Family members dressed in burqas are seething and whining, Muslim lawyers are already talking about suing the police, and the suspects arrested on terror-related charges in Ontario are demanding to be given copies of the Koran.

Family members of some of the men facing terrorism-related charges - wives, mothers and fathers - met in the parking lot of a Brampton courthouse early this morning.

Standing behind a metal barricade police put up to seal off the court entrance, women dressed in burkas rubbed each other’s backs to console one another.

“I think there are a lot of people here today who should not be involved in this,” said Anser Farooq, a lawyer representing several of the accused. “I think they (the police) cast their net far too wide. We’ve been talking several lawsuits as a result of this action,” he said.

Security at the Hurontario St. courthouse was high. More than two dozen local and provincial police officers were guarding the courthouse when the families arrived. Snipers wearing camouflage were posted on the roof of the main building and on the roof of an adjacent building that normally houses family court. Members of the Peel police tactical team tightly controlled traffic entering the parking lot, and an officer with a submachinegun was posted in front of a roundabout leading to the main entrance.

OPP bomb sniffing dogs were also on scene, and as early as 8 a.m., police could be seen traversing the hallways of the courthouse sweeping the building for explosives.

Pointing at snipers on the roof, Farooq, who would not name his clients, said: “This is ridiculous. They’ve got soldiers here with guns. This is going to completely change the atmosphere.” …

Handcuffed to one another and wearing leg irons the detainees stood silently while the justice of the peace remanded them into custody until June 6 when they are scheduled to reappear.

Through their lawyers, some complained about the conditions where they were held Friday night and asked that they be given copies of the Qur’an while in custody.

UPDATE at 6/3/06 3:20:10 pm:

The terror enablers in Canada are wasting no time getting out in front of the cameras.

The arrests of two other men from Mississauga — brothers-in-law Ahmad Ghany and Zakaria Amara — shocked neighbours and family who said they couldn’t believe the allegations.

“I think they have it wrong. Those guys have nothing to do with (terrorism),” said Scarborough Imam Aly Hindy. Hindy has been a high profile critic of the RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service, accusing the federal agency of targeting Muslims who criticize the foreign policies of Western governments.

He believes this is what led to the arrests yesterday.

“Because they are young people, and they are Muslims, they are saying it’s terrorism,” he said in an interview last night.

“This is a good community and we’re very shocked by the news. We leave our whole family here for the whole day, including our small children, and come back to this,” said local resident Qadeer Mohammed. “This very shocking, and the whole community will be affected.”