Want to blow away your competition at work? If you send a text message about it, you’re now a terrorist. That’s what happened to Saad Allami, turning his life upside down.
A casual text message to work colleagues encouraging them to ”blow away” the competition at a trade show allegedly plunged a Muslim man into a terrorism probe.
The Quebec man says he was arrested by provincial police while picking up his seven-year-old son at school. A team of police officers stormed into his home, telling his wife she was married to a terrorist. And his work colleagues were detained for hours at the U.S. border because of their connection to him.
On Jan. 21, 2011, Allami sent a text message to colleagues urging them to “blow away” the competition at a trade show in New York City.
Allami was arrested and detained for four hours while police searched his house and repeatedly told his wife that he was a terrorist.
The Moroccan native is seeking $100,000 from the Quebec provincial police force, one of its sergeants, and the provincial government. The six-figure sum is being sought for unlawful detention, unlawful arrest, loss of income and damage to his reputation.
Allami has been unable to obtain the necessary paperwork in order for him to continue working in his profession, leaving him with no choice but to take the Quebec provincial police force to court in order to restore his reputation and be able to find work again.
“Allami says he sent the text message in French and used the word ”exploser,” a term he claims is commonly used in finance to mean grow or succeed.”
His exact words were:
“Salem, je serai à New York le 25 janvier, on va exploser ACN, si vous avez des contacts référez-les moi”
This literally translates to:
Salem, I will be in New York on January 25h, we will explode ACN, if you have contacts refer them to me.
In all likelihood, Allami’s message was automatically screened by American intelligence agencies who have the ability to monitor cell phone usage within its borders. Allami sent the message to colleagues in New York City, where it was intercepted. It is unlikely that those who intercepted the message understand colloquial Quebecois French and over-reacted. The problem arises when none of his colleagues were arrested in the United States. They were only detained upon their arrival at the border going back to Canada.
In reality, anyone reading this literal translation would know that there is something not quite right with the translation and get someone qualified to help them ascertain what is going on. Instead, everyone decided it must be terrorism because some machine translation can’t be wrong.
There are several questions that remain unanswered. If there was really such a threat, why were his colleagues never arrested when they were in New York City and Allami, a Muslim, was the only one under immediate scrutiny? Why did they not dig deeper or get someone who understands colloquial Quebecois French? Why was Allami’s message intercepted and why was he under suspicion to begin with?
The greater problem to remember here is that Saad Allami was arrested not for the actions he took, but for a message he sent. His speech is what was considered dangerous.
