Fahim Ahmad
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Fahim Ahmad (born August 10, 1984) is one of 11 people convicted in the
2006 Toronto terrorism case 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics A six-sided polygon is a hexagon, one of the three regular polygons capable of tiling the plane. A hexagon a ...
. He was a ringleader in the group. He was 21 years old at the time of arrest, and married with two children.


Life

Fahim Ahmad was born in Afghanistan and immigrated to Canada at age 10. He attended
Meadowvale Secondary School Located at the intersection of Battleford and Edenwood Dr, Meadowvale Secondary School is a part of the Peel District School Board in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Nearby commonly associated school with Meadowvale Secondary School is Our Lady o ...
with fellow suspects Saad Khalid and Zakaria Amara. Friends suggest that he made statements supporting the
September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
. Ahmad was unemployed and reportedly handed out self-burned CDs of the
as-Sahab As-Sahab Media (Arabic: السحاب, "The Cloud") is the official media wing of Al-Qaeda's core leadership based in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It produces media featuring original sermons and speeches by senior Al-Qaeda commanders as well as foo ...
video detailing the lives of the
hijackers in the September 11 attacks The aircraft hijackers in the September 11 attacks were 19 men affiliated with Jihadism, jihadist organization al-Qaeda. They hailed from four countries; 15 of them were citizens of Saudi Arabia, two were from the United Arab Emirates, one was f ...
at the
Salaheddin Islamic Centre The Salaheddin Islamic Centre is a mosque located in the Scarborough Junction neighbourhood of the Scarborough district of the city of Toronto, Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. L ...
in Toronto.
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
, Frontline
Canada: The Cell Next Door
January 30, 2007
Ahmad had been under surveillance since 2002, when the 17-year old's internet usage demonstrated that he was in contact with "jihadists in
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
." In 2004, the
Canadian Security Intelligence Service The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; , ''SCRS'') is a Intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service and security agency of the Government of Canada, federal government of Canada. It is responsible for gathering, processing, a ...
(CSIS) noticed that he had joined Clearguidance.com a year earlier, an "anti-Western" website on which he logged 754 posts. Among his posts were statements like:
"Parents' anti-jihad/anti-'religiousness' talks are starting to effect ..come on bros, i need some jihad talks, anything! its like so dead my sources for videos is no more either, ..i know u guys can hook me up."
"Nowadays, for the most part, parents don't practice their eligionmuch to begin with, and when a kid says, 'o mommy, daddy, i want to fight for ALLAH' automatically they say "NO! U WILL GO TO SCHOOL AND HAVE A FUTURE."
When moderator Salmaan Ziauddin resigned from the website, CSIS approached him several times, asking about specific members of the website, including Ahmad and Zakaria Amara. Ahmad's wife, Mariya, was a student at the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
and went by the online moniker "Zawjatu Faheem"


Terrorist activities

Fahim Ahmad has been described by law enforcement and the police as the primary ringleader in the plot and a spiritual leader among the men. His original "second in command" was Zakaria Amara; however he apparently grew disenchanted with Ahmad’s lack of action and broke away. Ahmad’s group became the Scarborough group and Amara’s became the Mississauga group. The widely reported goal of "beheading politicians" originated with Ahmad’s group. In March 2005, Americans
Ehsanul Sadequee Ehsanul "Shifa" Sadequee (born July 30, 1986, in Fairfax, Virginia) is an American who was arrested by the FBI on four terrorism charges, convicted, and sentenced to 17 years in prison, to be followed by 30 years of supervised release. Life Sadeq ...
and Syed Haris Ahmed traveled to
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
together aboard a
Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...
bus, to meet with Ahmad, Jahmaal James and another youth,
CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

Among the Believers; Timeline
/ref> whom they had spoken to online about their mutual interpretations of Islam and jihad. While the group discussed hypothetical scenarios in which North America was attacked, the government noted there was "no imminent danger". Police informant
Mubin Shaikh Mubinoddin "Mubin" Shaikh is a Canadian former security intelligence and counter-terrorism operative, who was at one time a jihadist extremist himself. He rose to prominence in his role as a confidential human source in the Toronto 18 case in 2 ...
later stated that he believed the two Americans had been asking whether they would be able to hide in Canada if they were to carry out attacks in the United States. Shaikh later stated that Ahmad had told him that "if CSIS ever came to my door," he would shoot them, imitating a gun with his fingers. Ahmad organized a
training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...
in December 2005 and held a second camp the following spring. He also sought a
safe house A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is a dwelling place or building whose unassuming appearance makes it an inconspicuous location where one can hide out, take shelter, or conduct clandestine activities. Historical usage It may also refer to ...
in northern Ontario to use as a hideout. Ahmad claimed to have ordered a shipment of weaponry from Mexico.


Arrest

Ahmad was arrested on June 2, 2006.Teotonio, Isabel
Toronto man planned widespread terror attacks, jury hears
Toronto Star, April 12, 2010. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
He was charged with receiving and providing terrorist training, and intent to harm or kill with explosives. He was represented by attorney
Dennis Edney Dennis Edney (19 December 1946 – 30 December 2023) was a Canadian defence lawyer based in Edmonton, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Originally from Scotland, he was noted for his involvement in high-profile cases, including Brian Mills (Canadian), ...
.
Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...
Aly Hindy Aly Hindy is the Imam of the Salaheddin Islamic Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada once called "Toronto's million-dollar radical mosque” by the ''National Post''. Career Hindy immigrated to Canada in 1975 after graduating in Engineering from Ai ...
, referring to the four suspects who attended
Salaheddin Islamic Centre The Salaheddin Islamic Centre is a mosque located in the Scarborough Junction neighbourhood of the Scarborough district of the city of Toronto, Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. L ...
, said that Ahmad was the only one who might be guilty of a crime, although not terrorism, for his role in renting a car that
Ali Dirie Mohammed Ali Dirie was one of 17 people connected to arrests on June 2 and June 3, 2006, in the 2006 Toronto terrorism arrests. He was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in prison. He was released in October 2011, left Canada in 2012, and re ...
and Yasim Mohamed used to smuggle two handguns across the border.Thomas, Vanessa and Make Becker.
Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, the ...

A portrait of terrorist suspects
June 5, 2006
A year and a half after his arrest, Ahmad said he remained "baffled" why the government thought there was a terrorist plot, and was "still waiting for the government to produce a snippet of credible evidence".Walkom, Thomas.
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...
, "Confusion, despair from terror suspect isolated in Don Jail", November 8, 2007


Trial and guilty plea

Ahmad was tried simultaneously with Steven Chand and Asad Ansari, and all pleaded not guilty at the beginning of the trial. The jury heard that he had been a ringleader in a group having held two training camps in 2005. The idea of attacking parliament and beheading politicians was attributed to Ahmad. The court also accused him of plotting to attack nuclear stations and power grids. Police agent
Mubin Shaikh Mubinoddin "Mubin" Shaikh is a Canadian former security intelligence and counter-terrorism operative, who was at one time a jihadist extremist himself. He rose to prominence in his role as a confidential human source in the Toronto 18 case in 2 ...
testified as to the extremist content of the camps and Ahmad's intent and leadership. On May 10, 2010, in mid-trial, jurors learned that Ahmad had changed his plea to guilty.Teotonio, Isabel
Toronto 18 ringleader pleads guilty in terror trial
Toronto Star, May 10, 2010. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
On October 25, 2010, Ahmad was sentenced to 16 years in prison, with double credit for the four years he had already spent in custody.
The Huffington Post, October 25, 2010. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
This was the first terrorism case in Canada to be decided by a jury.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmad, Fahim 2006 Ontario terrorism plot Living people 1984 births Afghan emigrants to Canada People convicted on terrorism charges People imprisoned on terrorism charges Canadian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Canada