|
CAIR Report: Anti-Muslim incidents
up 15 percent during 2002
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Anti-Muslim incidents in the United States rose by 15 percent during 2002 over the previous year, reveals a report released by Council on American-Islamic Relations' (CAIR, a prominent American Muslim civil rights group. The numbers rose from 525 confirmed incidents to 602 in this year's annual study detailing incidents and experiences of anti-Muslim violence, discrimination and harassment during the past year. The CAIR's report covers the period from January 1, 2002, to December 31, 2002.
The largest number of incidents were reported by Muslims in California, Florida, Virginia, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Texas, and Maryland. Along with religious and ethnic profiling, workplace discrimination was one of the largest categories of complaints.
The report released on July 15 2003 said: The fallout from September 11 continues to impact Muslim daily life, whether at schools, in the workplace or in general public encounters. Mistreatment at the hand of federal government personnel continue to be reported in substantial numbers. FBI agents and other local law enforcement authorities have sometimes responded to hearsay reports, and conducted questionable raids and interrogations.
In 2002, the Department of Justice has continued to take actions in the name of combating terrorism, when in fact they have targeted broadly Arabs and Muslims in this country, CAIR said. “The investigation dragnet in 2002 included the special registration requirements that singled out students and visitors to America from Muslim-majority countries.”
The report pointed out:
- Many Muslim homes and businesses were raided and private property seized pending investigation.
- Queries by some FBI agents about mosque membership lists and media reports about a proposed FBI counting of mosques raised widespread apprehension among community members who believed they were being scrutinized based on their religious association.
- Other profiling-based interrogations and searches continued throughout the year, though reported with less frequency than the few months immediately after September 11th. Critics of the government have charged that such actions violated the First and Fourth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
- Singling out Muslims is increasing in all sectors of life. A significant number of cases took place at private businesses, places of residence, the Internet, and courts.
- Contributing to the rise of discrimination against Muslims is the continuing anti-Muslim rhetoric, especially by some evangelical leaders and neoconservatives.
The CAIR Report emphasized that in 2002, the civil liberties of Muslims continued to deteriorate with a rise of discrimination incidents across the board. “All indications show that the sweeping actions of the federal government have disrupted the lives of individuals as well as ethnic and religious communities.”
Many critics believe that much of the post-September 11th questioning of Muslims was intended more for public relations purposes than for curbing terrorism, the CAIR said.
In several complaints, FBI interrogations followed dubious calls reporting stereotype based suspicions. “In a number of incidents reported from different parts of the country federal government personnel interrogated Muslims about their religious and political views. Although in one case the Department of Justice took disciplinary action against an agent who expressed anti-Muslim hate, members of the Muslim community remain concerned that there is no effective process to prevent such episodes from continuing.”
The CAIR Report noted that in this time of crisis, judges passed different rulings on cases of detainees and the use of secret evidence, reflecting a split within the judiciary on the matter of balancing civil rights protections with the demands of national security. “On the government policy of holding material witnesses indefinitely, a federal judge ruled it was unlawful. On secret evidence and closed INS hearings, two federal judges ruled against these while court of appeals judges ruled in favor. On withholding the identities of the post-September 11 detainees, a federal judge ruled that the government can only withhold those who wish not to disclose their names.”
In contrast to actions taken by the Bush administration, local Muslim communities have noted some improvements in certain areas, the CAIR said . For example, California passed a law to protect against the abuse of marketing labels targeting consumers of halal foods. Also, in Ohio, where the number of Muslim students is growing rapidly, the superintendent of Columbus Public Schools is drafting a district wide policy to address the religious accommodation needs of students.
Despite these gains, there is growing evidence that the Bush administration continues to pursue discriminatory measures assuming that security can be attained through the targeting of Arabs and Muslims, the report concluding by adding that voices in the judiciary, civil society and local and state government have continued to seek a more fact-based approach to balancing security with civil liberty.
In addition to the direct acts of discrimination and violence, the report looks at the impact of post-9/11 government polices, usually related to the USA Patriot Act, that have had a negative impact on American Muslim civil liberties.
The report details the March 2002 raids on Muslim families and businesses in Virginia and Georgia, the Special Registration program for non-immigrant Muslim, and the "voluntary" interviews conducted with thousands of Iraqi-Americans. The report also outlined the increase in Islamophobic rhetoric by evangelical leaders such as Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.
"More than any other year, the daily experiences of Muslims in schools, the workplace, airports, and in encounters with the courts, police and other government agencies included incidents in which they were singled out because of actual or perceived religious and ethnic identity," said CAIR Research Director Dr. Mohamed Nimer, the report's author. Mr. Nimer said anti-Muslim sentiment related to the 9/11 terror attacks was cited in a number of cases.
"While this report indicates that government policies are part of the problem, the government can also be part of the solution by refusing to succumb to the siren song of religious and ethnic profiling," CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad pointed out.
Mr. Awad noted CAIR offices around the country have been working in close cooperation with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies through town hall meetings, sensitivity training sessions and even joint-news conferences on security-related issues. He also said Muslims must become more involved in political and social activities at the local level through voter registration, coalition building and community service.
CAIR began documenting anti-Muslim incidents following the 1995 attack on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The Cair report said: “Anti-Muslim sentiment related to September the 11th has been cited in many reports. Never before had an international terrorist act had such a long-lasting impact on Muslim life in the United States.”
The council is America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, with 16 regional offices nationwide and in Canada.
|
