FBI vs. Muslim Americans

A spate of recent attacks and plots involving Muslim Americans, from the Ft. Hood killings to an alleged bomb plot by a New York City coffee vendor, have raised fears of homegrown terrorism inspired by Islamic extremists. But Muslim religious leaders say that the incidents have led law enforcement to go too far in investigating their community, leading to a breakdown in cooperation. A number of court cases charge the FBI with threatening to intervene in green-card applications unless immigrants agree to spy on relatives overseas, souring relations with the bureau. “There is a sense that law enforcement is viewing our communities not as partners but as objects of suspicion,” Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America, told the New York Times “A lot of people are really, really alarmed about this.”