By Nahal Ameri
Los Angeles, CA
The Department of Justice, Homeland Security as well as many other United States governmental agencies have conducted ongoing outreach to the American Muslim community in the past year. Through their efforts to hold Townhall Meetings and forums with leaders, governmental agencies have become more aware of the issues facing the American Muslim community.
This past week, the Department of Justice met with American Muslim leaders in West Los Angeles at a townhall meeting hosted by the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Iranian Muslim Association of North America. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss cases of discrimination, to encourage American Muslim participation in the US government and to gather feedback from the American Muslim community about the government.
At the meeting, community members expressed concern over potential abuses in power of the Patriot Act. Shaarik Zafar, Special Counsel on Post-9/11 National Origin Discrimination in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, admitted that the DOJ has not done as much outreach and education as needed but also encouraged the community to read the Patriot Act and refer to the specific sections they see as problematic. Mr. Zafar, being an American Muslim himself, stated “There is too much at stake not to know the game.”
He went on to cite statistics regarding hate crimes and revealed interesting facts about discrimination. He noted that since 9/11, the DOJ has investigated 600 cases of discrimination, and has had a 100% conviction rate in the 18 cases it has pursued. Assistant Attorney General Alex Acosta specifically created a task force and special counsel position largely as a result of the dramatic increase in the number of hate crimes. Mr. Zafar, joined by Assistant US Attorney Irfan Syeed, emphasized the importance of American Muslims pursuing their discrimination cases in the legal arena.
Ray Regalado of the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission (LAHRC) noted that for statistics to be accurate, hate crimes must be reported. Regalado noted that the Commission seeks to understand and address the root causes of hate crimes. Months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Commission began funding the Hate Crimes Prevention department of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in order to increase awareness and collect data on hate crimes.
Saman Namazikhah of the American Iranian Council noted that there is still a large void to be filled by community members in the areas of government and media. Namazikhah cited a report by MIT that said most contributions by Iranian Americans are in science, medicine, education and business with a significantly lower percentage in media and government.
The continuing dialogue between departments within the government is one of the best ways in which to improve the American political system. When government agencies and officials reach out to our community to gather feedback and offer assistance, the American Muslim voice becomes louder and stronger. As a result of government outreach, our communities are becoming more educated and aware. For more information on future community townhall meetings, please visit www.mpacnews.org to sign up for MPAC’s electronic news.
(Nahal Ameri is the Community Relations Coordinator for the Muslim Public Affairs Council)