Investigations and suspicion of terrorism often focuses on the Middle East and the Muslim community. In the decade since the 9/11 attacks, FBI investigations often have led agents to ‘infiltrate’ Mosques or question Muslims without merit.
All the suspicion of the Muslim community has actually caused the community to become suspicious of outsiders.
“My family tends to be suspicious of single newcomers at mosques,” said Gulu Saiyed, a graduate student at Northwestern University and a Muslim. “Families are always welcomed and befriended, but people worry that single men are FBI agents.”
And it isn’t just Saiyed’s family that is hesitant to trust newcomers. Saiyed herself attended a new mosque and felt that others were uneasy around her.
“When I went to Friday prayer at a mosque in Chicago this year, I wasn’t greeted with the usual salaams and kisses to the cheeks,” Saiyed said. “No one at the mosque in Chicago acknowledged me at all.”
But it hasn’t always been that way. Saiyed says before 9/11, members of many mosques reacted positively to newcomers.
“Everyone is of course welcome to pray at a mosque, but while it had usually been common to get to know newcomers, it doesn’t seem like that’s the case anymore,” she said. “I know my parents would have never, ever suspected anything of anyone at the mosque before 9/11.”
Saiyed says it’s not that Muslims think the FBI is coming to get them, but they do often feel targeted by unwarranted investigations.
“But as news came out that innocent Muslims were being arrested around the country and with the PATRIOT Act in full force, it kind of made everyone worried,” she said.
Christina Abraham, the Civil Rights Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Chicago, says she knows of instances where FBI agents have been present in mosques.
“In one situation, the informant was reported to the FBI by the congregants because they thought he was dangerous and was espousing extremist rhetoric,” said Abraham. “Only later did they find out he was actually placed there by the FBI.”
It’s not just FBI agents in mosques that Muslims are wary of. The FBI can, and often does, request to speak with Muslims, even if there is no clear reason or threat.
Abraham says she does not advice any person, under any circumstance to speak without an attorney present; even if they have nothing to hide. She says that she tells people they have three choices: speak without representation (which she does not recommend), speak with representation or decline to speak.
“More often than not, people do decide to talk to the FBI and we represent them in those meetings,” Abraham said.
Saiyed says it’s not that Muslims have an issue with the FBI investigating potential threats. Instead, it’s the meritless investigations of the community, which are becoming increasingly frequent.
“I don’t think the Muslim community has an issue with the FBI following leads and weeding out terrorists anywhere,” Saiyed said. “But people with no terrorist ties were arrested and jailed for no reason, and that creates fear and suspicion.”
According to Saiyed, the often misguided suspicion of the Muslim community is damaging what it once meant to be a Muslim American.
“I think one of the best things about being Muslim in the U.S. is that we have the chance to meet, pray next to and be friends with Muslims from every corner of the world,” Saiyed said. “It’s sad that in the name of protecting our country, we manage to destroy things that make us who we are.”
