WASHINGTON, September 16, 2011 (WAFA) -The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) Friday expressed “deep concern over the FBI’s apparent dismissal of repeated calls from civil rights advocates to cease using any offensive, inaccurate, and inflammatory material as part of its counterterrorism training,” said an ADC press release.
“Despite past reassurances, the FBI has persisted in its practice of vilifying Islam and Muslim-Americans in its training material,” it said.
A recent article appearing on Wired.com, FBI Teaches Agents: ‘Mainstream’ Muslims are ‘Violent, Radical’ exposed that FBI training materials continue to contain false and biased claims that Muslim-Americans are inextricably linked to violence.
The article points to specific material and provides detailed examples of the materials being used. One example is a chart correlating the piousness of a Muslim to the likelihood of that Muslim being a terrorist – “contending that the more ‘devout’ a Muslim, the more likely he is to be ‘violent.’”
“The use of such material inevitably leads to ineffective policing, a waste of resources, and mistrust between the community and the agency,” said the ADC press release.
ADC Legal Director Abed Ayoub stated, “There is no justification for this material to be a part of the training modules. It is disappointing that despite our efforts to encourage open community dialogue with government agencies, our work is undermined by the FBI’s continuous use of questionable tactics, such as data mapping, infiltration of mosques with agents’ provocateur, and the continued use of unconstitutional surveillance operations. The FBI must act swiftly to remove any and all offensive, inaccurate, and inflammatory material.”
ADC called on the
It said it will continue to monitor this matter and work with coalition partners to ensure that the community’s concerns are adequately addressed.
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