Muslim-Government relations: FBI looks to American Muslims in search of al-Qaida info

Seek and ye shall find

It could be a tactic to sow panic among Americans already weary with holiday terror threats (See? We’re doing something!), but last week’s warning by the FBI to be on the lookout for seven people suspected of links to al-Qaida is being taken very seriously by American Muslims, despite worries that the warnings issued by the FBI will result in Americans spying on their Muslim neighbors. “We want to debunk the myth that American Muslims are not concerned with securing our homeland,” said Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). Together with other American Muslim organizations, Al-Marayati said that MPAC will work with the FBI to denounce terrorism, control “belligerence” at mosques and improve communication between Muslims and US authorities. The group is also helping place FBI posters of the individuals sought for questioning in US mosques. Following the lead of the Muslim Council of Britain, who began a campaign to “isolate and stop tolerating those spreading hatred against the country using the name of Islam,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) launched a similar petition, “Not In The Name Of Islam,” that reads in part, “We repudiate and dissociate ourselves from any Muslim group or individual who commits such brutal and un-Islamic acts.” (Groups and individuals representing over 640,000 Muslims have signed the petition in the past few weeks.) Another organization, the Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism was also launched last week by Virginia lawyer Kamal Nawash. FBI Director Robert Mueller, as well as homeland security officials throughout the US, plan on meeting with Muslim officials to coordinate anti-terror efforts in the US. “Within the Islamic community, they are going to know much better who is suspicious and who is not,” said John Miller, who heads Homeland Security operations for the Los Angeles police department. “The best information we can get about the fringe in the Muslim community will be from the Muslims.”

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.