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A coalition of Muslim groups “is upset over what it says is increasing government surveillance in mosques, new Justice Department guidelines that the groups say encourage profiling, and the FBI’s recent suspension of ties with the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations,” Associated Press reporter Samantha Henry writes.
A petition opposing FBI “tactics” is circulating in Muslim communities, coalition chairman Agha Saeed told Henry.
“The coalition, represented by the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections, has requested a meeting with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to discuss what it sees as the deteriorating relationship between the FBI and Muslim communities,” she writes.
All of this makes for a sticky situation in New Jersey, where FBI agents began reaching out to Muslim communities — particularly in the Paterson area — after 9/11.
Meetings attended by reporters who were assigned to me were extremely productive. A solid bond had formed.
That bond was so solid that when the U.S. government prosecuted Mohammad Qatanani for alleged ties to foreign extremists, a lineup of FBI agents and other federal law enforcement authorities stood up to defend him.
As Henry notes, they were even at his mosque the night before he was to find out whether he’d be deported.
It’s no small feat: New Jersey has one of the nation’s largest concentrations of Muslims.
Qatanani, who worked closely with FBI agents on their outreach efforts, reportedly urged supporters to keep those bonds strong.
The imam emphasized that an ongoing dialogue is critical to both sides.
You can be sure most Muslims are as eager as the FBI to weed out any criminal element.
So if there’s trouble in California, Michigan and Minnesota — with allegations of spying on mosques and questioning activists — let’s get to the heart of it, before New Jersey begins to suffer from the fallout.
Holder shouldn’t waste any time arranging a sitdown. Grievances should be aired and concessions made — on both sides.
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