing of the way they spend money or the way or ways in which they are dispersing money if they have a job or things of that nature,” he told CityNews.

“Basically, you’re looking for changes in behaviour. And then what you’re trying to do is you’re trying to determine what might be behind those changes in behaviour.”

He says there are numerous reasons for a change in behaviour, and it’s important to be aware of those changes and to make a determination on if it is due to them adopting extremist ideologies.

Boudreau says she didn’t catch the signs initially, but when she did, she tried to get support for him, but it was more difficult than she expected.

“The circles I’d go around and around leave messages [with] crisis lines, nobody would ever respond or get back, you’d see all the government money being spent on these adverts saying … call that number, they’ll help and nobody ever called back,” she said.

“So, this whole false sense of security and the lack of importance on building the strength of communities and family … we need to go back to those basics. And you’ll continue to see these things happen and it’s sad, because that’s not where it should be.”

Related Stories:

• Calgary terrorism suspect allegedly posted TikTok in support of ISIS/Al Qaeda

• Calgary police, RCMP arrest youth in terrorism investigation

• Calgary man faces terrorism charges: RCMP

According to the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security, and Society, there have been 74 incidents of terrorism in Alberta and seven deaths as a result of terrorist acts. Countrywide, there have been 1,820 incidents and 2,286 deaths due to acts of terrorism.

The organization stopped compiling data after 2015.

Extremist movements, which can include extremist religious cults and groups that were born from the COVID-19 pandemic, who opposed government and health restrictions.

Michael Zedekulin, a senior lecturer at the Australian National University who studies terrorism, extremism, and radicalization, says the main culprit behind recruitment is social media.

He says the ability to spread ideologically extreme material and then follow up is no different than people being able to communicate with groups online or in person.

“Unfortunately, the same applies when it comes to extremist ideologies,” he explained.

“You’re looking at a platform which has the ability to spread all kinds of ideas, and while many of them are positive, it, of course, also is applicable to those ideas which are extreme or negative.”

Watch: Calgary man faces terrorism charges

It’s unclear if the two people have had any interaction with ISIS or al Qaeda, but he says the interaction between organizations and recruits has shifted from being purely in-person to being replaced by online interactions.

“The fact that they’re in the same geographical location, it begs the question of whether or not they actually knew each other, and actually were interacting with each other if they had ever met,” Zedekulin explained.

“Generally, what happens is, these individuals will find locations on the internet or on social media, which will be superficial. And what will happen is they’ll then be invited into places with a little more security, be it the dark web or be encrypted apps such as Discord or things of that nature, where the conversations and the ideological sort of exposure will increase.”

However, he says its important “to strike the right balance” when discussing terrorism, as recruitment in other countries like Canada is still rare, and there are different kinds of groups that have sprouted since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Six, seven years ago, this was all about groups like ISIS and al Qaeda and the Islamist-inspired extremism. And we now, of course, have seen a significant shift into the sort of the right-wing inspired, anti-government extremism,” he explained.

“We just sort of have to recognize that there are all kinds of extremist ideas out there on behalf of all kinds of groups. And that we shouldn’t necessarily simply focus on on the one that everybody thinks is the most prevalent that is always happening all the time.”

In response to documents showing Hussein allegedly posting a TikTok, a spokesperson for the social media platform emailed CityNews to say, “TikTok stands firmly against violent extremism.”

“This account violated our Community Guidelines and was permanently banned. Our Community Guidelines strictly prohibit violent extremist behaviour and inciting violence, and are enforced by a combination of technology and a team of over 40,000 safety professionals,” the statement reads.