Dr Khdiga R Metwally, mother of a convicted ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) terrorist, is contesting for a public-school board trustee position in Milton, Ontario. Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy planned to bomb Times Square and the New York City subway system. He also wanted to attack concert venues and shoot the attendees. The disclosures were made by American prosecutors. He intended to implement his plot during Ramzan in 2016.
Now, his mother has registered to run for trustee of the Halton District School Board in Milton Wards 1 and 2 on 15th June. The deadline for nominations was 21st August. She is listed against Andrew J. Wood, while Donna Danielli presently serves in the position. 26th October is the date of the vote.
Khdiga’s campaign website describes her “as a Certified Human Development Instructor, former Life Skills Teacher, University Department Chair, founder and Director of the Canadian Centre for Training and Consultation and author.” It further reads, “I have spent many years working with students, parents, educators, and community organisations. Through education, training, and leadership initiatives, I have helped strengthen learning skills, communication, family engagement, leadership development and lifelong learning.”
“My experience has provided me with valuable insight into the factors that contribute to successful schools, including student achievement, educator support, family involvement, school climate, educational policies, and long-term planning. It has also given me the opportunity to listen to the needs of families, understand the challenges facing educators and students, and recognise the importance of strong partnerships between schools and the communities they serve,” she alleges.
Khdiga also promises “safe and welcoming learning environments, meaningful family engagement and excellence in education to help students reach their full potential and ensure that our schools continue to serve future generations with excellence.” However, there is no mention of her son in the campaign.
Trustees of the Halton District School Board set policies for public schools in Milton and throughout Halton, including those pertaining to the environment and admissions. However, a parent of a convicted person is not prohibited from contesting by the Education Act.
Who is Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy
Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, who is a Canadian citizen, was born in Kuwait and grew up in Mississauga. According to the US attorney’s office, he desired to orchestrate bombings and shootings for ISIS in New York. He utilised encrypted talks with men in Pakistan and the Philippines for this purpose. The conversations started when he was 17. He also purchased 40 pounds of hydrogen peroxide for the same.
El Bahnasawy was taken into custody in New Jersey in May 2016. He entered a guilty plea to terrorism-related charges in October of that year. Afterwards, he was given a 40-year sentence in federal prison in December 2018. “This is a sick boy. This is crazy. You have no justice,” Khdiga shouted at the time. She continued to defend her son and directed blame towards the authorities.
In a 2019 email to the Toronto Sun, she asserted that the accusations were “unfair” and “fabricated,” argued that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) “manipulated him by ‘hyper’ talking while he was manic,” and cautioned Canadians against purported “net manipulating.”
She insisted, “Then he was arrested from the family car during our vacation visit to New York City. My son had only his bag and a few clothes. Nothing to threaten anybody.”
Khdiga even declared that the issue was “all Canada’s fault,” alleging that when detectives spoke to her son online, he was on a waiting list for mental health services in the country. Notably, she and her husband enrolled him in an Islamic school in the Toronto region, where he was drawn to “militant jihad.” The revelation was made after a letter written by El Bahnasawy was produced in court.
Furthermore, Khdiga’s husband filed a complaint about supposed RCMP entrapment with Canada’s national security review agency in 2025. Based on reliable evidence, the assessment concluded that the authorities operated in good faith.
The terror plot
“In the name of ISIS, Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy planned an elaborate attack to wreak havoc and destruction on New York City. He planned to detonate bombs in Times Square and the New York City subway system, and to shoot civilians at concert venues. Demonstrating his commitment to carry out the attacks, El Bahnasawy pinpointed bomb locations on a map of the subway system and acquired an array of bomb-making materials. El Bahnasawy aspired, in his words, to ‘create the next 9/11.’ Thanks to our law enforcement partners in New York, nationally, and internationally, this potentially devastating plot was thwarted,” mentioned an official statement from the United States (US) Department of Justice.
He conspired with a US citizen staying in Pakistan named Talha Haroon and a man from the Philippines, Russell Salic, “to conduct bombings and shootings in heavily populated areas of New York City during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan in 2016, all in the name of ISIS.”
“El Bahnasawy acquired bomb-making materials and helped secure a cabin within driving distance of New York City to use for building explosive devices and staging the NYC Attacks. Haroon allegedly made plans to travel from Pakistan to New York City to join El Bahnasawy in carrying out the attacks. And as El Bahnasawy and Haroon prepared to execute the NYC Attacks, Salic allegedly wired money from the Philippines to the United States to help fund the terrorist operation,” the release highlighted.
El Bahnasawy stabbed officer Dale Franquet Junior in the eye while he was incarcerated. The victim’s eye was lost. He entered a guilty plea last November to charges of giving material support to ISIS, prison contraband and assault with intent to murder.
He was deemed culpable on a remaining support count in a January ruling. A letter referring to the stabbing as an ISIS terrorist act and ISIS graffiti were mentioned in the documents. The new file’s guidelines range from 30 years to life in prison, in addition to El Bahnasawy’s current sentence.
