Department
Of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation Reinforce
Commitment to working with leaders of Muslim, Sikh
and Arab-American Communities
Washington,
DC – Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI
Director Robert S. Mueller III recently met with
national leaders of Muslim, Sikh and Arab-American
organizations to address issues including hate crimes
and civil rights violations, and to enlist the assistance
of these communities in the current challenges in
the war on terror. The Director’s meeting
was his sixth bi-annual meeting since September
2001 focusing on the FBI’s commitment to the
Muslim, Sikh and Arab-American communities.
Recent meetings focused on Director Mueller’s
directive given to the leaders of the FBI’s
56 field offices to increase contacts with Muslim,
Sikh and Arab-American leaders within their territories
beginning July 9, 2004 and to personally address
concerns and issues in the community during the
2004 threat period. This initiative is a continuation
of a tasking Director Mueller ordered in late 2001
for each FBI field office to establish contacts
with community organizations and leaders in their
territories.
“Credible
reporting indicates that al Qaeda is planning a
large-scale attack in America in an effort to disrupt
our democratic process. While we currently lack
precise knowledge about when, where and how they
are planning to attack, we are actively working
to gain that knowledge. As part of that effort,
we are again reaching out to our partners in the
Muslim and Arab-American communities for any information
they may have. Their assistance has proven valuable
in the past, and we continue to seek their help
in this time of enhanced threat,” said Attorney
General John Ashcroft. “In addition, our outreach
to those perceived to be of Muslim, Arab and Sikh
descent is part of our strong ongoing campaign to
prosecute bias-motivated attacks. American ideals
and values are not limited by race or religion,
and freedom-loving people are our greatest allies
in the war on terrorism. Today, we reaffirm our
commitment to working with and protecting those
who love freedom.”
Dr. Maher Hathout of the Muslim Public Affairs Council
(MPAC) said, “MPAC’s National Grassroots
Campaign to Fight Terrorism and Hate Crimes underscores
the importance of the American Muslim community
as part of the solution in its commitment to protect
our country in partnership with law enforcement.”
The Attorney General and Director recognized the
importance of MPAC’s anti-terrorism initiatives,
and encouraged similar efforts to educate the Muslim
community about federal counterterrorism efforts.
Manjit Singh, President of the Sikh Mediawatch and
Resource Task Force (SMART) stated, “The Justice
Department has done a phenomenal job of bringing
us together and they have shown that they recognize
that many in the Sikh American community continue
to face hate crimes. We have laid the foundation
for consistent outreach from FBI field offices around
the country, and we look forward to continuing to
train new and existing agents to effectively work
with the Sikh American community.”
As
Director Mueller stated in his recent testimony
before the Senate Intelligence Committee, “none
of these successes would have been possible without
the extraordinary efforts of our partners in state
and municipal law enforcement and our counterparts
around the world. The Muslim, Iraqi, and Arab-American
communities have also contributed a great deal to
our success. On behalf of the FBI, I would like
to thank these communities for their assistance
and for their ongoing commitment to preventing acts
of terrorism. All of us understand that the evolving
threats we face today, and those we will face tomorrow,
can only be defeated if we work together.”