IP: When the FBI Guys Come Knocking...

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 18:42:20 -0400
> To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
> From: Matthew Gaylor <freematt () coil com>
> Subject: When the FBI Guys Come Knocking...
>
> Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 10:08:00 EDT
> Title: Op-Ed in today's LA Daily News: When the FBI Guys Come Knocking...
> By: Dr. Riad Z. Abdelkarim
> Email: RiadZuhdi () aol com
>
>
>                              Tuesday, September 25, 2001
>
> When the FBI guys come knocking, it's the worst of times
> By Riad Z. Abdelkarim
>
> <http://www.dailynewslosangeles.com/opinions/articles/0901/25/lvew01.asp>
>
>
>    The  ring  at  my  doorbell  that Sunday afternoon was
>    innocent enough. I set aside my laptop computer and my
>    half-eaten Chicken McNuggets and went to the door.
>
>    When  I  first  peered out and saw two sharply dressed
>    men in business suits and dark sunglasses, I thought I
>    was  being  visited  by  a  pair of friendly Jehovah's
>    Witnesses.
>
>    As I opened the door, however, it struck me that these
>    men  were  a bit older than the young men of faith who
>    usually canvassed the neighborhood.
>
>    Any   lingering   doubt  about  their  identities  was
>    immediately  erased  when  the  two  men flashed their
>    badges  and  announced  --  in true X-Files fashion --
>    that   they   were   with   the   Federal   Bureau  of
>    Investigation.
>
>    "What can I do for you gentlemen?" I asked.
>
>    My  initial  puzzled  reaction  turned to concern when
>    they  explained  that  they  wanted  to  speak with me
>    "about   the   events   of  last  Tuesday,"  obviously
>    referring  to  the  horrible terrorist attacks against
>    the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
>
>    I  told  them that I would be happy to speak with them
>    if  they  made  an appointment to meet me later at the
>    local   office  of  the  Council  on  American-Islamic
>    Relations,  where I served as a member of the board of
>    directors.
>
>    Although  the  agents  were somewhat taken aback by my
>    request,  they  ultimately  agreed. An appointment was
>    made  for  the following evening, but the agents never
>    appeared   to  interview  me  nor  did  they  call  to
>    reschedule the meeting.
>
>    The next morning, I awoke ill and asked that my clinic
>    patients be rescheduled before stepping out to pick up
>    some over-the-counter medication.
>
>    During  this  time,  two  other agents visited both my
>    home  and work place. When the agents did not find me,
>    they  warned  my  wife ominously that they "would keep
>    coming back."
>
>    I  was  finally  able  to  reach  one of the agents by
>    cellular  phone, and I made an appointment to meet him
>    and his partner at a local coffee shop.
>
>    What  ensued can best be described as a combination of
>    a    fishing   expedition   and   a   scene   from   a
>    straight-to-video B-movie.
>
>    Holding  a  thin  folder  stamped "SECRET" in front of
>    them,   the  agents  initially  queried  me  about  my
>    background.  One  of  them  stopped in mid-sentence to
>    change  a  question  from  "When  did  you come to the
>    U.S.?" to "Where were you born?"
>
>    They  appeared  somewhat  surprised when I mentioned I
>    was born in Santa Monica, California, and had lived in
>    Southern California my entire life.
>
>    I  was then quizzed about my political views with such
>    vague  questions  as  "Are  we  the  bad  guys in this
>    thing?"  I  told the agents in no uncertain terms that
>    there  could  be  no  justification whatsoever for the
>    horrible terrorist attacks that had taken place.
>
>    Further,  I  informed them that my political views are
>    widely  known  because I frequently write commentaries
>    that  are  published in newspapers around the country.
>    In  fact, in the days following the terrorist attacks,
>    my commentaries condemning the assaults and expressing
>    the  shared  grief and outrage of American Muslims had
>    appeared   in   newspapers   in   California,   Texas,
>    Connecticut, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, and Madrid,
>    Spain.
>
>    The  agents  subsequently  inquired  about my numerous
>    affiliations   with   several   prominent  and  widely
>    respected   American   Muslim   advocacy   and  relief
>    organizations.  At  no  time  was  I  asked  about any
>    specific  individual,  nor was I asked to identify any
>    suspects in photographs.
>
>    The  interview's  low  point came when I asked why the
>    agents had gone to my clinic, when I had provided them
>    with  a  cellular telephone number at which I could be
>    reached.
>
>    Their  answer  spoke  volumes about the aimlessness of
>    this investigation:
>
>    "When  we  learned  that you were out sick, we thought
>    that our worst fears had been realized -- that you had
>    fled the country."
>
>    I could no longer restrain my laughter.
>
>    "Give me a break," I exclaimed incredulously.
>
>    To  where  would  I  flee?  I am an American. I do not
>    possess nor do I desire any other citizenship.
>
>    By  the  end  of the 75-minute ordeal, I was convinced
>    that  the  agents  were  not  acting  on  any specific
>    information but were instead groping wildly for straws
>    in the dark.
>
>    I found this quite disheartening.
>
>    I   harbor   no  ill  will  toward  those  agents  who
>    interviewed   me.   I  realize  that  they  were  just
>    following orders. Like other Americans who are Muslims
>    or  of Arabic ethnicity, I earnestly support the FBI's
>    attempts   to   vigorously  investigate  this  heinous
>    terrorist act and bring those responsible to justice.
>
>    What  I  do  not  appreciate  is being singled out for
>    questioning  merely  because of my faith, my ethnicity
>    or my legitimate political activism.
>
>    As noted in a Christian Science Monitor editorial this
>    week,  "to have FBI agents with no preparatory contact
>    knocking  on the doors of Arab or Muslim citizens with
>    no  clear  ties  to  acts  of  crime  is a sure way to
>    instill fear right where cooperation is most needed."
>
>    In  legal  parlance,  this  practice is referred to as
>    "profiling." In my book, it's just plain racism.
>
>    And it has no place in my country.
>
>    ---
>
>    Riad  Z.  Abdelkarim  is an American-born, -raised and
>    -educated  physician  active  in  the  American Muslim
>    community. He lives in Southern California.
>
>      _________________________________________________
>
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