UAE CHARITY FUNDS TORONTO DE-RADICALIZATION EFFORTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L TORONTO 000213 NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR S/CT E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2019 TAGS: PTER KISL PREL CA AE SUBJECT: UAE CHARITY FUNDS TORONTO DE-RADICALIZATION EFFORTS REF: TORONTO 151 Classified By: Pol-Econ Chief Lee MacTaggart, 1.4 (d) ¶1. (C/NF) Muhammed Robert Heft, director of the Paradise Forever (P4E) center in Toronto, traveled to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in late August and early September, accompanied by Toronto-area Liberal federal MP Derek Lee. Heft and Lee met with officials of P4E's principal benefactor, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Charity and Humanitarian Establishment (MBRMCHE),a private charitable organization founded by the UAE's ruling family. MBRMCHE, which has been P4E's main donor for the past three years, reportedly transmits funds to P4E through the UAE's embassy in Ottawa. ¶2. (C/NF) In a meeting on September 8, Lee told PolOff that the meeting with P4E's principal donor was an overall success. MBRMCHE agreed to triple its funding for P4E's activities, which include a "12-Step" de-radicalization program for Toronto-area Muslim youths (reftel),as well as community services for recent converts to Islam living in the area. (Note: Lee estimates that P4E's budget (before the increase) is about C$200,000). ¶3. (C/NF) At the same meeting that MBRMCHE agreed to increase P4E's funding, the organization's representatives also reportedly recommended that Heft seek funding from other, more suitable, donors. (Note: MBRMCHE's main focus seems to be on poverty. End note.) MBRMCHE set up a meeting between Heft and representatives of the Red Crescent in Abu Dhabi during Heft's stay in the UAE. Lee could not say whether this means that MBRMCHE has decided not to continue funding Heft's organization. According to Lee, the Red Crescent did not make any funding commitments at the meeting, but he suspects that it is a matter of Heft building a relationship through future meetings. ¶4. (C/NF) COMMENT: Heft's efforts at de-radicalizing Toronto-area Muslims with extremist views are well-known to local authorities. What may be less understood is the relationship between MBRMCHE and Heft. If MBRMCHE is indeed hoping that Heft will seek other relationships - and other sources of funding - it will be important to know which direction Heft takes, and who picks up any slack in funding for Heft's goal of positively influencing disaffected Muslim youth in the region. JOHNSON