The First Amendment provides that Congress make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise. It protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances
Is Picking out Muslim Americans at the Borders Constitutional?
By Dr Aslam Abdullah
CA
How many of you have heard the news that US Border officials had stopped American citizens of Jewish origin returning from a foreign county and questioned them about their activities abroad? How often have immigration authorities stopped white supremacists returning from Europe and Canada and asked them about their neo-Nazi views or organizational identity? Even when the Hindu militant leaders visit the US to raise funds for their groups promoting hatred against Muslims or Christians, you do not hear authorities raising any objections.
However, when a young Muslim US citizen returns home after his vacation or study visit from abroad, he experiences hostility at the border or entry points. He faces questioning that views them as a suspect. The officials go after them because of their name, ethnicity, and religion. Even Muslims, born and brought up in the US, cannot escape the officials from scrutiny.
More than 20 years have passed since 9/11, yet the Muslim community continues to be seen as suspects with tendencies to commit terrorism. Even though the data points fingers at others as a significant threat to the US national security, the authorities still target Muslims and receive millions of tax dollars in grants to go after them.
Two recent incidents are enough to illustrate this point. First, a young couple recently visited Canada and, after a week-long vacation, was stopped at the border. The wife and infant waited while the officer took the husband inside the questioning chamber. For almost two hours, the young man faced questions about his faith, friends, family, and job. As a result, the family missed the flight and had to spend an extra night in the border town. The next day, they faced the same ordeal and barely reached the plane on time.
The second time the husband was asked to give the password to his cell phone, he refused. The questions were of racist and religious nature. Here is a sample of ten questions young Americans face while returning to their country.
1. What sect of Islam do you belong to?
2. Which Imam do you follow on YouTube?
3. What do you want to teach at a secular educational institute?
4. How come you do not teach at a Madarssa?
5. Do you know anyone with terrorist tendencies?
6. Have you participated in any violent activities?
7. Who are your friends?
8. Why did you go abroad to study?
9. Do you subscribe to the Deobandi school of thought?
10. Can you give your views on the following verses of the Qur’an?
Those asking questions are either white, Hispanic, or Hindu officers. White and Hindu officers are more aggressive in their questioning and tone. They lack proper protocol in asking questions or even pronouncing Muslim names correctly. Their attitude reeks of Islamophobia visibly.
No matter what the US administration says in public, its law enforcement and intelligence gathering agencies are not fair in their agents' behavior, reflecting their upbringing and organizational culture. Many of these agents are the product of a family or community that negatively views Islam and Muslims. It is a challenging task to believe that by taking an oath to protect the constitutional rights of every citizen, these agents might overcome their personal biases. Instead, their tone and mode of questioning reveal their preferences.
Muslims have to deal with this discrimination for a long time. One way to tackle it is to increase their presence in public offices. Muslims will always be disadvantaged without a significant presence in civil services and intelligence agencies. However, the community has ignored these two sectors in their employment choices. As a result, Muslim representation in the police, intelligence agencies, and civil services is negligible. Muslims have to deal with the situation because no one will offer civil service jobs on a plate.
(Dr Aslam Abdullah is a resident scholar at Islamicity.org and editor-in-chief of the Muslim Observer newspaper. He is also the Indian Islamic Heritage Project director of the American Federation of Muslims of Indian origin and the interim President of the World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations, WCMIR.)
