FBI Seeks Muslims' Help to Win the War Against Terrorism

FBI seeks Muslims’ help to win the war against terrorism

By Genie Baranoff and Dan Yaseen

A group of approximately 100 people mostly Muslims gathered at the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno (ICCF) on Friday night, June 17, 2005, to participate in a community forum with law enforcement agencies. The two
speakers were Fresno Chief of Police Jerry Dyer and Tom Knowles, Supervisory Special Agent of the Central California Joint Terrorism Task Force, Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The forum participants included leaders and members of the Muslim community,the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno, the Mennonite community, the College Community Congregational Church, Peace Fresno, and the Women's
International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). Kamal
Abu-Shamsieh, director of the ICCF was the moderator.

The questions and comments of the audience focused on: the feeling and belief that Muslims in the United States are being targeted as "foes,"perceived racial profiling by law enforcement, media indictment of the Muslim community related to Lodi, inappropriate comments by an ex-district attorney concerning the Wesson murders, issues about the Patriot Act, and the perceived bias in mainstream media against Palestinians and for Israel. Neither speaker
spoke about the recent allegations or actions against members of the Pakistani Muslim community in Lodi because there is an open investigation at this
time.

Jerry Dyer assured the audience that the Fresno PD does not practice racial profiling. However, he did not explain how to file a complaint. He encouraged the audience to check out the police web site which contains"voluntary" data on all police actions, including the race, gender, and age of people stopped for traffic issues, crime data, use of force and
crime mapping. He stated that the goal of his organization is to be "an open and transparent organization."

Chief Dyer encouraged the audience to participate in police activities such as the Citizens' Advisory Board, the Citizens' Police Academy, and the Chaplaincy Program. He spoke of his organization's cultural diversity training which includes the "do's and don'ts" to avoid offending people from
different cultures, including the Sikh, Muslim and Arab communities.

Tom Knowles, in his remarks, suggested how the Muslim community can help win the war against terrorism:

1. He said the Muslim community must cooperate with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. On the first hint of suspicion, they must turn in their family members and friends to the FBI. He surmised that's how Italian Mafia was defeated; Italian Americans came to the FBI and informed on
their families and friends.

2. He cautioned Muslims to be very careful while donating to any Islamic charities. The FBI is watching Muslim American donations to Islamic charities because of a suspicion/belief that they are financing terrorism.
However, the FBI will not release a list of safe charities for Muslim donations. [Author's note: Muslims have the religious obligation of zakat --donation to help the poor.]

These remarks by Tom Knowles are very telling, in light of complaints of intimidation and harassment by the FBI, from several members of the Pakistani American Community in Lodi. The ACLU Northern California has filed a Freedom of Information Act request, seeking records of procedures and
policies used during the questioning and detention of dozens of Muslims in Lodi.

"We appreciate and respect the need of the FBI to conduct
investigations of possible criminal activity; however any investigation needs to be done
in a way that respects individual's rights", said Mark Schlosberg, Police Practices Policy Director of the ACLU Northern California.

Knowles said that the Central California Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) adheres to the California Attorney General guidelines that protect the rights and privacy of California citizens. He said, "If you're not crossing that line (violence), the JTTF should be the farthest thing from your mind."
He described a system of "checks and balances when they open a JTTF case. First it goes to Sacramento, and is reviewed by legal counsel, then it goes to Washington D.C. and is reviewed by the Department of Justice (parent organization) for probable cause."

Knowle's style was to illustrate via stories versus answering questions directly. He also had a disarming habit of initially making statements such as, "I couldn't agree with you more." His stories were descriptive and he seemed determined to come across as "folksy," humorous and caring.

One of his stories seemed to somewhat backfire. He spoke of working as an undercover cop in east or central Los Angeles. He pointed to his face, saying how he looked like a "Yuppie rich boy." After driving around a neighborhood block looking for an informant, he was stopped by the area police. His point appears to have been that they stopped him because "he
didn't fit the situation" or that they thought he was lost or needed help before he got himself into trouble in such a rough neighborhood. This story was in response to a comment about racial profiling. Was he therefore saying that Muslims, especially those dressed in traditional clothing might be
stopped for not "fitting into the situation," i.e. neighborhood, or that they might be lost or in need of help?

Both Dyer and Knowles seemed to be obliquely requesting the audience to trust them and their organizations. Dyer stated that he is "a man of faith," and that he "won't compromise anything in (his) relationship with God."
Knowles reiterated "...if you're a good person, don't worry about us..."

Those of us in Peace Fresno, quite "good", peace-loving people, know that just being "good" doesn't stop the Joint Terrorism Task Force from apparently violating the California Attorney General Guidelines, not to mention the California Constitution.

And what was FBI Supervisor Knowle's goal in telling his audience that terrorist attacks will occur in the USA in the future, more catastrophic than anyone can imagine? He said the "paranoia isn't there (at the FBI/DOJ) anymore like
post 9-11." Our concern is that the message appears to
be, 'You'll be okay if you inform on your community, allow the FBI to snoop into anyone's records because the end (winning the war against terrorism) justify the means, consider it your own fault if you are racially profiled (hey- maybe you're just in the wrong place with the wrong color of skin) and
recognize that the US is not trying to squash the Muslim world.'