Quebecers wanting to join fight against ISIS on the rise, expert says

The tale of a former Canadian Forces soldier who spent five months fightingIslamic State militants in Iraq has prompted otherQuebecersto express interest in joining the front lines.

Montreal's newanti-radicalizationcentre says ithas been receiving calls from families worried that their loved ones want to get involved as well.

The flow of calls has increasedsince a young man known only as "Wali,"a 33-year-oldelite marksman who served in Canada'smilitarywith the VanDoos,made a number of media appearances to tell of his battles alongside the Kurdsin their fightagainst ISIS.

Wali'sinfluence has been so great that HermanDeparice-Okomba, who heads Montreal'sradicalizationprevention centre, hasdubbed itthe "Walieffect."

"It has created a craze,"saidDeparice-Okomba, who said that he isconsidering organizing ameeting withWalito discuss the situation.

"These days parents are calling us to say that their kids are showing signs that they plan to enlist in thefight againstIslamic State."

Wali, however, does not appear to have any intention of discouraging those who want to enlist.

"I get a lot of messages from potential volunteers," Wali wrote in an email.

"I am proud that our youth want to fight barbarism. I am proud that young people want to take up arms against extremism! I also realize the responsibility that now weighs on my shoulders."

Not all expertsconsider the trend troubling.

"The biggest threat that we face is young people who became radicalized in the ideology of Al Qaeda or the Islamic State," said former Canadian secret services analyst Phil Gursky.

The radicalization prevention centre says it hasdealt with90 families and received 360 calls since it kicked off lastMarch.

The organization is funded by Montreal and the province and seeks to combat violent radicalism.

CSIS believes that 140 Canadians have joined a terrorist organization.