Born in Telafa, Iraq, Hassan Farhat (Abdul Jabbar, Abu Ossama, Abu Khalid) was the founder and Imam

Imam

An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...

 of Salaheddin Mosque in Scarborough, Ontario

Scarborough, Ontario

Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

However, he was made persona non grata

Persona non grata

Persona non grata , literally meaning "an unwelcome person", is a legal term used in diplomacy that indicates a proscription against a person entering the country...

 by the worship centre's administration, and was allowed to return only for worship. After returning to Iraq in 2001, he was accused of being a "top Ansar

Ansar al-Islam

Ansar al-Islam is a Sunni Islamist group of Iraqis, promoting a radical interpretation of Islam, close to the official Saudi ideology of Wahhabism with strict application of Sharia. The group was formed in the northern provinces of Iraq near the Iranian border, and previously had established...

 commander" by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is a Kurdish political party in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded on June 1, 1975, by coordinations between Jalal Talabani and Nawshirwan Mustafa...

. Other sources have accused him of belonging to Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
After becoming a landed immigrant in Canada, Farhat lived on Eglinton East

Eglinton Avenue

Eglinton Avenue, originally known as the Richview Sideroad within Etobicoke, is an east-west arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Within Toronto, Eglinton Avenue is the only road which crosses through all six former boroughs...

, but faced constant difficulty trying to obtain full citizenship, since Canadian Security Intelligence Service

Canadian Security Intelligence Service

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...

  was wary of his connections to Egyptian Islamic Jihad.

In 1996, Farhat met Mahmoud Jaballah at the Medina Mosque

Medina Mosque

Medina Mosque may refer to:* Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, Saudi Arabia* Medina Mosque , England...

 in Toronto, and helped him find a local apartment and learn English.