Muslims foil terror plot on Canadian train

Canadian Muslims are speaking out in the wake of the foiled terror plot against a Canadian passenger train Monday that may or may not have involved an al-Qaida ring in Iran.

Without a tip from the Muslim community, said activist and lawyer Hussein Hamdani, "we wouldn't be having this ... arrest right now."

“All Canadians need to understand that the Muslim community in Canada are partners in making Canada safe and secure," Hamdani told CTV News.

Hamdani said cooperation like Monday's between Muslims and government agencies is quite common.

Before a press conference announcing the arrest of two foreign nationals on terror charges, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police called 22 leaders from the Muslim community to brief them on the situation and thank them for their assistance in preventing the attack.

Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, of Montreal, and Raed Jaser, 35, of Toronto, were the two alleged terrorists arrested.

Muhammad Robert Heft, who runs an organization providing outreach to Muslim converts, said the meeting was intended to show the Muslim community the RCMP is appreciative of the cooperation and not specifically targeting Muslims.

"It says enough for guys like me to go back to people and say, no, no that's not how it is," Heft said.

"You might think it's this way, you might try to come up with a conspiracy but I know some real stand-up guys inside the RCMP who took the time to take our community aside and say, 'Hey, look, you guys are part of the greater community, there might be things said about you guys but know that's not what we believe.'"