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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TORONTO 000151 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER KISL PGOV PINR CA
SUBJECT: De-Radicalization Program Beginning in Toronto 
 
Ref: (A) 08 Toronto 286 (B) Toronto 106 
 
TORONTO 00000151  001.3 OF 002 
 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified -- protect accordingly. 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Mohammed Robert Heft, a Canadian Muslim convert, is 
using Paradise Forever (P4E), a community center that provides 
assistance and social services to new Muslim converts in Toronto, to 
counter the effects of radicalization among young Muslims.  Heft 
plans to help de-radicalize wayward Muslim youths through P4E's 
newly established "detox" program and hopes to see some of the 
members of the Toronto 18 participate in the program.  According to 
Heft, P4E enjoys the support of a number of national and 
international organizations, Canadian intelligence and law 
enforcement agencies, and local politicians.  Heft told PolOff that 
he will take a delegation of Canadian MPs to Dubai in August to meet 
with leaders of donor organization Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum 
Charity and Humanitarian establishment (MBRAMCH).  He has invited 
officers from ConGen Toronto and ConGen Dubai to join.  End 
Summary. 
 
--------------------------------- 
THE PARADISE FOREVER ORGANIZATION 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Mohammed Robert Heft founded Paradise Forever (P4E) as a 
Canadian non-profit organization in 2004.  The organization, 
headquartered in the North York area of Toronto, provides support to 
newly-converted Muslims and includes a community support center with 
temporary residences and other social services.  The center's 
clients are mostly from Pakistani and Indian families.  Heft says 
that P4E plans to open a similar center in Chicago, Illinois. 
 
¶3. (U) According to Heft, he founded P4E to counter what he calls 
"do-it-yourself-Islam."  He hopes that by facilitating education for 
new Muslim converts, who often turn to sources like the internet for 
self-study of Islam, he can help protect new Muslims from 
manipulation by extremist groups misrepresenting the teachings of 
the Quran.  Heft explains that when he converted to Islam in his 
20s, he also explored the faith without assistance and understands 
the dangers for new converts. 
 
¶4. (U) During a June 10 meeting, Heft presented PolOff with a number 
of letters from regional and national religious organizations that 
ranged from perfunctory introductions of P4E to fulsome support. 
These organizations include the Muslim Association of Canada, the 
Islamic Foundation of Toronto, and the Islamic Society of North 
America.  A letter from Liberal MP Derek Lee, who has supported the 
organization's charitable work, was the most effusive, describing 
the organization's mission and efforts.  (Note: P4E was first 
located in Lee's riding of Scarborough-Rouge River (just east of 
Toronto) before relocating to North York in 2008.)  Heft also claims 
to have a good working relationship with Canadian Security 
Intelligence Service (CSIS) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police 
(RCMP).  (Note: At the start of the meeting, Heft told PolOff that 
he had spoken to CSIS earlier about the meeting with Consulate Staff 
and that CSIS told him he did not need to meet with us if he did not 
want to.)  The organization, receives a large portion of its funding 
from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Charity and Humanitarian 
establishment (MBRAMCH), based in Dubai, UAE. 
 
--------------------------------- 
DE-RADICALIZATION THROUGH "DETOX" 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) According to Heft, in the wake of the Toronto 18 arrests, 
Mohammed Shahid Shaikh, the director of Masjid El Noor in Toronto 
and the father of a key government witness, approached Heft about 
starting a de-radicalization program.  Shaikh reportedly thought of 
P4E since the organization already had the facilities and the past 
experience helping Muslim young adults. 
 
¶6. (U) The "12-step Detox" program at P4E is six to twelve months in 
length, with participants residing at P4E's center and receiving 
education about Islam as well as attending counseling sessions with 
a Muslim psychologist.  Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin, a young local 
religious leader who was recently featured on Fox News for his 
de-radicalization work, will lead religious classes at the center. 
Amiruddin, who attended the June 10 meeting, told PolOff that his 
work focuses on troubled Muslim youth.  As chairman of the Al Sunnah 
Foundation of Canada (ASFC), an organization with the stated goal of 
 
TORONTO 00000151  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
preserving the moderate message of traditional Sunni Islam, 
Amiruddin has met with Members of Parliament and spoken at the 
Canada 2020 conference - a forum of leading Canadian thinkers. 
 
----------------------- 
HELP FOR THE TORONTO 18 
----------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Heft hopes to have members of the Toronto 18 terrorist 
group who are convicted attend the "detox" program upon completion 
of any sentence.  He says that he communicates with six of the 
Toronto 18, including the first of the group members to be sentenced 
this past May but released for time served, and another who recently 
pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing (ref B).  According to Heft, 
a recently-released Toronto 18 member has agreed to attend some 
sessions at the P4E center, in addition to sessions with a 
GoC-recommended Muslim cleric. (Note: Heft told PolOff that he met 
the recently-released convicted member in 2005, one year before the 
Toronto 18 were arrested.  The young man had been brought to the P4E 
center because he was suffering abuse at his Hindu home after 
converting to Islam.  He left the center after a few weeks.  Heft 
says he did not hear from him again until after the arrests, when 
the young man's lawyer contacted him.) 
 
¶8. (SBU) Four other members of the group have also expressed 
interest in participating in P4E's program, according to Heft.  He 
suspects that some of the group members awaiting trial may be 
interested in participating in the program as a way of gaining 
leniency from the judge, but he says what is important is getting 
them into the program.  (Note: Although the four Toronto 18 members 
have not confirmed their participation in P4E's "detox" program, the 
lack of certainty does not seem to be hampering Heft's plans.  On 
P4E's website, there is currently a request for donations for 
renovations to provide additional living space for the members of 
the Toronto 18.) 
 
¶9. (SBU) Comment: P4E seems to have garnered the support of local 
Muslim leaders, as well as area politicians.  Heft says he is eager 
to also earn the support of the USG, inviting PolOff (or another 
representative of the USG) to attend meetings with MBRAMCH in Dubai 
in August, to which he will also bring Canadian MP Derek Lee and 
other as-yet-unconfirmed MPs. (Note:  ConGen Toronto has no plans to 
attend the meeting.)  Heft and his colleague, Amiruddin, also 
invited ConGen Toronto to participate in a Muslim day event to be 
held at a local theme park.  Whether or not Heft is ultimately able 
to include members of the Toronto 18 in his program, it is apparent 
that he will conduct the "detox" program for other young Muslims. 
As we learn more about Heft and his organization, we may find that 
he proves to be a useful contact through which we can gain insight 
into the Muslim community in Toronto, as well as conduct outreach. 
 
BYSFIELD