A Muslim educator once accused of supporting terrorism says he has been unfairly linked to a radicalized Montreal student who joined the Islamic State.

Adil Charkaoui says he is at the centre of a “witch hunt” after his classes were suspended at the College de Maisonneuve on Thursday. Charkaoui says he was not responsible for radicalizing one of six young people who reportedly left the country to join ISIS in January.

“I am disgusted by this kind of attitude,” Charkoui told reporters at a news conference on Friday. “The Muslim community is being demonized.”

Charkaoui’s student was one of four men and two women who allegedly fled the country for Syria. It’s believed the group included 18- and 19-year-olds, four of whom were students at the College de Maisonneuve.

“We had contact with one young person for two classes. That’s it,” Charkaoui told reporters on Friday. He also slammed the media’s treatment of Muslims.

“It’s not up to the Muslim community to apologize for any terrorism in the world,” he said.

The college said it suspended Charkoui’s Islamic classes after it became aware of a series of concerning student videos.

Charkaoui says the videos contained lyrics from songs found in publicly available texts. He adds that he is not responsible for what his students read in a library.

Charkaoui says he taughty basic lessons in Arabic and the Koran.

News of the six young people fleeing to join ISIS comes as the federal government moves to push through new anti-terror measures in the House of Commons.

Charkaoui was arrested in 2003 under a security certificate on allegations that he was an al Qaeda sleeper agent. He was detained without trial for two years and held under house arrest and GPS surveillance for four more years before he was released in 2009.

Charkaoui has been active in Montreal’s Muslim community. He fought against the cancellation of an Islamic community event earlier this month.

He says he helps community members write letters and stage protests when they’re unhappy with “Islamophobia” in Quebec.

“We want to fight Islamophobia and discrimination,” he said. “We are de-radicalizing, but using our own ways.”

He says he is now considering legal action.