Muslims For A Safe America

By Kamran Memon
kamran@muslimsforasafeamerica.org

In June 2006, I met with FBI Agent Greg Fowler, Assistant Special Agent In Charge For Counter-Terrorism for the Chicago FBI office. I requested this meeting because of my concern that certain law enforcement actions which alienate American Muslims may be making our country less safe, because those actions may cause Muslims to hesitate about assisting law enforcement if the need ever arises. Ultimately, we ended up discussing a wide range of issues of concern to our community. The following is a summary.

THE FBI SAYS IT IS NOT SUSPICIOUS OF ALL MUSLIMS

Agent Fowler said a small minority of Muslims pose a potential terrorist threat, and the FBI tries to focus its counter-terrorism resources on them. Agent Fowler said the FBI is not interested in watching all Muslims, and it doesn’t have the resources to watch all of us. Right after 9/11, Agent Fowler (who was in Washington State at the time) got calls from people saying they were suspicious of their Muslim neighbors, or of people who looked Muslim. (The FBI still gets calls about “Muslim-looking” people taking pictures of buildings in Chicago.) Agent Fowler said that where there was some reason for concern, the FBI checked it out, and where there was no apparent basis for the caller’s concern, the FBI did not check it out.

THE VALUE OF AMERICAN MUSLIMS TO THE FBI

Agent Fowler said it’s important for the country’s safety for the FBI to have a good relationship with Muslims, because Muslims can provide information that could prevent attacks in the U.S.; by way of example, he said that there were signs that the London bombers were up to something, and British Muslims could have told British authorities about some of the suspicious activities they observed prior to the bombings, but they did not come forward. Agent Fowler said some American Muslims have been helpful to the FBI in some parts of the country.

AMERICAN MUSLIM DISTRUST OF LAW ENFORCEMENT

Agent Fowler said that he is aware that many Muslims distrust the FBI, and this distrust makes some Muslims less likely to offer help.

We discussed some reasons why many Chicagoland Muslims distrust law enforcement.

1. Agent Fowler said the government’s ongoing prosecution of Muhammad Salah has contributed to Muslim distrust of law enforcement, especially because of Israel’s connections to the case. Agent Fowler could not discuss this case because it is ongoing.

2. Many Muslims believe that law enforcement goes after Muslims, for issues unrelated to American national security, just because they are Muslim.
(a) We discussed the fact that close to 1,000 Muslim men were deported for immigration violations soon after 9/11, even though they had no proven links to terrorism. While it’s true that these men had violated immigration laws, the community was concerned about selective enforcement (focusing on Muslims who violated immigration laws, rather than everyone who violated immigration laws). Agent Fowler said there was a focus on Muslims in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, because of the background of the suspected hijackers, and there was a concern about potential terrorists using weak enforcement of immigration laws to stay in the country. [We did not discuss the issue of later Special Registration deportations, due to a lack of time.]
(b) We discussed the fact that several members of the “Virginia Paintball Jihad group” planned to fight against India, not against U.S. forces (although one was convicted of seeking to fight U.S. forces), and they were prosecuted under the rarely-used Neutrality Act. We talked about the community’s perception that people of other faiths (e.g. Jewish Americans conspiring to become settlers and fight Palestinians) would not be prosecuted for violations of the Neutrality Act. Agent Fowler said he was not sufficiently familiar with the Virginia case or the Neutrality Act to fully address these concerns; he said officials from Virginia could provide more information.

Agent Fowler said, in other cities, other non-Muslim communities believe the FBI is out to get them, for example on issues related to financial crimes.

3. Many Muslims believe that sting operations draw Muslims into plots that they might not otherwise consider. We discussed media reports that a Muslim informant encouraged Hamid Hayat from Lodi, CA to attend a terrorist training camp in Pakistan, and the informant cursed at Hayat when he said he hadn’t yet attended. We also discussed media reports that a Muslim informant pushed Shahawar Matin Siraj to join a plot to bomb a NY subway station, by telling Siraj that it was religiously acceptable and by showing him pictures of Muslims overseas being mistreated. Many Muslims believe that these cases show that the government is setting up Muslims who have made anti-American statements, but who have not demonstrated any intent or capability to be violent. Agent Fowler said that press reports don’t always give a complete picture, and that juries would not have convicted these men if the juries believed these men had been set up by the government. I pointed out that if the government alleges that Muslim men planned to attack local communities, fearful local juries will be tough on the Muslim defendants. Agent Fowler said he was not sufficiently familiar with these California and New York cases to fully address these concerns; he said officials from those states could provide more information.

FBI CONCERNED ABOUT YOUNG MUSLIMS POSSIBLY BEING RADICALIZED

Agent Fowler said he is concerned that some young American Muslims could be radicalized and become violent. He is aware of public online discussions, involving young Muslims, which suggest that such young Muslims may be susceptible to recruitment by terrorists. Agent Fowler said that it’s up to the Muslim community to ensure that our kids stay safe and out of trouble.

MUSLIMS WORKING FOR/WITH THE FBI

Agent Fowler said there are a number of Muslims working as FBI agents in the Chicago office. These agents help the FBI to understand the Muslim community and various cultures. As is the case with most FBI agents, their identities are unknown to the public. He would not confirm or deny that the FBI sends these agents undercover into the Chicagoland Muslim community, but he said that he would use undercover agents when the situation warranted it. He also said he would use Muslim confidential informants when appropriate. He said the Chicago FBI office uses all legal means available to it.

FOLLOW-UP

There were additional questions I wanted to ask, but we ran out of time. Insha’Allah, I will be meeting with Agent Fowler (and other government officials) again to follow-up on some of these issues, so if there are any issues you would like me to raise, please email me at kamran@muslimsforasafeamerica.org