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North Count Times - August 16, 2004
Muslims worship under watchful eye of FBI
By Agnes Diggs
The faithful who come to worship at the Masjid Al-Ittehad in Vista on Friday crowd the prayer hall and spill over into the courtyard.
At this masjid, or mosque (literally "place of prostration"), Nader Dehani serves as imam, conducting the service, which opens with a call to prayer. He stresses to the congregation the importance of adherence to the laws of Islam, the Shari'a. He offers words of encouragement to all in getting through the difficult times everyone is facing. He offers blessings.
And on some days, while others share a meal and fellowship, Dehani and other members of the mosque leadership sit in the building's small office and politely answer questions posed by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
No one protests. No one complains. No one mentions that the free exercise clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits government interference with a person's right to practice their religion.
But what if your religion has been taken hostage by politics? What if the very name of your faith has come to be associated with terror and death? What if you had to submit to interrogation because your faith fit the profile of those who are sworn enemies of America and its way of life? …..
The FBI visits to the mosque are uncomfortable for some, coming at a time of prayer. Praying five times a day is one of the five pillars of the faith.
Some people are now staying away from the mosque, afraid to misspeak or otherwise create trouble for themselves.
FBI agents have made several visits to the Vista mosque, but always after calling first, said Jan Caldwell, FBI media coordinator. They can ask agents not to come, she said. "They have no reason to be afraid of us," Caldwell said. "If they say no, that's not an issue. That's part of democracy."…
Long-time Escondido resident Mirza Beg, who represents Masjid Al-Ittehad in the San Dieguito Ministerial Association, an interfaith alliance of congregations, was among those who attended a recent Monday with Dan Dzwilewski, special agent in charge of the FBI office in San Diego in response to an invitation to mosque members by the agency.
The meeting went very well, Beg said. Dzwilewski told them if they had any apprehensions about the situation that has developed since the Sept. 11 tragedy that the FBI is there to listen to them and protect them.
"They are just doing their job," Beg said. "Their intention is not to harass us, but just probing to find out if anything is happening they just want to know about it. We would like to satisfy them. If things are happening, it affects us as well as the country because we are part of the country.
"The Muslims living here in the United States have not come here to create trouble for the United States," he said. "We want to live like any other Americans." ….
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/08/17/special_reports/religion/8_16_0422_08_18.txt
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