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AMP Report – January 11, 2007
Muslim groups express concerns to Gonzales
over post-9/11 policies and practices
On January 8, 2006, leaders of prominent Muslim and Arab American groups met in Washington with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in which they shared community’s concerns over post-9/11 federal law enforcement policies and practices.
The meeting - which came amid reports of mounting Islamophobia in the nation as symbolized by incidents such as controversy over oath taking on the Quran by the first Muslim Congressman, Keith Ellison - was attended by the representatives from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Arab American Institute (AAI), the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), the National Association of Muslim Lawyers (NAML), and the Islamic Society of North American (ISNA).
The meeting with Attorney General followed a similar meeting last December between prominent American Muslim leaders with key senior US government officials to discuss the state of Islamophobia in America and US-Muslim relations.
The Muslim and Arab leaders called on Gonzales to publicly acknowledge the positive contributions of their communities in working to preserve national security and expand efforts to promote engagement with all levels of government and law enforcement engagement.
Other issues raised at the meeting included termination of the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) program, comprehensive immigration reform and a review of the immigration court system, community outreach efforts by the Department of Justice, ethnic and racial profiling, and the negative impact some regulations have had on Arab and Muslim-American charities.
Terminate Entry-Exit Registration System
Kareem Shora, ADC National Executive Director, urged the Attorney General to advocate for the complete termination of the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) program and to address its residual effects.
ADC provided a detailed letter to the Attorney General highlighting some of the continuing challenges associated with this "special registration" program. ADC's letter noted that during ADC's 2004 National Convention, Asa Hutchinson, then Undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), stated that "it is our hope to completely end this special program because our long term goal is to treat everybody the same way and not based upon where you came from." Attorney General Gonzales acknowledged that some challenges associated with NSEERS remain and indicated that the Department of Justice would coordinate efforts with DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff to review some of the concerns raised.
ADC Deputy Director for Legal Advocacy Leila Laoudji discussed the challenges associated with the Military Commissions Act and the undermining effect that strips the right of Habeas Corpus. ADC provided a letter to the Attorney General indicating that this provision strips from long time residents, legal visitors, students, and permanent residents their right to challenge their detention in a court of law even if they have been detained for a lengthy period and have not had any charges brought against them. Given that this is now law, ADC urged the Attorney General to preserve the right of Habeas Corpus for all and to exercise great caution in ensuring that the system of checks and balances upon which our nation was founded remains intact.
Albert Mokhiber, member of the ADC National Board of Directors, raised the FBI’s continuing investigation and $1-Million reward concerning the 1985 terrorist attack that killed Alex Odeh; ADC’s Southern California Regional Director. Odeh was murdered on October 11, 1985, when a powerful pipe bomb exploded as he unlocked and opened the door of the ADC Regional office in Santa Ana, California. In addition to killing Odeh, the bomb injured several other victims. The Attorney General indicated that he would inquire into the continuing investigation and discuss this matter with FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Arab American Institute (AAI) Chairman George Salem and AAI President Dr. James Zogby asked that the Attorney General’s office provide leadership for the country in helping to reverse this disturbing and increasingly accepted trend of anti-Arab and Muslim bias. AAI requested that Gonzales publicly acknowledge the many contributions of Arab and Muslim Americans towards ensuring national security, as well as provide a lecture series for Department of Justice employees that would offer them an opportunity to learn more about Islam, the Arab world, and Arab and Muslim Americans.
“Sadly, the past year has demonstrated how tolerant our national discourse has become of bigotry toward Arab and Muslim Americans,” Zogby said. “We call upon the Attorney General and the Department of Justice to provide the leadership and unity—building they did in the days following the Sept. 11 attacks on a more consistent basis.”
Openness and cherished pluralism
"We seek national security preservation that ensures the openness and cherished pluralism that my parents came to this country for," said MPAC Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati said during the meeting. The group re-emphasized the need to publicize the working relationship they have with the various federal agencies in protecting our country.
While Gonzales acknowledged that more outreach is necessary to the Muslim and Arab American communities, Al-Marayati stressed the need for the Department of Justice to take a leadership role in promoting integration by speaking against Islamophobia, especially when anti-Muslim statements are associated with law enforcement officials.
Al-Marayati also urged the Attorney General to follow the model established by the Department of Homeland Security to solidify an incident management strategy in the event of another catastrophic attack on the nation. Gonzales and other law enforcement officials must be prepared to stem the tide of public hysteria and hate in such a scenario, and announce and amplify the commitment of the Arab and Muslim communities in protecting our country.
The Attorney General listened to the concerns and remained firm that all policies of the Department of Justice are compliant with current law, according to an MPAC press release.
Government should clarify its policies
ISNA president Dr. Ingrid Mattson asked the Attorney General to clarify government policies so that Muslims and Arab Americans are able to discharge their religious and moral obligation to give charity to the poor and needy in other countries without becoming open to liability retroactively or accidentally.
Dr. Mattson expressed appreciation for the efforts of the department's Civil Rights Division to protect Muslim Americans and asked that it be given further resources to fulfill its mission.
American Muslims discuss Islamophobia with US officials
The January 8 meeting with Attorney General Gonzalez followed a similar meeting on December 4, 2006 between prominent American Muslim leaders with key senior US government officials to discuss the state of Islamophobia in America and US-Muslim relations. It was organized by the Bridging the Divide Initiative of Saban Center at the Brookings Institution. It was co-sponsored by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding and the Association of Muslim Social Scientists.
The government was represented by several participants from the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security and associated agencies including Alina Romanowski, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Professional and Cultural Affairs and Dan Sutherland, the Officer for Civil Rights at the Department of Homeland Security.
American Muslim leaders included: Nihad Awad, the Executive Director of the Council on American Islamic Relations, Louay Safi, the Executive Director of the ISNA leadership Development Center, Imam Mahdi Bray, the executive Director of MAS Freedom Foundation, Ahmed Younis, the National Director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists and Muqtedar Khan of Brookings Institution.
Ambassador Martin Indyk, Director of Saban Center and Stephen Grand, the Director of the US-Islamic World program also addressed the meeting. This was the first US Government and American Muslim conference on Islamophobia.
Nihad Awad, the Executive Director of the Council on American Islamic Relations, told the conference that Islamophobia was a new word but not a new phenomenon. He presented data to indicate that hate crimes against Muslims had risen by 29% in the last one year and in the ten years since 1995 that his organization (CAIR) had collected data on Islamophobic episodes, it has shown nothing but steady increase. He concluded that being critical of Islam and Muslims is not Islamophobia, but to ridicule the faith and the faithful, certainly is.
Louay Safi, the Executive Director of the ISNA leadership Development Center, was of the view that Islamophobia deepens the divide between the US and the Islamic World. He argued that increasingly Islam is being presented as a violent and intolerant religion and this message is spreading from the margins to the mainstream. A report entitled “Blaming Islam” authored by Dr. Safi and published by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding was released at the event.
Imam Mahdi Bray, the executive Director of MAS Freedom Foundation expressed concern that in spite of the fact that most Muslims cherish American values, they are portrayed as seditious. He lamented the ignorance of Islam that underpins Islamophobia and suggested that occasionally some measures of the government, when in its overzealous endeavor to prosecute the war on terror it overplays its hand and undercuts Muslim civil rights, may also be contributing to the growing instances of Islamophobia.
Dan Sutherland, the Officer for Civil Rights at the Department of Homeland Security, conceded that there have been several incidences of Islamophobic episodes, but he also claimed that there were many which were resolved in favor of Muslims and discussed a few cases where the government had interfered effectively on behalf of the Muslims.
However, he added that the government’s case was very clear; yes there are disturbingly large numbers of incidences that suggest that prejudice is at work, however, the overall picture indicates that things are not as bad as some Muslim leaders were claiming them to be.
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