Radicalized for Jihad… In Canada

It used to be that earnest young Muslim men went on field trips to Yemen or Pakistan to be radicalized, but such is no longer the case. The Tunisian parents of Chiheb Esseghaier, one of the two mujahideen arrested for plotting to bomb the Via rail link, say their son was a good boy until he moved to Canada and became radicalized.

Many thanks to Bear for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for subtitling this French-language news report:

Transcript:

00:08   In Tunisia, the parents of Chiheb Esseghaier, accused of…
00:12   plotting terrorism in Canada are refuting the accusations that are weighing on their son…
00:16   In fact, they do not agree that he could have planned to have caused a Via train to explode. Close…
00:20   to Toronto with the help of Al-Qaeda. The father however recognizes that…
00:24   his son was radicalized after his arrival in Canada. Our special reporter…
00:28   Eric De La Varaine has met them. We are in Ghazala
00:32   in the suburbs of Tunis. 15 minutes by car from downtown.
00:36   It is here in this house that Chiheb Esseghaier has spent his childhood…
00:40   with his 3 brothers and his parents.
00:44   His mother, Rauda, refuses to believe in the guilt of her son.
00:52   I was surprised
00:56   she says. But I do not believe it. Because I am sure that my son…
01:00   cannot commit such an act. I know this because I raised him…
01:04   I know him by heart. He makes experiments, he does research
01:08   It’s a very good boy, he loves studies,
01:12   Chiheb Esseghaier is a genius,” she adds, since childhood. Believe me…
01:16   he loves studies. At 4 years old he already know how to read and count since…
01:20   his childhood he studies. And even when we told him, ‘here come play’ …
01:24   he would answer, ‘no!’ I don’t feel like it I prefer studying.
01:32   but the credibility on the fathers side…
01:36   for Rached, the arrest of Chiheb Esseghaier is a mistake.
01:40   He wants to detour [sic] a train…
01:44   there has to be materials or something or a plan…
01:48   where there are names, specifics, a detailed plan…
01:52   they have found nothing of that sort. the father concedes that …
01:56   in the last few years, his son has changed…
02:00   his religious engagement, it comes more from Canada than from Tunisia.
02:04   That is without a doubt. No doubt.
02:08   Because I have gone to one of the mosques over there…
02:12   I have heard what the, what the
02:16   imam says. It did not …
02:20   please me at all. in the family we …
02:24   refute the participation of the son in a terrorist plot
02:28   but they concede half heartedly that his religious engagement has been stronger …heartedly
02:32   these last few years. An engagement that does not come from …
02:36   Tunisia.
 

7 thoughts on “Radicalized for Jihad… In Canada

  1. Pingback: Parents of accused Tunisian Terror tard claim he was ‘radicalized’ (Became a religious muslim) at Montreal mosque | Vlad Tepes

    • “…….and then after the collapse of “rebels” or the legit and secular government…….on to Europe?

  2. Now three of their friends have been charged, all from the same part of the world. There’s more to all these so-called random acts of individual terrorism to my way of thinking. Franchised DIY Al Quaeda cells are springing up everywhere, and it’s time international rivals recognised this and worked together to eliminate the threats to innocent people in all countries.

    FJ

  3. Sorry, my previous comments were aimed at the Boston bombers, not the Tunisian youth. It’s become that way – so many terrorist attempts that the mind just swims amongst the mud of the swamp.

    FJ

  4. I always find it very interesting how the police release NO details about the case other then the fact that it is an “Al-Qaeda backed Terror Plot”… Then we see this interview with the parents who say there son was not radicalized in Tunisia but in Montreal… Even his dad said he was radicalized in Montreal… Police say its connected to “Al Qaeda” operatives, but then in the same sentence they say they don’t know who influenced them… So if they know for sure its “Al Qaeda” backed then surely the police must know who from Al Qaeda “influenced” them… It just seems strange to me that this is the only detail they decide the public needs to know about this case… I’ll very very interested to see what the police have on these guys and how far they were into carrying out their plan…

  5. Pingback: The Not-So-Lone Wolves | Gates of Vienna

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