CAIR Seeks FBI Response to NY Rep.'s Claim of Mosque Surveillance

Rep. Peter King Alleges That 'A Number' of District Mosques Being Watched

NEW YORK, April 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The New York chapter of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today called on the FBI to
confirm or deny a claim by Rep. Peter King (R-NY) that "a number" of Long
Island mosques are under law enforcement surveillance.

In a recent Newsday interview, King said, "right now there are a number of
[Long Island] mosques under surveillance by law enforcement agencies." King
also claimed the mosques have been under surveillance "for four or five
years."

King's allegations about spying on mosques in his district came in response to
a CAIR-NY statement last week calling on elected representatives to repudiate
the congressman's claim that "very few Muslims come forward to cooperate with
the police."

SEE: Peter King Remarks About Mosques Draw Muslim Ire (Newsday)
http://tinyurl.com/cnolnm
SEE ALSO: Peter King: I Stand By My Comments on Muslims (Newsday)
http://tinyurl.com/ctrzzl

CAIR-NY said that if true, such blanket scrutiny would contradict public
assurances by the FBI that American houses of worship are not subject to
routine surveillance.

In responding to ongoing Muslim concerns about reports of informants and
agents provocateurs being placed in American mosques, FBI spokesman John
Miller stated recently: "The FBI does not investigate mosques, we investigate
people." (Washington Post, 3/28/09)

SEE: Some Influential Muslim Groups Question FBI's Actions (LA Times)
http://tinyurl.com/df3zeu
SEE ALSO: Muslims Describe FBI Offers to Act as Informants (Detroit News)
http://tinyurl.com/cgmho2
U.S. Muslim Coalition Considers Suspending Relations with FBI
http://tinyurl.com/dj4hpf

At a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI)
asked FBI Director Robert Mueller "whether mosques have been entered by FBI
agents or informants without disclosing their identities under the authority
of the attorney general guidelines and, if so, how many?" Mueller stated: "I
will say that we do not focus on institutions, we focus on individuals."

SEE: FBI Director Questioned about Muslim Relations
http://www.infocusnews.net/content/view/33149/135/

In a 2008 statement refuting claims that surveillance records of mosques in
California were illegally obtained and disseminated by a group operating out
of the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, the FBI said:

"The FBI does not monitor the lawful activities of individuals in the United
States, nor does the FBI have a surveillance program to monitor the
constitutionally protected activities of houses of worship. We do not target
or monitor legal activity of Muslim groups anywhere in the nation."

SEE: Congress Asked to Probe Surveillance of California Muslims
http://www.infocusnews.net/content/view/22449/558/

"Congressman King's claim that law enforcement authorities are engaged in
widespread surveillance of Islamic houses of worship in his district raises
serious civil liberties concerns that must be addressed," said CAIR-NY
Community Affairs Director Faiza N. Ali. "King's repeated use of Islamophobic
rhetoric is of deep concern to Muslims in his district and to the entire
American Muslim community."

She said King's claims that American Muslims are not doing enough to support
national security and law enforcement agencies are contradicted by FBI
Director Mueller, who on April 23, 2008, told the U.S. House Judiciary
Committee: "I re-affirm the fact that 99.9 percent of Muslim-Americans or
Sikh-Americans, Arab-Americans are every bit as patriotic as anybody else in
this room, and that many of our cases are a result of the cooperation from the
Muslim community in the United States."

At the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on March 25, 2009, Director Mueller
said the Muslim community "has been tremendously supportive and worked very
closely with [the FBI] in a number of instances around the country."

In a 2003 interview with The Minaret magazine, Mueller said: "I would like to
thank the Muslim Americans for their support on the war against terrorism and
working with the FBI around the country as well as state and local law
enforcement."

In 2007, CAIR called on Republican leaders to repudiate remarks by Rep. King
in which he said "we have too many mosques in this country." The Democratic
National Committee (DNC) condemned King's statements, calling them
"deplorable."

SEE: Rep. King: "Too Many Mosques" (Video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMydUdKtA_Q

King has in the past claimed that the vast majority of mosques in his state
and nationwide are being run by "radicals" and called for racial profiling of
Muslims in airports.

SEE: King Endorses Ethnic Profiling (Newsday)
http://tinyurl.com/cq6xd4

(Note: King has taken political donations from members of a New York mosque he
claims is a hotbed of radicalism. A Newsday article stated: "Rep. Peter King
is attempting to link his political opponent to men he calls 'radical' Muslim
leaders on Long Island, but federal records show the congressman accepted
thousands of dollars last year in campaign contributions from some of the same
donors.")

In 2004, King said that "85 percent" of American Muslim community leaders are
"an enemy living amongst us" and that "no [American] Muslims" cooperate in the
war on terror. He made these claims despite the fact that American Muslims
consistently condemn terrorism and work to protect national security.

SEE: CAIR's Anti-Terrorism Campaigns
http://www.cair.com/AmericanMuslims/AntiTerrorism.aspx

During a 2008 hearing of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on
Intelligence, Information Sharing & Terrorism Risk Assessment, Rep. Bill
Pascrell (D-NJ) challenged King's criticism of an advertising campaign in New
York subway cars designed to educate the public about Islam. Rep. Pascrell
said: "I am deeply disappointed in any public official or media outlet that
would use harsh rhetoric against this ad campaign which simply seeks to answer
people's questions about Islam."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties group and has 35 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding
of Islam, protect civil liberties, and empower American Muslims.

CONTACT: CAIR-NY Community Affairs Director Faiza N. Ali, 212-870-2002,
718-724-3041, E-Mail: fali@cair.com; CAIR-NY Civil Rights Director Aliya
Latif, 212-870-2002, 732-429-4268, E-Mail: alatif@cair.com; CAIR National
Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787 or
202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations

CAIR-NY Community Affairs Director Faiza N. Ali, +1-212-870-2002,
+1-718-724-3041, fali@cair.com; CAIR-NY Civil Rights Director Aliya Latif,
+1-212-870-2002, +1-732-429-4268, alatif@cair.com; CAIR National
Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, +1-202-488-8787 or +1-202-744-7726,
ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin,
+1-202-488-8787, +1-202-341-4171, arubin@cair.com