Canadian Muslims ask for help to tackle radicals

OTTAWA - A coalition of eight Canadian Muslim associations said on Thursday they need help to fight radical elements and called for a top-level summit to work out ways of sorting out the problem.

Last week police in and around Toronto arrested 17 Muslim males, five of whom are under the age of 18. Several of them are charged with plotting bombings in major Canadian cities and training militants.

The associations asked Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper as well as top officials in the Ontario provincial government and the city of Toronto to arrange a summit by the end of the month to discuss how to prevent vulnerable youngsters from being influenced by radicals.

"It's not that we're denying that there is a problem. Of course there is a problem ... but we cannot deal with it ourselves," said Shahina Siddiqui, president of the Islamic Social Services Association.

"We are part of Canadian society, and so we demand that Canadian society come forward and help us to root this out," she told a news conference.

A government official said Public Security Minister Stockwell Day was in contact with the coalition.

The charges against the 17 men raised questions about Canada's success as a multicultural country where people take pride in their linguistic, cultural and religious differences.

Muslim activists -- long unhappy about what they see as harassment by security forces -- complain that the actions of a few extremists mean their faith is being unfairly maligned.

"Terrorism is not a Muslim issue. Terrorism is a global issue and we -- as Muslim Canadians -- are all in this together. The Muslim community will stand firm in denouncing this gross ideology," said Karl Nickner, executive director of the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The coalition, which said it is increasingly worried that Muslim youth is becoming marginalised, proposes a series of workshops where youngsters can meet security forces.

It also says more should be done to stress the need for civic participation and to make young people keen to take part in politics.

"They need to have a safe place, a constructive way to express their dissent if they disagree, rather than taking this route, or falling pray to people who pray on their vulnerabilities," Siddiqui said.

- REUTERS