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Muslim-American Civil Rights in Danger: U.S. Muslim Leaders
By Ayesha Ahmad
WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (IslamOnline) - The civil rights of Muslims and Arabs across America are being endangered by the current backlash against them after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon last Tuesday; a backlash that is being exacerbated by certain FBI policies and media presentations, Muslim leaders said Tuesday.
The heads of several national Muslim organizations, speaking at a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, were quick to thank the media and the government for their positive messages about Muslims in the past few days, and all reiterated their condemnations of Tuesday's attacks, offering their condolences to the victims and their families.
Many of the panelists addressed the current investigation by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), and expressed concern that Muslim-Americans should not be treated as enemies - either by their fellow citizens or by law enforcement agencies.
"Muslim Americans must feel that they are perceived by law enforcement agencies as a part of the solution, not as part of the problem," said Abdulwahab Alkebsi, director of the Washington-based Islamic Institute.
Panelist Stanley Cohen, lawyer for Maryland resident Moataz al-Hallak, who is being sought by the FBI for questioning in connection with Osama bin Laden, accused the FBI outright of having "unleashed a reign of terror" on Muslims and Arabs by invading their mosques, taking down license plate numbers, and going to citizens' homes to question them.
"I accuse the FBI of systematically violating the rights of people of color, of Muslims, of [resident] aliens throughout the United States," Cohen said. "All of a sudden, the rights of all Americans are being given to the FBI," he added, speaking of reports of illegal seizures and talk of "material witness orders".
Cohen said that his client, who worked at an Islamic school in Maryland where Friday prayer attendees were stopped and questioned by the FBI last week, was waiting at home to hear from a prosecutor or to receive a subpoena, but he refused, as was his right, to talk to the FBI.
"If there is such a tremendous exigency right now, and if my client is high on the list of [those] possessing information - with my client ready, willing and able to talk to a federal prosecutor, why has no one picked up the phone?" he demanded to know.
The violation of the rights of Muslim and Arab-Americans, who may be sought by law enforcement or investigation officers simply because of their Middle Eastern appearance, has raised intense debate all over the country between those who feel that Americans should be willing to give up certain liberties and those who feel that we should never give up our civil rights.
"We do not sacrifice what has really made us free in America… that is civil rights, that is civil liberties," said Mahdi Bray, political director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC).
"So as we go out to apprehend [those who did this]," he said, "we must ask three important questions. Who is the enemy? What is the nature of our war on terrorism? And… how do we define victory?" he prompted.
In terms of the imminent possibility of this war, many of the panelists urged the media to take caution in how they name "the enemy" and in how they portray Muslims here in reaction to the attacks and to the "new war on terrorism".
Panelist Raeed Tayeh, a research fellow at the United Association for Studies and Research (UASR), said, "Many media outlets have failed to report that anywhere between 100 and 700 of those missing in the World Trade Center are Muslims or Arabs."
He also worried that while all of America saw the images of Palestinians "dancing in the streets" after the attacks, there has been very little coverage of the blood drives that have taken place in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, or the minute of silence observed by more than a million Palestinian schoolchildren, or of any other rallies and shows of support by Palestinians for Americans who are suffering from this tragedy.
While he said that "there's been a great improvement since the days of the Oklahoma City bombing" in media coverage of Islam - singling out Peter Jennings and certain ABC News coverage as particularly commendable - he said that the media has not taken the backlash seriously enough.
"This is very serious, and I think this should be addressed as a national epidemic."
He also asked journalists to refrain from using words like "Islamic fundamentalist" or "radical Muslim" in connection with the word "terrorist", as it only propagates the stereotype and further endangers the safety of Muslims living here.
Aly Abouzaakouk, executive director of the American Muslim Council (AMC), said, "Even words like 'crusade' should not be used. It is important that our image needs to be studied… We believe that there is a very good opportunity now to bring them together - the American community and the Muslim world."
In response to questions about jihad (struggle for the sake of God), "suicide attacks" and the idea of martyrdom in Islam, Bray urged journalists to talk to with "sound Muslim theologians" rather than take sound bytes from uninformed programs.
Cohen said that he was working with Muslim organizations to produce a fact sheet within the next week listing incidents of FBI violations of the civil rights of Muslim Americans.
In the statement released by the Muslim American Society (MAS) at the press conference, the participating groups stated their position on the prospect of war, calling on the United States to "ensure the establishment of internationally accepted factual legal evidence beyond reasonable doubt before the development or execution of any response plan."
"Additionally, the vast cooperation exhibited by U.S. Muslims with law enforcement should not be an opportunity by law enforcement to circumvent or abridge the legal rights and civil liberties of the Muslim community.
"Finally, the United States, being the world's sole superpower, must reflect in its foreign policies our national interests as well as the global interest of other nations, especially oppressed peoples. We suggest that the U.S. commissions an objective study to examine the possible relationship between our foreign policies and the anti-American sentiment that has engulfed many nations," the statement read.
The organizations signing the statement, and present at the news conference, were: MAS, MPAC, AMC, UASR, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and Solidarity International for Human Rights (SIHR).
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