Muslims and the Law

Frank Kaufmann
December 19, 2009

Both the New York Times, and the Christian Science Monitor report a troublesome
decline in the relationship between Muslim leaders in America and the FBI.

The Times reports:

The anxiety and anger have been building all year. In March, a national coalition
of Islamic organizations warned that it would cease cooperating with the F.B.I.
unless the agency stopped infiltrating mosques and using “agents provocateurs
to trap unsuspecting Muslim youth.

This is a very serious problem. We do not want terrorist activity to succeed on the
one hand, and we do not want our most important human right (religious
freedom) denied any US citizens on the other. A healthy, mutually appreciative
and supportive relationship between these communities is vital

Tensions became especially acute since the Fort Hood shootings. The CS Monitor
reports:

The relationship between police and the Muslim community has been strained
since 9/11. Many Muslim groups accuse the FBI and other counter-terrorism
agents of using overly aggressive tactics to strong-arm mosque attendees into
becoming informants. Others say Muslims are often victims of racial profiling.

"The scrutiny has created a siege mentality in some Muslim communities. Many
are afraid to talk to newcomers for fear of being entrapped by FBI informants.
Some are afraid to express political views, and others have stopped attending
mosque altogether.

There are several important elements and commitments to ponder as we think of

ways to help these groups work well together for the greater good.
One huge problem is
that asymmetric war
systems became
adopted by communities
that understand this to
be legitimate, religious
activity. These acts of
terror and the networks
devoted to these
primitive horrors have
gone by a series of
names, from the primitively (and problematic) "Muslim terrorism," to politically
correct, meaningless term simply "terrorism," (as though sophisticated,
international networks carefully and systematically kill innocents utterly non-
attached to any ideological design). The very fact of the ever changing name for
this phenomenon is evidence of its complexity.

Terrorism inspired by the perversion of religion is especially challenging for the US

is due to our strong constitutional commitment to religious freedom, and our
belief that religious freedom is the bedrock for a free and healthy society (as
opposed to a tyranny).

This foundational principle and commitment combines with the fact of

"religiously" inspired terrorism to create a this unique two-fold problem: 1.
Americans (meaning in this usage United States citizens) know that religious
freedom is paramount to the health of our nation, so says our constitution. 2.
There are people in the world presently who interpret religion to affirm as
legitimate terror, and killing and maiming innocents.

Unfortunately the religion primarily perverted by these villains is an established

world religion.

Muslims face special difficulties in the current climate, and in the US for at least
three reasons. 1. Militants who believe religion permits the killing of innocents cite
Islam as that religion with vastly greater frequency than they do any other
established world religion. 2. Islam has the status of a minority religion in the
United States. 3. Islam tends to believe that religious obligation extends more
deeply into social and political life than does Christianity (and Judaism generally
speaking).

Muslims, like all Americans want to live and work in a peaceful, healthy, and
stable society, and like us all naturally seek to support those whose job it is to risk
their lives protecting us. Tragically (especially for Muslims), the minuscule number
of Americans who mean the country ill, and who are guided by (a sick perversion
of some) religion are more likely to be guided by a sick perversion of Islam, than
by a sick perversion of some other established world religion.

FBI agents whether "Christian" or not, are more likely to be influenced by traces of
Christian social and political assumptions, and are more likely to lack sensitivity
and understanding of the Muslim experience and world view.

Muslim frustrations are palpable They claim that there have been several
High-profile cases in which informers have infiltrated mosques and helped
promote plots, [and] have sown a corrosive fear among their people that F.B.I.
informers are everywhere, listening... There is a sense that law enforcement is
viewing our communities not as partners but as objects of suspicion.

We all can imagine how this feels. How we would feel if we had to live with this as
the steady diet of our lives at home, and in our churches and synagogues.
From the law enforcement side the growing distance is also dangerous,

[i]Law enforcement experts warn of a far-reaching consequence: the loss of a

critical early-warning system against domestic terrorism. This is a national
security issue,” said David Schanzer, who heads the Triangle Center on Terrorism
and Homeland Security at Duke University. “It’s absolutely vital that the F.B.I. and
the Muslim-American community clear the air and figure out how to work
together.[/i]

Efforts to collaborate among these two valuable parts of the American family
should be a source of our pride as Americans, a splendid testimony to the
American ideal of freedom and equality. It is natural to expect that this effort will
become strained at times, but we all must be vested in every way to help both
sides see this through, and to encourage improvement wherever we can.

There have been meetings for Muslim and Arab-American leaders to meet with
agents both on the local level (in the New York area), and at the federal level (with
Eric Holder) to present their "grievances." But this is not ideal. While this is better
than nothing, it is far from sufficient to address a problem of this magnitude in
importance and complexity.

What is needed is not the hearing or airing of "grievances," but a genuine growth
in knowledge on the part of agents about Islam and the Muslim experience.
Likewise, Muslims must be given the opportunity to grow in sensitivity and clear
knowledge about the unique strains and pressures faced by FBI agents.

A true partnership is one of shared understanding and mutual support. It is not

one of imbalance, or exploitation, disinterest, or ignorance. Muslim Americans and
FBI should collaborate in an environment of trust defined by accurate knowledge
of each other's experience, and confidence in an equally shared love for a healthy
America.