June 5, 2017
Media Release - Canadian Muslim’s Manchester and London Solidarity Messages Ignored by UK High Commission
(Waterloo, ON, Canada) - Dr. Mohamed Elmasry, a prominent author, scholar and leader in Canada's Muslim community, sent a letter of condolence and anti-terrorism recommendations to Britain's High Commissioner to Canada in Ottawa, following the Manchester concert attack on May 22 and again, following Saturday's multiple terror attacks in London.
To date, neither letter has been acknowledged.
Below is the text of his message regarding the Manchester attack.
CONTACT: Dr. Elmasry 519-498-1350
* * *
British High Commissioner to Canada
(by email and registered letter mail)
May 27, 2017
Re: Towards Never Again
Dear Sir:
First, please accept my sincere condolences and prayers on behalf of all the victims, survivors and their families so gravely affected by the horrific suicide-bomber terrorist attack at Manchester Arena last Monday (May 22, 2017) following the Ariana Grande concert.
I am an Egyptian-born Canadian Muslim academic; a top world expert in microchip design.
I have travelled widely in my career and now in retirement divide my time between Waterloo, Ontario and my home city of Cairo, Egypt.
I am always mindful of ways in which to promote peace and understanding, so my pain and sorrow at learning of this devastating event is felt on many levels, personal and professional.
Sadly, I witnessed a similar attack in Cairo on Sunday, December 11 2016, on worshipers at the city’s main Coptic Christian church, in which innocent men, women and children were mowed down while praying, by a terrorist who committed this atrocity in the name of my religion. And as I write this letter Muslim terrorists in Upper Egypt have killed another 28 people, including children.
But I continue to hope, pray and act toward a time when Egypt, Canada and the rest of the world will be freed from the deadly cancer of uninformed anger and evil that are fuelling such insane violence.
To that end, I would like to submit to you and your government some points toward genuinely achieving “Never Again.”
1. Terrorism of this particularly deadly type (suicide bombers acting against civilian “soft-targets”) is motivated by fatwas issued by powerful but misguided “religious” leaders whose words are taken as ultimatums by disaffected and morally vulnerable people. At the top of this disreputable list are individuals such as Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian Islamic scholar residing in the shelter of Qatar; he is associated with the militant and dangerous Muslim Brotherhood and known for extremist religious rulings and political commentary. But it seems his influence on global terrorism has never been fully investigated, despite plentiful evidence of his ultimate responsibility for many heinous acts of terrorism.
2. The vast majority of terrorists who claim to act in the name of Islam report directly or indirectly to a handful of global leaders – most of whom, like al-Qaradawi, live comfortably in “shelter states” like Turkey and Qatar who refuse to hand them over to Interpol for arraignment by international authorities. In the face of mounting evidence, bringing them to trial and subsequent justice would be like cutting off the head of the world terrorism network; yet the international community has not seemed willing to move against them in a unified and effective manner. Why is this free reign policy allowed to continue taking so many innocent lives lost?
3. Terrorism and its perpetrators – so-called Muslims who have high-jacked religion for their own agenda – are part of an entrenched and powerful global industry whose tentacles reach into seemingly legitimate areas of commerce, finance and communications. It involves numerous financiers, planners, recruiters, research and development specialists, manufacturers and suppliers of killing devices. Corollary skill areas include sophisticated detection-avoidance technology, a global communications “dark network,” media support for “legitimate” enterprises that cover terrorism-related industries, and an ubiquitous unregulated presence on multiple social media formats. I’ve outlined barely the tip of a frightening and ever-growing iceberg. Where is the international political will to dismantle this industry, whose power and wealth is greater than that of many entire governments?
I know that the UK is presently in the middle of an election campaign and that many domestic issues are top of mind right now. But I implore you, for the sake of all innocent children around the world whose lives are being cut short by terrorists who evilly self-identify as Muslim – please share my letter with your current government and the next one as well.
Perhaps together, those countries like yours and mine that still claim to operate with a political and humanitarian conscience, can motivate others to build the collective will for effective and lasting action. We can no longer afford to turn a blind eye, or resort to futile gestures and rhetoric, if we are truly committed to killing the monster of Muslim terrorism and saving our future generations.
Thanking you sincerely in advance. Waiting for your reply.
Dr. Mohamed Elmasry FRSC, FCAE, FIEEE, FEIC
Professor Emeritus of Computer Engineering,
University of Waterloo; Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
