Washington, DC, Aug. 20–Earlier this week, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Arab American Institute (AAI), and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) met with key officials from the FBI.
The primary impetus for the organizations calling the meeting was to articulate their disappointment about not being informed prior to a series of recent actions by the FBI. These included a resurgence of voluntary interviews, as well as the protocol for announcing arrests. MPAC, AAI, and ADC asked FBI officials to maintain a consistent attempt to diffuse misinterpretations, and stereotypes when announcing arrests or actions within the Arab and Muslim American communities. ADC addressed this issue in an earlier release for more information, see: https://www.adc.org/index.php?id=2298
The FBI responded in a positive manner to the concerns of the communities and made commitments to address the troubling aspects of these issues. They agreed to issue advisories to all agents informing them that questions regarding a citizen‘s or resident‘s political or religious views are inappropriate. They also agreed to continue meeting with ADC, AAI, and MPAC. Additionally, they promised to report to the media the high level and invaluable work of the Arab and Muslim American communities with law enforcement.ADC, AAI, and MPAC said, “They met with us and listened to our concerns. They also committed to continue sending a clear message that hate crimes against our communities will not be tolerated. Both sides agreed on the importance of developing this working relationship in a direct and forthright manner.”