Muslims body in US shocked over FBI’s secret surveillance since 9/11 attacks

By Enes Taha Ersen

ISTANBUL (AA) – The largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the US has expressed shock at the recent disclosure of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s secret surveillance and listing of Muslims in the country since the 9/11 attacks.

Gadeir Abbas, a senior lawyer at the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told Anadolu that the FBI monitoring report shows that Muslims have been listed and followed for years, from former President George Bush's administration to the current Joe Biden government, referring to the 2019 version of the FBI's watch list made public by a Swiss hacker on June 13.

"We've known for many years that Muslims are being watched," Abbas said, "but seeing this list firsthand is truly shocking."

"The US has been continuously spying on the Muslim community through electronic tracking and individuals placed in Islamic communities," according to Abbas.

He noted that "Muslims in the US lived peacefully until 9/11, but after that, they were continuously viewed as threats and subjected to surveillance, which continued during the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden, as security and intelligence agencies maintained secret lists.

"They knew Muslims were being profiled, but they couldn't hold the government legally accountable until the report came out."

- Muslims still face mistrust

There are approximately 2,500 mosques in the US, Abbas said, claiming that Muslims are monitored there and thousands of people are recruited for intelligence activities.

Abbas pointed out in the report titled "Twenty Years Is Too Much, Call to Stop the FBI's Watch List" prepared by CAIR that only the names "Muhammad" and "Ali" were mentioned more than 350,000 times in the FBI database with different pronunciations.

The FBI's filing practices have an impact on Muslims' daily lives because the reports are shared with over 60 countries, private companies, hospitals, and universities, resulting in restrictions for Muslims considered "potential terrorists" in various contexts.

According to Abbas, "the method used against Muslims is no different from a 'witch hunt,' and there is no guarantee that this will not be done to others in the future."

He added that "the US will eventually target another group as a threat, leading to the use of secret lists. Therefore, it is critical for everyone to condemn and oppose anti-Muslim sentiment."

Noting that there is no legal basis for profiling Muslims, Abbas stressed that "as the FBI has given the authority to carry out the filings, there are no legal constraints on the filings, allowing agents to list individuals for any reason."

Blaming the government's lack of control, he said that it is the reason behind the access to this confidential list containing millions of Muslim names.

People on the watch list face a range of challenges, including travel restrictions, immigration issues, encounters with the FBI, instances of police violence, difficulties obtaining permits and licenses, professional consequences, and limited access to government buildings.

*Writing by Necva Tastan