Talk at mosque BBQ: possible FBI targeting

By Brandon Sprague
Seattle Times business reporter

ELLEN M. BANNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES Hibbaq Mohamoud, 4-1/2, of Bothell, takes a big bite of a hamburger at the Idriss Mosque's annual Community Appreciation Day barbecue.

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

As Catholic priests mingled with elder Afghan men sporting long beards and Somali women in headscarves, the event reflected not only Islamic tradition but also the religious community of Seattle.

While the mood was festive, there were worries that the FBI may be targeting Seattle's small Muslim community.

Attorney General John Ashcroft recently said law-enforcement officials are stepping up efforts to contact Muslims and Arab Americans because of information that terrorists are planning a major attack.

Melissa Schuler, a spokeswoman for the FBI office in Seattle, said yesterday that her supervisors were not aware of any specific effort to interview Muslims in the Seattle area. "If they were interviewed, it was not because they're Muslim," she said.

But reports persist that local Muslims have recently been quizzed by federal agents. And if such contacts are taking place, the FBI should acknowledge them, Muslim leaders said.

	ELLEN M. BANNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES Azamat Akkuzhin, right, a member of the Idriss Mosque, talks with Paul Johns, left, of Seattle and Father Tom Bigelow from St. Mark's Episcopal Church about his life and the Idriss Mosque in Seattle.

Idriss Mosque officials have worked cooperatively with the FBI and other federal agencies in the past, said mosque director Hisham Farajallah. But since a change in leadership at the Seattle FBI office, the mosque hasn't had the same relationship with the agency.

"Of course the community has concerns," Farajallah said of the reports of interviews. "And when they contact us, we don't have an answer for them."

The mosque community and its neighbors long have worked together. A day after the Sept. 11 attacks, a man doused cars in the mosque parking lot with gasoline and attempted to set the place on fire. Neighbors and members of the area's religious community then formed the Watchful Eyes program to protect the mosque, standing guard for three months.

While the yearly barbecue is a small gesture of thanks, said mosque founder Jamil A. Razzak, it also is meant to be a forum for exchanging information.

"In Islam we have what is called zakat, where we give money to the poor," he said. "This is like zakat, but only with knowledge. We share the knowledge of our religion with those who don't have it."

Dave Warmuth, a deacon at St. John the Evangelist Parish, said he has attended the event for a number of years to show his support and also to learn about Islam so he can, in turn, help educate others within his faith.

Robert Okin the Seattle director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, attended the event with his wife. He said his agency has a great relationship with the mosque.

"If there is any worry among the community, Hisham will call me. There's really an open dialogue in the Seattle area."

That's why it was a surprise to many that there could be any sort of problem with the FBI.

"We are very, very concerned about this," said Aziz Junejo, a spokesman for the mosque. "Especially because they are using deceptive means to do [their interviews]."

About 20 Muslims met with U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle, on Saturday and discussed the matter. In the last two weeks, nearly 30 Muslims in Seattle have been questioned by federal agents, a mosque spokesman said.

The men talked about being invited to the FBI office by agents who said they wanted to reach out to the Muslim community, Junejo said. When they arrived, however, Junejo said they instead were asked questions about membership in terrorist organizations and whether they had recently purchased an emergency vehicle.

"You don't round up all Irish people on St. Patrick's Day or Italians on Columbus Day, just because the people who did this damage were from the same country," said McDermott, who attended yesterday's event. He said he wanted to hold a congressional hearing on the matter.

"Right after 9/11, they rounded up 7,000 people and there was not one single charge," he said. "It was useless harassment of a lot of people."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington has offered to assist anyone approached by the FBI. In a recent statement, Kathleen Taylor, the executive director of ACLU of Washington, said the technique used by the FBI "is simply ethnic profiling."

Julya Hampton, ACLU legal-program director, said in the statement, "Treating innocent people like criminals is certain to drive a wedge between law enforcement and the communities that agencies should be reaching out to."

McDermott said that seeing Catholics, Protestants and Muslims standing together yesterday was heartening. "That's the essence of what America is and it's the only way we are going to defuse this attitude towards Muslims," he said.

Aisha Al-Za'arir, a recent convert to Islam, said that Seattle is very tolerant and accepting of her new faith. She was surprised to hear that the FBI might be questioning people in the community.

"If they really wanted to reach out to the community, they should have come here," she said.

Brandon Sprague: 206-464-2263 or bsprague@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

E-mail this article

Print this article

Search archive

More local news headlines...