As if it wasn't enough that they want to blow up all the "Crusaders" and "Zionists," now al-Qaeda has apparently chosen a new target: Freemasons.
A "secret" Canadian intelligence study newly released to the National Post describes how Islamist conspiracy theorists have seen the enemy and it is Freemasonry.
Islamist extremists and the Freemasons is the actual title of a Canadian Security Intelligence Service intelligence assessment distributed in December 2009.
It says extremist ideologues have taken Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and the Nicolas Cage film National Treasure as evidence of a conspiracy against Islam.
They have been telling youths that Freemasons are: anti-Muslim; have close ties to Israel; and have been conducting secret paramilitary operations in Europe.
While most rational thinkers can tell fact from fiction, CSIS warns that we should not have such high expectations for the cave-dwelling sages at al-Qaeda HQ.
"It is easy to dismiss belief in an all-powerful Freemasonry movement as akin to conspiracy theories prevalent on the Internet, fed by popular films and literature," it says.
"It is important to underscore, however, that these theories are consistent with the Islamist extremist common narrative: in this light, the Freemasons are believed to be taking part in attacks against Islam.
"This portrayal can serve as a useful contribution to the radicalization process.. Freemasons are thus seen as another of 'Islam's enemies' and their actions, real or not, used as justifications to respond with violence."
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