Muslim-Government relations: Tensions strained between American Muslims and the FBI

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It was a promising turn in the rocky relationship between federal authorities (mainly the FBI) and the American Muslim populace. Overtures were made towards US Muslims regarding a more vigorous prosecution of hate crimes (accompanied by pleas for assistance in helping combat terrorism), and the response was a proposal by Muslims to encourage mosques to take a more active role in teaming with law enforcement agencies. But with recent warnings using “credible intelligence” predicting al-Qaida attacks in the US before the November presidential elections, the FBI (per directive from Director Robert Mueller) is preferring the old route of “fishing” for clues through interviews with Muslims in major metropolitan areas. “Are American Muslims going to be partners in this, or suspects?” asked Salam Al-Marayati, director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council and author of a proposal to create a “coalition of the willign to fight terrorism” among US mosques. FBI raids of Muslim organizations has picked up recently, as have interviews with Muslims that ask about attitudes toward the Iraq war, Muslims who may have traveled to certain parts of the Muslim world, and whether or not certain mosques have extremist tendencies. The raids on Muslim organizations and businesses have been particularly troubling since none have resulted in criminal charges and have disrupted many legitimate community organizations and lives. “When will the suspicion end?” said Helal Omeira, the executive director of the SF Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “We’ve been so open, and three years later everyone is still a suspect.”

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