Many in our community have heard of Abdullah Almalki but know little about his case and even less about its development. But the more important thing is: what lessons should we draw from his story and the experiences of others like him?

How should we as Muslim Canadian citizens view our government’s security agencies? How should we assess our “duty to cooperate” in light of revelations of these agencies’ involvement in out-sourcing torture and creating false accusations of terrorism? Can we afford to remain uninformed and unaware of the extremely harmful mistakes Canadian intelligence services have made regarding several Muslim citizens since 2001?

Mr. Almalki, a Canadian of Syrian origin is a communications engineer who graduated from Carleton University, and a father of six who has lived in Ottawa since he was in his teens. Mr. Almalki was arrested while visiting his grandmother in Syria in 2002. He was detained by the Syrian Military Intelligence and tortured for more than 22 months.

Not only was a Canadian citizen brutally dehumanized by a foreign dictatorship with the full knowledge of our government, but according to a recently disclosed RCMP memo from 2001, the RCMP framed him as an “imminent threat” to national security, despite the fact that after months of intense surveillance they were “finding it difficult to establish anything on him other than the fact he (was) an Arab running around".

Mr. Almalki was cleared in 2008 by the Iacobucci federal inquiry and later by a Parliament Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, which recommended that the government correct the misinformation, offer an apology and pay compensation. But nothing has been done so far by the government to repair the torts and damages that were incurred. Despite the obviousness of the case, the federal government continues to deny any wrongdoing or responsibility for Mr. Almalki’s ordeal in Syria.

That said, and in light of the recently disclosed documents, one cannot but question the competence of the Canadian intelligence and security agencies. So much so that one can hardly be a Muslim of any ethnicity and still have confidence in those services (recall Mr. Harper’s recent statement about the “greatest threat to Canada”).

Since 2001 we have witnessed unfair treatment, harassment, unlawful renditioning to torture and breaches of the basic principles of due process. Now we witness just how racist our law enforcement bodies can be when it comes to Arabs and/or Muslims. Have we already forgotten Maher Arar’s case and all the abuse he incurred? Although the case was settled formally, doesn’t it provide ample lessons on the fallibility of human beings even in democratic governments under the rule of law?

After all these incidents, it would be fair to question our duty of cooperation with such unreliable and biased security and intelligence agencies. Why would one feel that there should be no question or hesitation about responding to invitations to collaborate when there are no safety provisions in anti-terrorist laws or legal protection against the coercive power of law enforcement abuses?

People approached by security agents have to know their rights and not accept to respond to any question without the presence of a lawyer, even if one doesn’t have anything to hide. Too many abuses have been committed because we were not aware of our rights, one of which is the right to refuse to respond to questions when sufficient reason has not been given or, in the case of an offence, when no charges have been made.

The first duty here is one of awareness, doubt and circumspection. As Muslim Canadian citizens, we have not only to beware of naïve attitudes toward our authorities, but also to stand up for our rights, to call for the dispensation of justice equally to everyone, and to demand for accountability when mistakes and abuses are committed against a citizen, any citizen.

Going back to Mr. Almalki’s case, should one fear that the Habeas Corpus principle stating “you are innocent until proven guilty” is in jeopardy? In any case, the proposed bid by the Harper government to reintroduce the controversial anti-terrorism act, signifies a new threat to civil liberties and is perhaps a sign of unrepentant authorities ready to commit new mistakes after disastrous past experiences. We will have to keep an eye on this matter and when the time comes, we will need to be ready to express our opinions and take a civic stance to preserve civil liberties, justice and due process.

Dr. Salah Basalamah is a professor at the University of Ottawa. ■