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“That does not look like a terrorist,” Earl said, pointing to a photo.

Earl, a friendly woman who grew up on a farm with six siblings, said her son left for Syria four months after he converted in August of 2012.

“I never had a problem with the (Muslim) faith, never dreaming in a million years that this was going to be the result of it,” Earl said.

“If that’s what you’re into and you’re not harming anybody, fine. There wasn’t anything concerning with his behaviour.”

Maguire’s family believes his road to Islam began when he became friends with Muslim co-workers at an Ottawa Walmart, but it wasn’t until he started at the University of Ottawa that his interest in the religion really took off.

“I thought that maybe it would just sort of pass,” Earl said.

Earl’s husband, Bill Langenberg, said he remembered Jan. 1, 2012. Maguire was about to go to bed when the late news showed a story on the conflict in the Middle East.

Maguire sat down beside his stepfather and said, “My brothers are being mistreated,” Langenberg recalled his stepson said.

“I didn’t think that was normal,” Langenberg said.

Earl said her son took down a picture of his sister in the spare room, saying he couldn’t do his prayers in front of her.

She was also taken aback when Maguire asked her to teach him and a friend how to ride a horse.

He wanted to learn, he told her, because he couldn’t ride into paradise after death unless he was on a horse. She gave him a few lessons.

Langenberg said he tried to speak to his stepson one night about Islam. Langenberg worked hard to develop a relationship with him, but Maguire kept pushing him away.