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The Arizona Republic - August 10, 2004
Some Muslims think ethnic, religious
profiling still being used
Dennis Wagner
Valley Muslim leaders met Tuesday with FBI officials for a bridge-building meeting, but members of the Middle Eastern community remain frustrated over what they perceive as ethnic and religious profiling by counter-intelligence agents.
"There's a lack of trust," said Omar Shahin, imam at the Islamic Community Center of the East Valley. "We have to start building the trust - building the bridges. "We would like to know what the FBI wants, and we will give it to them . . . We live in this country, and we are concerned about the security of this country."
Shahin and other Muslims who attended the closed-door meeting at Arizona State University's downtown Phoenix campus said they were encouraged by FBI overtures, but not entirely satisfied. Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, they said, they have been upset about interrogation methods employed by some federal agents, and about suspicious delays with immigration paperwork for Muslims.
"We came to this country like others, to enjoy freedom," said Shahin. "We are not feeling secure anymore. So we shared our concerns with the FBI."
The meeting was convened just weeks after FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., confirmed the launch of a new round of intelligence-gathering interviews - primarily directed at Middle Easterners.
Charlene Thornton, special agent in charge for the FBI in Arizona, said the meeting Tuesday was one in a series of get-togethers designed to build "a good working relationship" between law enforcement and Arizona Muslims.
She said the FBI does not single out subjects for questioning based on their religion or ethnic background, but because agents believe they can fill specific intelligence gaps. "People may not even realize that they have information that might be useful to us," she added.
Islamic leaders said they remain convinced that the government's counter-terrorism program relies on ethnic and religious profiling. Shahin, for example, told of being singled out from a group of 43 travelers returning from Mexico recently. He said he was interrogated, fingerprinted and delayed for no apparent reason. "I'm not happy," he said. "Why do they pick me out of 43 people." ……
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0810muslims10-ON.html#
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