Opinion Editorials, November 2007
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Los Angeles Police Program to Profile Muslims
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
ccun.org, November 14, 2007
In the latest government move to intimidate and marginalize the American Muslims, the Los Angeles Police Department has announced a program to 'Map' (read profile) Muslim communities in southern California.
There are estimated 500,000 Muslims living in the greater Los Angeles area, including Orange and Riverside Counties, which make its concentration of Muslims the second largest in the United States, after New York City.
The LAPD ˜Mapping program appears a prelude to similar Mappings in other cities with concentration of Muslim population. The LAPD program is backed by the Homeland Department's Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) at the University of Southern California. The center, nation's first university center for the combat of terrorism, was established in 2003 with a grant of 15 million dollars. Last May the center was given another 11 million dollars for such programs. Interestingly, the University of Southern California's Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events is partnering with the University of Wisconsin at Madison, New York University, North Carolina State University, Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, and others.
According to the Commanding Officer of Los Angeles Police Department's Counter-Terrorism/Criminal Intelligence Bureau, Michael P. Downing, if this program is successful it could be implemented in other major US cities.
In his testimony to Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Michael P. Downing, pointed out that the project would determine the geographic distribution of Muslims in the sprawling Los Angeles area and take a look at their history, demographics, language, culture, ethnic breakdown, socioeconomic status and social interactions.
Michael Downing also suggested that the study would result in helping amplify the voice of Muslim moderates who could counter fanatics.
His suggestion raises two basic questions: The first question is who is a moderate Muslim? In other words who is going to decide, who is a moderate? If the police are entrusted with the task of 'mapping' Muslims, it means, it is going to decide who and where are the moderate Muslims in their jurisdiction. What criteria will be used? Will it be based on one's religious beliefs or sect or his/her political views? Will the Muslims who criticize US foreign policy and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq be considered as moderates? Will the police seek guidance from the think tanks like the semi-official Rand Corporation which has tried to give a definition of a moderate Muslim?
And the second question is how to identify a moderate Muslim? Will there be inquisition of Muslims for their religious beliefs? Already there are many reports that Muslims are asked by the FBI about their religious beliefs and if they are practicing Muslims or not. Will police plant agents to gather such information about the Muslims? In other words, the ‘mapping operation’ will be a mask for intelligence gathering.
Michael Downing, has further explained that the 'mapping' idea would be to determine which communities might be having problems integrating into the larger society and thus might have members susceptible to carrying out attacks, much like domestic cells in England and elsewhere in Europe.
However, contrary to what has been found in Europe, the scattered cases exposed in the United States have involved individuals with no clear ties to international extremist groups. In this respect the PEW survey of last May is illuminating. The survey found that Muslim Americans reject extremism by larger margins than do Muslim minorities in western European countries. The Muslims are overwhelmingly satisfied with their lives in the United States, and most say their communities are excellent or good places to live.
Hence any profiling on the religious basis would only alienate the community and create an ill will towards the law enforcement authorities. Many Muslim organizations have been building bridges with the authorities and such projects would only wash away these efforts.
The LAPD Mapping program follows the last August report of the New York Police Department (NYPD) titled "Radicalization in the West and the Homegrown Threat." The report warned of "radicalization" among otherwise unremarkable young Muslim men in the United States who grow disillusioned with life and sign on with jihadis.
The NYPD report also listed sites that were likely to be visited by any American Muslim as radicalization 'incubators.' The sites listed include mosques, cafes, cab driver hangouts, student associations, nongovernmental organizations, butcher shops, and book stores. The report also claimed that signs of radicalization include positive changes in personal behavior such as giving up smoking, drinking and gambling. It also made similar claims about those who wear Islamic attire or a religiously-recommended beard. Muslim civil right groups were obviously concerned that the NYPD study contained sweeping generalizations which were likely to reinforce negative stereotypes and unwarranted suspicions about the seven-million strong American Muslim community. The report may also serve to further marginalize the community by labeling almost every American Muslim as a potential threat.
Not surprisingly, Muslim and civil rights organizations were alarmed by the LADP program. Three Muslim organizations - the Council on American-Islamic Affairs, the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, Muslim Advocates - and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, have sent a letter to the LAPD expressing apprehensions over the 'mapping' program.
The mapping of Muslim communities as part of counter-terrorism efforts seems premised on the faulty notion that Muslims are more likely to commit violent acts than people of other faiths. Singling out individuals for investigation, surveillance, and data-gathering based on their religion constitutes religious profiling that is just as unlawful, ill-advised, and deeply offensive as racial profiling the letter stated.
The Muslim and civil rights leaders also requested a meeting with Michael Downing, scheduled for November 15, to discuss concerns about the 'mapping' project.
Based on statements of those involved, it is clear that the 'mapping' project would target the Muslim community based not on any suspicious criminal activities, but rather on the basis of legitimate religious and political views protected by the First Amendment, said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of CAIR-LA. This project would undermine many years spent building trust and partnership between the Muslim community and law enforcement agencies.
When the starting point for a police investigation is 'let's look at all Muslims', we are going down a dangerous road,� said Peter Bibring, a lawyer with the A.C.L.U. of Southern California . Police can and should be engaged with the communities they are policing, but that engagement can't be a mask for intelligence gathering.
The LAPD Mapping program smacks Mapping the Sharia'a project of an anti-Islam group known with the acronym SANE: the Society of Americans for National Existence. The project is devoted to spying on 2,300 Islamic institutions in the United States.
There cannot be two opinions about the security of our nation and to prevent violence, extremism, and terrorism, but such programs as 'mapping' will only alienate and intimidate the Muslim community which remains under siege in the post-9/11 America.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Executive Editor of the online magazine of American Muslim Perspective: www.amperspective.com
e-mail: asghazali@gmail.com
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