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CAIR Michigan and Civil Rights Groups to Call for Inquiry Into Feds Labeling of Dearborn as Suspected Terrorist Community
On Friday, August 8, the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) and other civil rights organizations will hold a press conference to call for a congressional inquiry into how a federal law enforcement database labeled Dearborn, Mich., as the second highest population of “known or suspected terrorists.”
Recently-leaked government documents indicated that Dearborn, a city with less than 100,000 residents is considered to have the second highest concentration of suspected terrorists in America, after New York City, which has a population of more than 8 million people. Dearborn has the highest concentration of Arab-Americans in the country.
“Given that there has not been a Dearborn resident who has ever committed an act of terrorism in the homeland, nor any significant pattern of residents being involved in international terrorism, we have serious concerns that federal law enforcement views Dearborn as a suspect community primarily based on its Arab and Muslim demographics,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid.
Walid also noted that given 94 percent of domestic terrorism attacks in recent decades have been committed by persons other than the Islamic faith, which calls into question how the federal government is using its resources in protecting the nation from actual terrorism threats.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.