Muhammad Robert Heft (born November 4, 1972 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

) is a Canadian Muslim activist.

Biography

Coming from a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and Irish background, Heft spent his childhood and majority of his life in a small town outside of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Raised as a nominal

Protestant Christian Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, Heft converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

in 1998 after which he studied Islam with qualified scholars for over 7 years. He began his community involvement in 2003, and since then, has gone on to take part in a variety of government and community initiatives.

Involvement

In 2007 Heft was made a representative for the Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Est. for all of Canada, and he holds this position today.Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Est.
In 2008 he started the Stop Terrorism cause, which is a global and online cause which claims to have 20,000 members.Stop Terrorism cause
/ref> In 2009 Heft formally started working with “youth at risk” and designed a 3-step "de-radicalization" program for Muslim Canadians. Through this program he has helped many youth who have turned towards

radicalization Radicalization (or radicalisation) is the process by which an individual or a group comes to adopt increasingly views in opposition to a political, social, or religious status quo. The ideas of society at large shape the outcomes of radicalizat ...

and brought them away from that destructive state. Judge Dawson court approved Heft in 2010 as a de-radicalization counsellor in for Steven Vikash Chand, one of the “Toronto 18” arrested for involvement in the

2006 Ontario terrorism plot The 2006 Ontario terrorism case refers to the plotting of a series of attacks against targets in Southern Ontario, Canada, and the June 2, 2006 counter-terrorism raids in and around the Greater Toronto Area that resulted in the arrest of 14 adu ...

.Toronto 18
/ref> Heft continues to support government agencies on efforts of de-radicalization and is also supported by former MPs of the federal government, Derek Lee and

Dan McTeague Daniel P. McTeague, (born October 16, 1962) is a Canadian businessman and former politician. McTeague served for eighteen years as Member of Parliament for the Ontario riding of Pickering—Scarborough East. Background Fluently bilingual, McTe ...

References

External links

Media appearances

* CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/torontoterror/heft.html * Toronto Star: https://www.thestar.com/news/article/903269--toronto-youth-brainwashed-with-extremist-views-of-islam-report-says * Canada.com: https://web.archive.org/web/20100527072648/http://www.canada.com/globaltv/edmonton/news/story.html?id=3c3b7df7-99b6-4800-8dbb-8fb0d699712e&k=91808 * Globe and Mail: https://web.archive.org/web/20111111100939/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/article701763.ece * Diplomat and International Canada: http://www.diplomatonline.com/pdf_files/Diplomat_JAN_10_final.pdf * ABC News: https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/anwar-al-awlaki-admired-gangster-youth-including-toronto/story?id=9078179 * CTV: https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto-mosque-offers-detox-for-islamic-radicals-1.369242 * National Post: https://web.archive.org/web/20111111134758/http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/index.html?subject=Ahlus+Sunnah+Foundation+of+Canada+and+Mohammad+Robert+Heft&type=Organization * The Washington Post

* Rob Breakenridge (CHQR Calgary): http://emedia.newstalk770.com/Podcasts/1022/robbreakenridgepodcastapr25-11351282048.mp3 {{DEFAULTSORT:Heft, Muhammad Robert 1972 births Living people Activists from Manitoba Canadian activists Canadian former Christians Canadian Muslims Converts to Islam