Lone wolvesMore lone-wolf attacks committed by extremists/supremacists than Jihadists
Internal documents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) reveal that more Lone Wolf attacks are committed by white supremacists and individuals with extreme right-wing ideologies than by Islamic extremists. Citing academic research, the agency attributes 17 percent of lone-wolf attacks worldwide to white supremacists causes. Islamic extremists account for 15 percent of such attacks, while left-wing radicalism and “black power” groups followed with 13 percent. Anti-abortion activism accounts for 8 percent and nationalism/separatism causes make up 7 percent, while 40 percent of lone wolf attacks showed no clear ideological motivation.
Internal documents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) reveal that more Lone Wolf attacks are committed by white supremacists and individuals with extreme right-wing ideologies than by Islamic extremists. Citing academic research, the agency attributes 17 percent of lone-wolf attacks worldwide to white supremacists causes. Islamic extremists account for 15 percent of such attacks, while left-wing radicalism and “black power” groups followed with 13 percent. Anti-abortion activism accounts for 8 percent and nationalism/separatism causes make up 7 percent, while 40 percent of lone wolf attacks showed no clear ideological motivation.
“Lone actors tend to create their own ideologies that combine personal frustrations and grievances, with wider political, social, or religious issues,” note the documents researcher for Michael Peirce, assistant director of CSIS. “This study confirms that lone actor terrorism runs the gamut of ideological persuasions.”
The documents obtained by the Star were prepared for Peirce’s appearance before a Senate committee on national security in October, just five days after Michael Zehaf-Bibeau fatally shot Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at Canada’s National War Memorial. In a video recorded before the shooting, Zehaf-Bibeau said his actions were in retaliation for Canada’s combat missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Zehaf-Bibeau’s attack came days after Martin Couture-Rouleau ran down Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu. According to authorities, Couture-Rouleau conducted the attack after he was refused a passport, allegedly to travel to Syria and fight alongside the Islamic State.
The Star reports that both attacks have triggered a national conversation in Canada about domestic terrorism and Islamic extremism, but critics warn that such attention will further fuel anti-Muslim sentiment. Critics also point out that when Justin Bourque killed three Royal Canadian Mounted Police last June in a shooting rampage, it was not automatically branded as terrorism.
Just last month, three people were arrested in an alleged plot to open fire in the Halifax Shopping Center, but Justice Minister Peter MacKay called them “murderous misfits” — not terrorists — because their plan was not “culturally motivated.”
“Some of this xenophobia is being stoked by political leaders. And I think that is a problem,” said Ziyaad Mia with the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association. “Some of our political leaders need to tone that rhetoric down and actually calm people down … and tell people this is not the right way to go, instead of stoking the fears of xenophobia by talking about the war on terror and (that) we’re in this sort of apocalyptic conflict with the Islamic State.”
The CSIS documents warn that the notion the Western world is at war with Islam has been a recruitment tool for terrorist groups. “International terrorist groups place a high priority on radicalizing Westerners who can be used to carry out terrorist attacks in their home countries,” the documents read. “The narrative that the West is at war with Islam continues to exert a very powerful influence in radicalizing individuals and spreads quickly through social media and online fora.”
