An official with the London Muslim Mosque says they tired to put terrorism suspect Aaron Driver on the right path and change his extremist views.
Mosque spokesperson Nawaz Tahir says they informed London police when Driver began attending the mosque a year ago. He says they immediately began to try to show him the warmth of Islam.
"Mosque officials made a decision to try to engage him. We didn't want to turn him away from the mosque because we thought if we did that it would further isolate him," says Tahir. "We tried to engage him, not to debate him, but teach him about the correct teaching of Islam, about peace, and being a good, contributing member of the community."
Tahir says Driver did not display any outward signs of aggression but had the wrong views about the world. He says at no time did they suspect the 24-year-old was translating those views into any kind of attack.
"This is the first and only situation like this that the mosque has been involved with so there was no playbook, or protocol to be followed," says Tahir. "In the future we look forward to working with authorities and various levels of government to see if there is something more formal that we can put in place for situations like this."
Driver was killed by RCMP in Strathroy on Wednesday. An FBI tip alerted the RCMP to a video of Driver and a warning that he planned to detonate a homemade explosive device in an urban centre during rush hour.
A statement issued by the London Muslim Mosque, and the London Muslim community Thursday says Islamic teachings forbid violent acts against innocent people or interfering with the sanctity of life.
"We condemn that type of violence against innocent individuals," says Tahir. "It's not what Islam teaches and those views have absolutely no room in our community. We won't tolerate it."
