Source: Asian Week

http://www.asianweek.com/2002_04_12/bay_forum.html

On April 11, 2002, the Asian Week featured an article on an event organized by Northern California branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) that "aimed to reach out to federal agencies along with Muslim and South Asian communities in the Bay Area [CA]." Government officials served on a panel answering the questions of "800 who gathered at the Muslim Community Association in Santa Clara, [CA]... Representatives from three federal law enforcement agencies tried to assure Muslims and South Asians at a forum last week that they were not being singled out by domestic anti-terror efforts because of race... Keeping open lines of communication is key to understanding, the law enforcement panelists remarked... FBI agent Larry Mefford... offered another suggestion to help bridge the gap between law enforcement and minority communities: for young Muslim Americans and South Asians to join the FBI, which aims to hire more than 950 new agents this year."