Imam denies being ‘agent of radicalization’
Leader barred from opening prayer centre threatens to take Montreal mayor to court
MONTREAL— A polarizing Quebec Muslim leader accused of being an “agent of radicalization” is threatening to sue Montreal’s mayor for defamation in a controversy that started with a permit to open an Islamic prayer centre and has grown into a debate about the intersection of freedom of speech and national security.
Hamza Chaoui, a Montreal-based imam with hundreds of people who follow his religious teachings on Facebook and YouTube, said he and the members of the Centre Ashabeb, a Muslim group in the city’s east end, are considering legal action against municipal officials who have pledged to re-write zoning laws that would prevent the planned opening next month of a prayer centre.
Chaoui said he may also sue Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre as well as other city and provincial officials for attacks on his reputation and interfering with his Charter rights.
It is a dispute that started with a few pictures of a renovated prayer space on Facebook and a newspaper article that pushed the City of Montreal into action at a time when heightened concern over religious fundamentalism, radicalization and terrorism are top of mind for politicians.
Municipal officials said they were concerned by the more extreme nature of his religious messages, which include advocacy of sharia law, corporal punishments and his assertion that Islamic teachings are incompatible with democracy. The two regimes are “two parallel lines that will never intersect,” he wrote on his Facebook page in February 2014.
In announcing that the Islamic centre would not be permitted to open, Coderre said last Saturday that “this individual, for me, is an agent of radicalization. We have to act accordingly.”
On Monday, Réal Ménard, the borough mayor of Mercier—Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, pushed through a motion that would deny permits to any community centres that intended to provide religious instruction.
It is these two actions that prompt- ed Chaoui’s threat of a lawsuit.
The virulent religious messages, now that they have been brought to public attention, have sparked fierce criticism online, including one Facebook page created in the last few days urging authorities to order him out of Canada.
There has also been concern about those who may have crossed his path over they years. Chaoui, who is from Casablanca, Morocco, first began preaching at Quebec City’s Laval University, where he studied electri- cal engineering from 2007 to 2011.
Chiheb Esseghaier, the suspected Via Rail bomb plotter who is currently on trial for terrorism, also reportedly frequented the same university prayer services. Chaoui has also preached at the local mosque in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu frequented by Martin Couture-Rouleau, the homegrown Islamic terrorist who fatally ran down a Canadian soldier last October.
There is no evidence that Chaoui ever met or interacted with either of the individuals.
After a barrage of media attention in Quebec, Chaoui issued a statement Tuesday to counter allegations that he had tried to radicalize young Muslims. He also said excerpts from his sermons that have made headlines have been taken out of context.
“These citations come from courses dealing either with Islamic history or concerning Muslim countries that apply certain precepts of Islamic law,” he wrote.
He was, until recently, also listed as an instructor with Institut Atlas, a company that provides French-language Islamic instruction. His profile has since been removed from the organization’s website.
In his statement Tuesday, Chaoui wrote that all of his teachings are founded in the Qur’an using an interpretation followed by Sunni Muslims.
“I’m not an ‘agent of radicalization.’ I have never called for hate or for violence against an identifiable group in my sermons or in my courses,” he wrote. “On the contrary, I have always encouraged young people to integrate harmoniously in Quebec society, to respect the laws, not to use violence to resolve conflicts and to pursue university studies.”