Muslims Lack Allies In Concerns About FBI Undercover Program

October 16, 2009

Author: Omar Sacirbey

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/is_spying_on_a_house_of_worship_a_good_idea1/

After all, Warpehoski said, his group, the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, had once been the target of FBI surveillance during the Vietnam War.

So Warpehoski, a Quaker, wrote a letter earlier this year to Attorney General Eric Holder, urging him to investigate the allegations and review FBI policies on profiling and surveillance. “If there is a reason to investigate, there is a reason,” he said. “But to investigate just because of religious affiliation is not sufficient.”

Warpehoski said a local Muslim activist told him about the FBI surveillance program, but as he sees it, it’s not just an issue for Muslim groups. If G-men can infiltrate a mosque, why not a church, synagogue or temple?

“We see this as an interfaith issue. It concerns all of us,” he said.