Canada Allows Islamic Knife Attacker to Travel to Mecca
An Ontario man, Ayanle Hassan Ali, 38, who was found not criminally responsible for three counts of attempted murder stemming from a March 2016 knife attack in Canada, has been granted a three-week travel pass to travel to Saudi Arabia (mecca) and Somalia. The ontario Review Board approved the trip to “facilitate a meeting with a woman” as part of an arranged marriage his father is pursuing in Somalia, describing it as a potential possibility to meet a prospective spouse.Ali, who has schizophrenia, reportedly attends his mosque weekly and prays five times daily, and his doctors testified that his faith remains crucial to him. He has a history of violence linked to the 2016 attack, including statements to police that “Allah told me to do this,” and was transferred to the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in 2023 before being discharged to live with his father; by 2025 he was living with his mother. Despite continued public-safety concerns raised by CAMH, the board granted the travel pass citing his remorse and ongoing medication use.
A Muslim man who was deemed “not criminally responsible” for three counts of attempted murder after a March 2016 knife attack in Canada has been permitted to travel to the Middle East and Somalia, despite posing a public safety threat.
Ayanle Hassan Ali, 38, is planning a pilgrimage to Mecca with his father and wishes to meet a potential bride in Somalia, the National Post, a Canadian outlet, reported.
He has been given a three-week travel pass for Saudi Arabia and Somalia.
The Ontario Review Board said Ali wants to go abroad “to facilitate a meeting with a woman as his father has been working on arranging a possible marriage with a woman who resides in Somalia.”
Ali’s doctor reportedly testified that his patient’s “faith and religious beliefs continue to be very important to him, and he attends his mosque weekly, and he prays five times daily.”
Ali, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, was found not criminally responsible back in May 2018 on three attempted murder charges, along with two counts of assault causing bodily harm, two counts of assault with a weapon, and possession of weapon for a dangerous purpose.
The Daily Mail also covered the story, outlining the 2016 knife attack that saw Ali “burst into a military recruitment service” before stabbing various soldiers.
“Allah told me to do this,” he reportedly told law enforcement at the scene of the crime after being subdued. “Allah told me to come here and kill people.”
Despite this, the Ontario Review Board ordered that Ali be transferred to Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in March 2023.
He was discharged in June 2023 to live with his father.
In March 2025, Ali moved in with his mother, who also “has a history of untreated schizophrenia” and he continues to live with her, according to the National Post.
An attorney for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health testified that “Ali continued to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public.”
Expressing remorse for his crimes and taking his medication regularly, however, was enough to land him a three-week travel pass despite his violent background and turbulent history.
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