OTTAWA -- Canadian Muslim leaders are fiercely disputing a new study that says several mosques and Islamic schools are endangering young people with extremist teachings.
The study is "yet another anecdotal attempt to vilify" members of the religious community and their institutions, the National Council of Canadian Muslims said Tuesday.
Mohammad Iqbal AlNadvi, chairman of the Canadian Council of Imams, said he completely disagrees with the findings, adding that Muslim leaders in Canada have been quick to denounce radicalism.
Co-authors Thomas Quiggin, a former intelligence analyst with the Privy Council Office and the RCMP, and Saied Shoaaib, a journalist originally from Egypt, based their findings on research conducted quietly in mosque libraries and Islamic schools.
They personally visited four mosques and three Islamic schools in the Ottawa area, but also express concern in the study about alleged activities -- including homophopic statements and promotion of Holy War -- at certain mosques in Montreal and Toronto.
The study, titled "The Lovers of Death? -- Islamist Extremism in Our Mosques, Schools and Libraries", says what worried them was not the presence of extremist literature in Ottawa school and mosque libraries, but that they found only such writings.
Examples cited in the study include:
-- "In the Shade of the Qur'an" and "Milestones" by Sayyid Qutb, an author seen by some as an inspiration for groups including al-Qaida;
-- the complete works of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the founder of Wahhabism, a fundamentalist form of Islam.
The authors contend Canadian Muslims with humanist and modernist outlooks are being eclipsed by those with extreme views. They acknowledge that further research would need to be done to "determine the depth and breadth of the problem."
They argue the issue is crucial given that a number of young Canadians have become radicalized to violence.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims called the study an "exercise in shoddy research" that generalizes about Canadian mosques and Islamic institutions.
"If the writers have any evidence of criminal activity such as the promotion of terrorism and violent extremism, then they should report it immediately to the authorities," the council said in a statement.
"Otherwise, this is nothing more than an attempt to sow fear and distrust towards Canadian Muslim communities without any evidence of wrongdoing or proper context. Such writing only fans the flames of ignorance at a time when vandalism of mosques and hate incidents against Canadian Muslims are increasing."
Canadian Muslims have "repeatedly and categorically rejected terrorism and violent extremism" in all their forms, the council added.
Iqbal AlNadvi said in an interview that while his job is to explain what Islam is, he often ends up explaining "what Islam is not."
Canadian imams are quick to denounce terrorist acts, but the media don't necessarily carry the comments, he said.
In an interview Tuesday, Quiggin stood by the study, saying some people would prefer not to hear the truth.
"This is not a Muslim-bashing exercise," he said. "This is an attempt to deliberately provoke the government and the media into addressing the actual issues of what's going on. Here's the material that's actually being taught, here's where it comes from, here's how it's getting there. Is this acceptable in Canada, yes or no?"
