Muslims Meet the FBI

In the backdrop of an announcement of an elevated terrorist threat to the United States issued on May 26, 2004, a mutual outreach effort is underway across this country as American Muslim leaders and officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) have been getting together to address not only the concerns of one party but also the expectations of the other. And it was in this vein that a meeting arranged by CAIR (SV), was held in Sacramento, California on July 15th during which around thirty leaders from the local Islamic community gathered together to hear from the FBI and to interact with it in an informal setting. The FBI was represented by Special Agent Keith Slotter and two associates at this gathering.

To start things off on a lighter note here, a comment was made by one participant as to why it was suddenly so quiet in the room. Another replied, “Because the FBI is here!” And as the proceedings started this reporter felt that with a Special Agent named “Slaughter” addressing us, this was indeed going to be a one sided event, but that was an error because Special Agent “Slotter” turned out to be a pretty reasonable guy.

The meeting started off with a recitation from the Koran by Imam Adil from Lodi and an English translation by Imam Luqman of Sacramento. CAIR-Sacramento Valley Executive Director Basim ElKarra conducted the proceedings. Introductions were made of each individual present followed by a background how this meeting came about presented by local CAIR President, Rashid Ahmad. “It is our hope that we will develop a better understanding,” said Rashid who added that the community need not forget that we also happen to be protected by law enforcement.

Special Agent Keith Slotter spoke next. He thanked everyone for arranging this meeting and thought that it would be most beneficial for all present if there was a discussion held instead of a presentation. He added that one of the things that he hoped to accomplish this evening was to give us a better understanding of his Agency (the FBI). He spoke of the battle against terrorism prior to 9/11 and after. He said that before 9/11 counter-terrorism was a priority but today it was “a number 1 priority.” He described the formation of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and of the FBI’s participation in it since it is a multi-agency effort with a domestic as well as an international focus. He explained that there was a reason for the recent heightened state of alert connected with a possible Al Qaida backed attack between now and the November elections.

Keith went on to explain that the FBI cannot be everywhere. It does not have that kind of manpower and depends a great deal on the public. “The FBI cannot do its job without public assistance,” he said. He added that the FBI had a number of working linguists but there was still a need to overcome cultural barriers. “We are going to do some things to better communicate with the Islamic community,” he said.

A most interesting question and answer session followed soon after the FBI presentation where the interaction on both sides was polite yet sometimes difficult. There were concerns expressed about profiling, guilt by association, questioned donations to charitable organizations and even the presence of FBI agents inside Mosques on Fridays.

Agent Slotter said that the FBI does not target minorities and that it only follows up on information received. But on the other hand he stressed that the job at hand remains to prevent a terrorist attack from occurring. He said that the FBI comes knocking on doors to conduct an investigation and nothing more or less. It is only to ask questions. On charities he said that there are a lot of fraudulent ones out there including some related to law enforcement that may come under investigation. But he did add that the money trail has become important recently because it takes a large amount of money to carry out terrorist acts. “One of the things that we look at is where does the money come from?” He added that the idea of arrest first and ask questions later is not implemented. “We follow the Constitution of the United States,” he said. Keith also mentioned that the FBI was making efforts to hire Muslim Americans so that it can better serve and understand the needs of our community.

In conclusion this mutual meeting of minds between the FBI and the Muslims across America is a positive sign. There are still some gaps that only a cooperative effort between the two can fill. America was attacked on 9/11/2001 by people with Muslim/Middle Eastern names. The point being made here is that Islam is a religion and not a profession. Terrorism on the other hand has become a profession and is not a religion. It should not matter to Americans whether an act of terrorism between now and the November elections in the US swings the outcome in favor of the Republicans or Democrats. All we know is that like 9/11 another terrorist attack will be extremely devastating both to America and the practice of the religion of Islam in this country. It is for this reason that the FBI and other agencies are welcome to seek the assistance of American Muslims. But we cannot overlook what is not happening either. If one watches the media in this country today, one point is constantly and conveniently being left out. It was brought up by one young man at this meeting with the FBI in Sacramento. “People seem to forget that on 9/11 our country was attacked too,” he said.