Muhammad Robert Heft
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Muhammad Robert Heft (born November 4, 1972, in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian Muslim activist.
Biography
[edit]Coming from a German and Irish background, Heft spent his childhood and majority of his life in a small town outside of Toronto. Raised as a nominal Protestant Christian,[1] Heft converted to Islam in 1998 after which he studied Islam with qualified scholars[which?] 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
[edit]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.[2]
In 2008 he started the Stop Terrorism cause, which is a global and online cause which claims to have 20,000 members.[3][failed verification]
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 and brought them away from that destructive state.[citation needed]
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.[4]
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.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Robert, Former Christian, Canada".
- ^ Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Est. Archived August 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Stop Terrorism cause
- ^ Toronto 18
- ^ "Supported by former MPs". Archived from the original on 2011-11-14. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
External links
[edit]Media appearances
[edit]- 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: [1][dead link]
- Rob Breakenridge (CHQR Calgary): http://emedia.newstalk770.com/Podcasts/1022/robbreakenridgepodcastapr25-11351282048.mp3[dead link]