Posted on 06/26/2006 9:49:05 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Arab-Americans were the victims of more hate crimes and became more distrustful of law enforcement, particularly federal agencies, in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, according to a study released this month. The study, conducted by the Vera Institute of Justice, was launched in 2002 when researchers began looking at changes in policing tactics following the tragedies and how the changes affected people of Arab descent.
The report comes on the heels of a Freedom of Information Request filed last month by Southern California Muslims who want to know if they've been spied on by the FBI.
The FOIA request, filed with the FBI's Los Angeles office, seeks all information regarding whose information has been collected and who it was shared with.
The study - one of the first to examine the effects of the terror attacks nationally on law enforcement agencies with high Arab-American concentrations - looks at what caused tensions and what types of outreach programs may improve relations between the groups.
Researchers conducted a telephone survey of residents, officers and FBI field agents at 16 sites around the country. Four of those sites, which were not named, were selected for more in-depth study.
In every site, Arab-Americans reported a heightened level of public suspicion made worse by certain media reports and governmental actions, such as so-called voluntary interviews, registration requirements and deportation, the study says.
Though Arab residents were concerned about increasing numbers of hate crimes, they were more worried about federal policies and practices than harassment by other residents.
The study also reported that police were successful in reducing tensions when they started outreach programs.
"Arab-Americans across the nation have endured (Sept. 11th's) political and legislative reverberations in a way that other Americans have not,'' the study says. "Arab-Americans have not only become targets of individual acts of hate and bias, but they have also been subject to new federal policies and practices imposed in response to the attacks.''
Following Sept. 11, a number of actions were taken to thwart terror attacks that also alienated Arabs in the country.
In Oct. 2001, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act, which broadened the FBI's powers to an extent some called unconstitutional. Between 2001 and 2003, about 19,000 men were interviewed, including Iraqi-Americans and Iraqi nationals.
In Southern California, Muslims of various descent have reported being interviewed by FBI agents. Some believe their mosques are being spied on, that students are being questioned and people are being unfairly detained.
Officials with the FBI's Los Angeles office have repeatedly denied any unlawful spying and have pointed to recent efforts to improve relations with such residents.
Shoaib Patail, a member of the Islamic Center of Inland Empire in Rancho Cucamonga, said several people made threatening phone calls to the mosque shortly after the attacks, and some threw garbage on the lawn of the church, which members reported to police.
Patail said he has never felt personally threatened, and believes the community has a positive relationship with local law enforcement.
Patail said the best thing the Muslim community can do is reach out to other residents.
"Our community started realizing that keeping ourselves isolated from the rest of the community won't do any good,'' he said. "We need to get involved more in social, interfaith activities.''
Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Anaheim-based Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, said the report fails to address the detentions of thousands of Muslims of various ethnicities in 2003, some of whom were imprisoned for years with no hearings.
Syed said the report also could have better studied how many Muslims are volunteering with police departments in community policing programs.
The federal government, he said, must be held more accountable.
The Shura Council and the mosques it represents have tried numerous times to reach out to federal officials with little success, he said.
"The government has failed so miserably (in engaging Muslims) that one could speculate it's by design,'' he said.
Why would Muslims feel alienated if they are also against terrorism? /rhetorical
Must be doing something right, they are starting to whine.
And more importantly, muslims have failed to miserably to support efforts in anti-terrorism that the need to speculate about motive is unnecessary.
Yes.
Perhaps a bit more proactive behavior in outing terrorists, terrorism, anti-American behaviors and so on.
Silence is agreement. Some have gone beyond that.
Yes.
Perhaps a bit more proactive behavior in outing terrorists, terrorism, anti-American behaviors and so on.
Silence is agreement. Some have gone beyond that.
Exactly!
If they have nothing to hide, start turning in the radicals among you.
Sounds like they are living in the WRONG COUNTRY.......How 'bout getting your turbaned @sses on a plane headed for the Middle East.................you will feel a whole lot better. (And so will the Americans you leave behind!)
Sorry all you ragheads, but why should we need to care how you interpret your death book aka kooran. I'd flush one just for kicks.
If the Islamists feel picked on, well boo hoo hoo. Get out if you don't like it.
-ccm
Foreign agents have no inherent rights in my country; never will.
Click here for the FBI's 2004 hate crime stats. Other years are also available.
Guess it depends on the definition of more...
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