Ferid Imam is an Ethiopian-born Canadian citizen who is believed to have provided military training to

al Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

jihadists in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

in 2008. Charges filed against him on March 15, 2011, were reported to have been the first time a Canadian had faced terrorism charges for offences alleged to have been committed outside of Canada.

Life in Canada

According to ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' In grade 7 Ferid was an "immigrant from East Africa" in the 1990s. They report he was popular in high school and was on the honor roll and soccer team. One The Globe and Mail article says he studied biochemistry at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

, while another article says he studied pharmacy. He voiced an opinion during the debates of the publication of cartoons that depicted Mohammed, Islam's prophet, calling the publication "a crisis rather than a controversy." In 2006, he made a pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

Alleged jihadi activities

In 2007 Imam and two of his friends from

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Muhannad al-Farekh and Miawand Yar, traveled to

Waziristan Waziristan (Persian language, Persian, Pashto, Ormuri, , ) is a mountainous region of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Waziristan region administratively splits among three districts: North Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan Dis ...

, one of Pakistan's loosely controlled Federally Administered Tribal Agencies, where it is believed they sought out jihadis for military training. On March 15, 2011, the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

charged Imam with terrorism related offenses. ''The Globe and Mail'' called the charges a "crucial test" of a new anti-terrorism law. They reported it was the first time in Canadian history a Canadian had been charged with a terrorism related offense committed outside Canada. However, ''The Globe and Mail'' reported that Canadian and American security officials had sought Imam for years, and the formal charges merely made the search official. A Bosnian-American named Adis Medunjanin was convicted in 2012. At his trial further allegations against Imam emerged.

Najibullah Zazi Najibullah Zazi (, ; born August 10, 1985) is an Afghan-American who was arrested in September 2009 as part of the U.S. al Qaeda group accused of planning suicide bombings on the New York City Subway system, and who pleaded guilty as have two o ...

and Zarein Ahmedzay testified at Medunjanin's trial that the three were friends, who had travelled to Pakistan together, to train for Jihad, and that they were trained by an English speaking individual they knew as "Yousef". Colin Freeze, writing in ''

'', reported security officials believe "Yousef" is Imam's

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

. According to that testimony, Imam provided training in the use of

hand grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

rocket propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), also known colloquially as a rocket launcher, is a shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that launches rockets equipped with a shaped-charge explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, ...

s and the use, maintenance and assembly and disassembly of

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...

rifles.

Whereabouts

Imam remains at large. He has been indicted in both the Canadian and US Civil justice systems. Although journalist Colin Freeze speculated that Imam may have been killed by a missile fired from a Predator drone, the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

confirmed in a statement on Farekh's arrest on April 2, 2015 that Imam is still alive and under indictment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imam, Ferid Canadian Muslims 1980 births Living people Ethiopian emigrants to Canada