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Time for unconventional intelligence

Abid Ullah Jan

People aware of ground realities in both the Muslim and non-Muslim world have never felt the need for unconventional intelligence and interaction between western and Muslim societies as seriously as now. The reason is that many Muslims and non-Muslims are finding themselves between the fire and frying pan due to the security measures adapted by non-American agencies at the moment.

The promoters of hatred among these societies have their vested interests to protect, but majorities are suffering. Muslims in the Western societies, who are either economic refugees or on the run from autocratic regimes, are bearing the brunt of conventional intelligence tactics by the respective agencies in these countries. On the other hand, non-Muslims and their families, who have to serve the imperial interests are becoming needless victims in the Muslim countries — a direct result of the imperial ambitions of a few persons at the top. 

The world and non-American intelligence agencies in particular may never know about the situation faced by Muslims in the non-Muslim world through relying on the information from mainstream media alone. In fact, years of misrepresentation and twisting of facts by the mainstream media has led to the development of a mentality whose consequences are haunting Muslims in the worst manner one can imagine.  

Some of the Muslims, who try to make themselves acceptable to Washington at any cost, have been adding fuel to this fire. They are unaware of how their fellow Muslims are suffering because of the ways in which they are classifying Muslims and taking extreme positions. The extremists are not only those Muslims who consider everything Western as Haram, but also those who consider everything disliked by Washington as forbidden, and those among non-Muslims who are not ready to accept anything that is not told by their mainstream media.

Let us take Montreal as an example for its relatively peaceful life, tolerant culture, friendly people and above all a major city of a neutral Western country — a country which, unlike many Muslim countries, had the guts to say no to the US in its illegal war on Iraq. If something is happening here, it means it’s a pattern almost everywhere in the Western world with more or less the same elements. For this reason, this issue needs particular attention. 

Montreal's Muslim and Arab community hosted a full day public forum at Concordia University on June 7th, regarding "Discrimination facing Arabs and Muslims." The promotional flyer of the event stated that "the Muslim and Arab communities are becoming victims of discriminatory practices, and are being stigmatized as terrorists and extremists."  

The events gathered momentum when apart from other incidents, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) issued a non-judicial arrest warrant, which a leading lawyer has called “an arrest by executive fiat.”[1][1] The warrant resulted in the arrest of Adil Charkaoui, a landed immigrant from Algeria. The worst aspect of this case is that Charkaoui is arrested, held without charge, told he is a threat to Canada's national security, and neither he nor his lawyer is allowed to know why. Unfortunately, this could happen to anyone in a situation when all tall claims for human rights, democracy and freedom go up in smoke just because some extremist on both side of the divide have spread so much fear that all distinctions between foe and friend have been blurred. 

No one knows the details that the CSIS or Charkaoui know about this case. What we can say for sure, however, is that the "Security Certificate" is being increasingly used to arrest, detain and deport members of Arab and/or Muslim communities in Canada.[2][2] All that we for sure know that keeping the American pressure and temperature of the prevailing situation constant; the CSIS can label any Muslim a “dormant agent” who could “"be activated at any time."[3][3] The prospect of any Muslim ending up sharing a cell with Charkaoui becomes brighter when one looks at what known factors were considered before his arrest.
 

According to a Toronto Star report, “he visited Pakistan at a time when two Al Qaeda suspects were training at a terrorist camp in the region.” For that criteria, what about all those Pakistanis who not visited, but actually lived in Pakistan. Secondly, he knew Karate and according to the CSIS, “this makes him a security risk because one of the Sept. 11 hijackers knew karate and other Al Qaeda members have trained in the martial arts.” Imagine how many more could land in prison for having lessons in Karate. Thirdly, he tried to "integrate himself into Canadian society" and finally, “he is said to know someone who is said to know someone who knows Ahmed Ressam, the convicted terrorist who plotted to blow up Los Angeles airport.” 

The CSIS would know still better than what the above mentioned report has obtained from the CSIS sources in this case. However, from the personal experience one can tell that all this depends on what kind of lens the CSIS agents put on when they review different cases. Unfortunately, it is become harder for the minds infected by the mainstream media to put on a proper lens. Imagine a writer, whose work is published by dozens, if not hundreds of web sites on the internet. Many of these sites have developed special sections for his work. Now if the CSIS agents pick up his work only from a single web site having an Islamic title and attempt to make a link to something which the writer never knew about, no one can stop the CSIC from ending up issuing a security certificate, particularly if the writer is a Muslim, from Pakistan and also writing what the CIS calls “anti-American stuff.” The bias is clearly there. Imagine a Muslim name on some work, such as Rick Salutin’s article, “No more pussyfooting around on Israel, Mr. Bush,” published in Globe and Mail on June 13, 2003.  

The CSIS has to come out of the security phobia and stop throwing those into the fire who just managed to get out of the frying pan of autocratic regimes in their respective countries. There is as much difference between Canada and US as much there is between the earth and the sky, and realities of the real world are far too deeper to be seen through the conventional lenses, or through the eyes of so-called mainstream media.  

Of course, security is of paramount importance, but we must also keep in mind books, hundreds of undeniable reports and information available on internet, all emanating from the US, which clearly establish that September 11 or the Oklahoma bombing were not the work of an individual or an organisation formed in a far away land. The US government, or part of it, was fully involved.  Conventional intelligence fails and victimisation of innocents begins when it refuses to go beyond the logic that how can the US government let an event like September 11 happen. 

Security can never, repeat never, be ensured if it the case like Bali, where many analysts doubt that it was the act of a commonly projected terrorist group. The minority of “world leaders” who understand that they can never fulfil their “clash of civilisations” with conventional warfare alone plan incidents like 9/11 and Bali to legitimise their cause, to radicalise disinterested public, to disrupt the lives and livelihoods of those who would prefer not to be involved and to provoke their opponents into actions that drive more people into their camp.  

The Taliban did not rule Indonesia, nor was it providing “safe heavens” to “Arab guests.” Bali nightclub was not even a likely target for al-Qaeda. According to BBC correspondent, Bali Club had “no strategic value.” It didn’t “hurt a Western government, and it was not a favoured haunt of al-Qaeda's preferred targets: Americans and Jews.”[4][4]   

It is wrong to assume that Indonesia’s economic, social and political problems radicalised the population or turn it into a terrorist asset to the extent that they didn’t give a second thought to killing hundreds of human beings without a reason.[5][5] Many Australians, such as Harry Mason believe that the US government is directly behind the Bali bombing to teach Australians a lesson for “a rising anguish [in Australia] at the treatment of the Palestinians by the forces of Israel as directed by Sharon and supported by Bush, AND a very widespread and fast setting view against helping in the US plans for a military invasion of Iraq, coupled with an increasing anger at the new Pax Americana planetary policies of Dubya's USA.”[6][6]  

These are views of an ordinary Australian and it is really the ordinary Muslims and non-Muslims who are suffering and whose views cannot be taken for granted. It is time for the intelligence agencies to change their conventional ways to addressing the problem of terrorism. With these medieval tactics, they would punish a karate teachers, journalist and some other already displaced and dispossessed families, but it would hardly make any difference when its time for the real perpetrators to strike Canada, like Australia, Saudi Arabia, etc. Unless the intelligence agencies change their focus, they may never prevent a terrorist incident from happening in Canada or elsewhere should the imperialists decide to punish them for not joining them in carnage, occupation and pillage.