Source: metronews.ca

Blawal Aleem, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Student Association at Ryerson University.

A nationwide campaign that aims to counter ISIS attempts at recruiting students from college and university campuses is under way in Toronto.

Stop the CrISIS was officially launched last week, initiated by members of Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA).

The campaign, which includes efforts at Ryerson, University of Toronto and York University, is described as “a riveting, eye-opening look at guarding against radicalization.”

“We want to condemn ISIS and let people know it does not represent Islam,” said Blawal Aleem, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Student Association (AMSA) at Ryerson University.

“As the youth, students are vulnerable so we want to educate them before ISIS reaches them,” he said.

Over the past few years, several Canadian youths have left the country and joined the jihadist movements.

ISIS jihadist Mohammed Ali, also known as Abu Turaab, took to social media last month to say he is a former Ryerson student and used online platforms to promote extremist opinions.

Both his Twitter and ask.com accounts were suspended, only to resurface some time later.

Aleem said people like Abu Turaab represent an isolated section of the population with personal problems, mental issues or drug addicts. But, he added, they can be dangerous if not stopped.

“I just found out that Abu was actually expelled from Ryerson,” said Aleem, a fourth-year student studying business technology management. “These are troubled individuals and if he is depressed and finds ISIS, he’ll say ‘ah, now I have something to belong to.’”

He and other members of Ryerson’s Muslim Student Association are having a seminar Friday as part of the national campaign against radicalization.

The event will feature presentations and speakers talking about issues of extremism and knowledge of the Quran. Similar events will be taking place at 45 universities and colleges across the country.