RCMP called the tone of a Winnipeg-based anti-terrorism booklet adversarial, and said it will not proceed with the initiative. That’s after RCMP wrote a section for the recently published booklet.
United Against Terrorism was written primarily by the Islamic Social Services Association and the National Council of Canadian Muslims. It aims to give Canadians the tools to prevent extremists from recruiting in Canada. ISSA says the support has been overwhelming.
“It’s just been heartwarming. The reaction from everyone, from every sector,” said ISSA president Shahina Siddiqui.
But RCMP told CTV it could not comply with some of the recommendations in the booklet, specifically stating that it could not avoid using the terms "Islamist terrorism,” “Islamic extremism” and “jihad".
Siddiqui said extremists distort the meaning of words like jihad to recruit people from around the world. She said that jihad means to struggle and strive for good, and shouldn’t be used to imply terrorism.
“The extremist wants to make it right by using this terminology. How do you take away power from an abuser, right? You take away his rationale,’ Siddiqui said.
Siddiqui said she’s not upset by the RCMP’s stance. She said the booklet was a community project, and it was never meant to be an RCMP handbook. She said she looks forward to continuing dialogue with RCMP.
“We may not always agree on everything but we came together and we’ve produced something that is being hailed across the continent and around the world,” said Siddiqui.
She said she’s already been contacted by groups in the United States and England who want to create their own versions of the anti-terrorism booklet.
