Muslims slam media for overstating Arab identity of criminals while ignoring the same heritage of national American heroes like Abizaid

By Dina Rashed, IOL Chicago correspondent

CHICAGO, March 26 (IslamOnline.net) - Several officials representing U.S. law enforcement authorities and federal agencies met with leaders from Arab American and Muslim American communities on Tuesday, March 25, to discuss the backlash and potential rise in hate crimes against Arabs and Muslims in light of the continuing U.S. military invasion of Iraq.

Mr. Thomas Kneir, Chicago FBI special agent, said that it is the objective of the Bureau to investigate criminal act including hate crimes in an effort to provide safety to Americans of all backgrounds.

“Let’s get a reality check; we are after criminal activities and not after religious or ethnic groups,” he stated in the press conference which included members of the Arab American community.

Answering question by IslamOnline.net on whether the Bureau has a proactive prevention plans to increase security of mosques and community centers to curb any potential hate crimes, Kneir said that this is an issue which the local police stations work on in cooperation with the communities.

According to the FBI, there has been 6 cases investigated as hate crimes in Chicago, but Kneir said that his office does not identify immediately any crime against Muslims or Arabs as hate crimes, but rather follow a thorough investigation before labeling it as such.

The press conference followed an hour-long meeting between U.S. officials and members of the Arab community, who exchanged views on means of communication between the two sides.

Ali Alarabi, National Director of the United Arab American League, a Chicago-based organization advocating civil rights and liberties of Arab Americans, who coordinated the meeting, emphasized that the purpose was to open channels of communications with law enforcement officials and the community, and to foster an enduring relation of cooperation and trust.

“Arab Americans want to be treated as any American community and not less,” Alarabi told the press.

“We feel we are under siege, we are afraid to speak Arabic, and Muslim ladies are afraid to cover their hair.”

Professor Asad Basoul, Professor of Arabic studies at Chicago’s American Islamic College, criticized the role of mainstream American media in overstating the Arab or Islamic identity of individual criminals while almost ignoring the same heritage of national American heroes.

He compared the attention given by the media to the background of the American soldier accused of throwing a grenade into one of the military command tents in the Gulf operations, to the very limited attention given to the background of Lt. Gen. John Abizaid, as one of the highest ranking officers commanding U.S. troops in the ongoing war in Iraq.

“We are citizens and not half citizens,” added Basoul.

Nareman Taha, a Muslim American activist and cofounder of the Arab American Family Services, spoke of the heavy burden that Muslim women and children carry in times when waves of anti-Arab and Anti-Muslim backlashes soar.

She added that the tremendous fear in the community had led women to be confined to their homes, and that many Muslim children are picked upon for no reason other than their cultural and religious identities.

Commenting on the Iraqis who were interviewed by the FBI in the last three months and whether that automatically profiled them, Kneir said that the 250 Iraqis were voluntary interviewed hoping that they can provide the U.S. officials with any useful information relevant to the situation in Iraq.

Basel Al-Harbi, an Iraqi American, recalled accounts of how his family was verbally harassed and received death threats from neighbors following September 11 events, nevertheless he still considers himself and his family part of the American society.

Last Friday, a Palestinian family from the suburb of Burbank, was the latest victim of what is considered a hate crime, when an explosion shattered their van's windows and blew out a door but caused no injuries.

Chicago chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) had put a $2000 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest of the criminals.

Almost two weeks earlier, one of Chicago’s biggest mosques located in the suburb of Villa Park, was vandalized by a group of teenagers who hit the glass windows with baseball bats while the Isha prayer was performed, no one was hurt in the incident.

In addition to Kneir, Cindy O’Connell, Chicago’s Homeland Acting Director and Vicki Peters, of the U.S. Attorney’s office also listened to concerns and expectations of the community towards the new immigration and registration procedures targeting most of the Arab nationals.

The meeting and the press conference were held in the South Side of Chicago, an area heavily populated with Arab Americans.

The press conference was covered by Chicago’s ABC, NBC, CBS stations in addition to the local stations and newspapers.