Chapter 4 – The Infiltration of the Toronto 18: A Conversation with Mubin Shaikh

This chapter is an edited version of a conversation that occurred in December 2019 between Amarnath Amarasingam and Mubin Shaikh, a confidential human source for Canadian law enforcement related to the Toronto 18 case. Shaikh, having spent an inordinate amount of time with the suspects, has important insights on the group, their friendship dynamics, and their differing levels of radicalization. The chapter also delves into the challenges of infiltration, trust-building with suspects, as well as the risks experienced by those who go undercover. The conversation concludes with Shaikh reflecting on ongoing struggles related to convincing some in the Muslim community in Canada that it was not entrapment and the social and psychological fallout of the whole experience, even after a decade.