Posted on 09/18/2007 6:14:07 PM PDT by Dubya
SANTA ANA, Calif. — The ACLU and Muslim advocacy groups sued the FBI and the Justice Department on Tuesday, alleging that authorities failed to turn over records detailing suspected surveillance of the Muslim-American community.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, alleges that the FBI has turned over only four pages of documents to community leaders, despite a Freedom of Information Act request filed more than a year ago.
The request sought records that described FBI guidelines and policies for surveillance and investigation of Muslim religious organizations, as well as specific information about FBI inquiries targeting 11 groups or people.
The lawsuit states that all the plaintiffs — who include some of the most prominent Muslim leaders in California — have reason to believe they have been investigated by the FBI since January 2001.
"It sends a message that Muslim-Americans have been, and continue to be, cooperating with law enforcement, but they're concerned there might be a disproportionate focus ... on their religious practices," said Ranjana Natarajan, an ACLU attorney.
One plaintiff, Shakeel Syed, said that his organization and others have spent three years building a relationship with the FBI but that the agency's resistance to the request was troubling.
"I think it is in the best interests of the government to come clean and be transparent and forthright," said Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California. "This is a credibility issue."
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said she could not comment on pending litigation but released a statement from J. Stephen Tidwell, the FBI's assistant director in charge for Los Angeles.
"The FBI does not investigate individuals or groups based on their lawful activities, religious or political beliefs," Tidwell said.
A message left for the Department of Justice after business hours was not returned.
The groups filed an initial FOIA request in May 2006, several months after federal law enforcement officials confirmed the existence of a classified radiation monitoring program used in surveillance at mosques, homes and businesses.
The FBI responded to the request first by saying it couldn't identify any records that met the criteria requested. After an appeal, the agency turned over four pages that dealt with the Council of American-Islamic Relations and Hussam Ayloush, the council's executive director for Southern California.
Those documents dealt with a suspected hate crime at a mosque that the council had reported to the FBI and a conversation Ayloush had with an FBI agent about cooperating with federal law enforcers, Natarajan said.
She said she believes there are many more records because each plaintiff has been interviewed by the FBI or stopped at airports for questioning. The FBI, in its responses, indicted it searched only files that hold information on active criminal investigations instead of more general files that could encompass surveillance activities, she said.
Ayloush, who said he is questioned by federal agents every time he flies internationally, said he had hoped the FOIA request would help him determine why he is stopped.
"Either ... we're being stopped because we're Muslims — which is morally wrong — or that the government must have some erroneous info linked to me that I need to be able to clear," he said.
The government has 60 days to respond to the lawsuit.
ping
FOIA exempts documents pertaining to ongoing investigations.
too bad.
They’re upset for a change. How does the FBI prove a negative? “Prove that you don’t have dociments by turning over the docs you don’t have.”
I know what you mean Ranjana. It is HIGHLY diproportionate.
Ishaq:327 “Allah said, ‘A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the religion.’” HADITH Sahih Muslim [41:6984] Abdullah b. 'Umar reported that Allah's Messenger (may Pigs be inseminating him) said: The Jews will fight against you and you will gain victory over them until the stone would say: Muslim, here is a Jew behind me;
"Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Qur'an should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on earth"
--Omar Ahmed, Chairman of the Board of CAIR (Council of American Islamic Relations), San Ramon Valley Herald, July 1998
Qur’an 8:12 “I shall terrorize the infidels. So wound their bodies and incapacitate them because they oppose Allah and His Apostle.”
Qur’an 8:57 “If you gain mastery over them in battle, inflict such a defeat as would terrorize them, so that they would learn a lesson and be warned.”
Quran-4:89— Take not friends from their ranks until they flee in the way of Allah. But if they turn renegades, wherever ye find them; and take no friends or helpers from their ranks.
Sura 9:5 of the “Koranus,” “wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush.”
" upon such of those to whom the Scriptures have been given as believe not in God." Sura 9:29
"Strike off their heads then, and strike off from them every finger tip." - Sura 8:12
They should allah be deported back to satans sand box!
ping
I hate the ACLU. IMO, they do everything they can to destroy America. Just try to get them to help ONE child who has been abused by her Father, and see what you get.
chandlerkids-thetruth.com, go check it out.
Look into the ACLJ which counters them in court, and send them money.
American Center for Law and Justice.
Only as a last meal...eom
Their religious textbook, the koran tells them to kill non-muslims, how much focus on their "religious practices" do you think that warrants?
Totally — SCREW the ACLU. I’m drawing a line in the sand on this one. Let’s run them out of town.
AMAZING how they conceal which Moslem Groups are part of this anti-american effort. CAIR is number one on the bulls eye.
“The ACLU is a truly dangerous organization.”
The ACLU defends the Constitution of the United States. Why on earth would you think they’re a “dangerous organization”?
You were asking whether there’s anything possible the FBI could do. The answer of course, is yes. If you read the article you would have noticed the nub of the complaint:
“The FBI, in its responses, indicted it searched only files that hold information on active criminal investigations instead of more general files that could encompass surveillance activities”
And it would, of course, be possible for the FBI to search those other files.
“Totally — SCREW the ACLU. I’m drawing a line in the sand on this one. Let’s run them out of town.”
Interesting.
Just one question. How do you plan on doing that without subverting the Constitution of the United States and thereby becoming an enemy of the Republic the rest of us swore we’d defend?
“Their religious textbook, the koran tells them to kill non-muslims, how much focus on their ‘religious practices’ do you think that warrants?”
Another religious textbook, the Bible, instructs people to kill anyone working on Sundays. How much FBI surveillance on Christians do you think that warrants?
"Federal prosecutors have named three prominent Islamic organizations in America as participants in an alleged criminal conspiracy to support a Palestinian Arab terrorist group, Hamas.
Prosecutors applied the label of "unindicted co-conspirator" to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Islamic Society of North America, and the North American Islamic Trust in connection with a trial planned in Texas next month for five officials of a defunct charity, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development."
To which, one Shakeel Syed posted the following reply:
"These respectable organizations serve Muslims and people of all faiths."
So, Mr. Syed is on record supporting unindicted co-conspiritors of the Holy Land Foundation, a proven front group of Hamas.
Link: http://www.nysun.com/comments/26407
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/3465
“FOIA exempts documents pertaining to ongoing investigations.”
No. You got it backwards. The FBI exempted documents that were NOT related to ongoing investigations.
But seeing as you got mixed up there, you might want to reconsider your views about the ACLU. I’ll try to help point out any misunderstandings if I’m around, but I can’t promise because, truth be known, I’m really busy these days.
Peace.
"He is an extremely well-liked, well-respected, model inmate in the system by the authorities as well as by the inmates," said his religious advisor, Shakeel Syed. "Some of the inmates have come to sympathize with him because of his special restrictions."
"Prison has helped him become a better Muslim," Syed said. "He is a Malcolm X with a softer tone....I'm talking about the later Malcolm X who transcended racist sentiments and nationalism. When Hamzah is released, I believe he can become a bridge-builder between faiths and communities, a man who will fight against inequality and for social justice. He smiled at me when I told him that he could play that role in the future, but he is much too modest to say that he agrees."
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=John%20Walker%20Lindh
"9. If I am allowed to do so, I will visit the prison at Guantanamo and conduct Islamic religious services. To the extent time and the prison regulations allow, I will meet and counsel with individual prisoners. I would prefer that the government bear my expenses, but if need be I can bear them myself."
http://www.pegc.us/archive/Paracha_v_Bush/pet_mot_20060922_2.pdf
Exodus 35: “For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death.”
Leviticus 25: “Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. 45 You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. 46 You can will them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life.”
Deuteronomy 21 “If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them, then all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die”
Remind me what your point was?
“I hate the ACLU. IMO, they do everything they can to destroy America.Just try to get them to help ONE child who has been abused by her Father, and see what you get. chandlerkids-thetruth.com, go check it out.”
I visited that website but found no mention of the ACLU.
I know you have a strong opinion about that organization, but apparently you don’t know the first thing about it. The ACLU is dedicated to protecting the Constitution of the United States. Asking them to intervene in custody battles where there’s evidence of abuse would be like asking the US Coast Guard to staff Nursing fairs on college campuses.
Don’t you think one should have some minimal understanding of an organization before forming a strong opinion about it?
If your only complaint is that the ACLU doesn’t help moms get custody of kids their father abused, I’d hope you’d reconsider in light of the facts. I mean, you don’t hate the Constitution of the United States do you?
However, my overarching point, is that I really don't give a rats derrière that there is any amount of indignation over whether or not the FBI is looking into, investigating, checking on, or researching any Muslim leader.
If they have a complaint, they should address it to OBL, Muhammed Atta, Al-Zawahiri or Sami Al-Arian, et al. The threat created by the actions of these animals, along with the Jihadis caught living among us has spawned the distrust for Muslims that is now evident among the US population.
I will reserve my indignation for those who actually deserve it.
I hope that I have made myself clear enough for you.
I guess he’s just a poor misunderstood little fellow. Thanks for pointing that out, Uncle Miltie..
“I read the article on my Blackberry and missed the point you mentioned.”
No problem.
“However, my overarching point, is that I really don’t give a rats derrière that there is any amount of indignation over whether or not the FBI is looking into, investigating, checking on, or researching any Muslim leader [...] I hope that I have made myself clear enough for you.”
Do you give a rats derrière wether the FBI is in violation of the law? I hope the answer is ‘yes’, and I mean that sincerely.
ACLU are nothing more than scum bags.
“ACLU are nothing more than scum bags.”
The ACLU is dedicated to defending the Constitution of the United States. How does that make them scum bags?
I'd kind of judge based on current hit rates..
Number of attacks carried out by Christians on people for working on Sunday in the last 5 years .....0
Number of documented attacks by Muslims in the name of Jihad to spread Islam since 9/11.....9512
I'll let you make the call.
Go fly a plane into a building full of people, and we'll talk.
Well no Shiite, Sherlock...As a muzlim, you fit the profile of a rapist, murderer, reprobate, gang member, derelict, traitor and terrorist, just to name a few...
If it was up to me, I'd turn your mosques into hog farms and ship you back to whatever sand castle you crawled out from...
Oh please...Show us how many times the ACLU has gone to bat for Christians or their organizations when their first amendment rights are violated...
“No. You got it backwards. No. You got it backwards. The FBI exempted documents that were NOT related to ongoing investigations.
But seeing as you got mixed up there, you might want to reconsider your views about the ACLU. I’ll try to help point out any misunderstandings if I’m around, but I can’t promise because, truth be known, I’m really busy these days.
Peace.”
888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
Since what I wrote is simply a factual statement: “FOIA exempts documents pertaining to ongoing investigations.”
I got NOTHING backwards and I’m not “mixed up”......I couldn’t care less what you’d like for me to think of the ACLU, so don’t bother.
FOIA EXEMPTIONS
It is the policy of the agency to make records available to the public to the greatest extent possible, in keeping with the spirit of the FOIA, while at the same time protecting sensitive information. The following is a list of FOIA exemptions which apply to Government information in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(b):
(b)(1) EXEMPTION 1 Classified secret matters or national defense or foreign policy.
This exemption protects from disclosure national security information concerning the national defense or foreign policy, provided that it has been properly classified in accordance with the substantive and procedural requirements of an executive order.
(b)(2) EXEMPTION 2 Internal Personnel Rules and Practices. This exemption exempts from mandatory disclosure records “related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency.” Courts have interpreted the exemption to encompass two distinct categories of information:
(a) internal matters of a relatively trivial nature—sometimes referred to as “low2” information; and
(b) more substantial internal matters, the disclosure of which would risk circumvention of a legal requirement—sometimes referred to as “high 2” information.
(b)(3) EXEMPTION 3 Information Specifically Exempted by Other Statutes. This exemption incorporates the disclosure prohibitions that are contained in various other federal statutes. As originally enacted in 1966, Exemption 3 was broadly phrased so as to simply cover information “specifically exempted from disclosure by statute.” The new Exemption 3 statue prohibits agencies from releasing under the FOIA any proposal “submitted by a contractor in response to the requirements of a solicitation for a competitive propsals,” unless that proposal “is set forth or incoprorated by reference in a contract entered into between the agency and the contractor that submitted the proposal.”
(b)(4) EXEMPTION 4 Trade Secrets, Commercial or Financial Information. This exemption protects “trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person [that is] privileged or confidential.” This exemption is intended to protect the interest of both the government and submitter of information.
(b)(5) EXEMPTION 5 Privileged Interagency or Intra-Agency Memoranda or Letters. This exemption protects “inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums of letters which would not be available by law to a party ...in litigation with the agency.” As such, it has been construed to “exempt those documents, and only those documents, normally privileged in the civil discovery context.”
(b)(6) EXEMPTION 6 Personal Information Affecting an Individual’s Privacy. This exemption permits the government to withhold all information about individuals in “personnel and medical files and similar files” when the disclosure of such information “ would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” This exemption cannot be invoked to withhold from a requester information pertaining to the requester.
(b)(7) EXEMPTION 7 Investigatory Records Compiled for Law Enforcement Purposes. As amended, this exemption protects from disclosure “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes.
(b) (7) EXEMPTION 7(A) Records or Information that Could Reasonably be Expected to Interfere with Enforcement Proceedings. This exemption authorizes the withholding of “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that production of such law enforcement records or information ... could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.”
(b) (7) EXEMPTION 7(B) Disclosure Which Would Deprive a Person of a Fair Trial or an Impartial Adjudication. Records that would prevents prejudicial pretrial publicity that could impair a court proceeding, protects “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes [the disclosure of which] would deprive a person of the right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication.”
(b) (7) EXEMPTION 7(C) Personal Information in Law Enforcement Records. This exemption provides protection for personal information in law enforcement records. This exemption is the law enforcement counterpart to Exemption 6, providing protection for law enforcement information the disclosure of which “could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
(b)(7) EXEMPTION 7 (D) Identity of a Confidential Source. This exemption provides protection for “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes [which] could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source —including a State, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution which furnished information on a confidential basis—and, in the case of a record or information compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation, or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, information furnished by a confidential source.”
(b) (7) EXEMPTION 7(E) Circumvention of the Law. This exemption affords protection to all law enforcement information which “would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law.”
(b)(7) EXEMPTION 7(F) Physical Safety to Protect a wide Range of Individuals. This exemption permits the withholding of information necessary to protect the physical safety of a wide range of individuals. Whereas Exemption 7(F) previously protected records that “would ...endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel,” the amended exemption provides protection to “any individual when disclosure of information about him or her “could reasonably be expected to endanger [his/her] life or physical safety.”
(b)(7) EXEMPTION 8 Records of Financial Institutions. This exemption covers matters that are “contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions.”
(b)(7) EXEMPTION 9 Geographical and Geophysical Information Concerning Wells. This exemption covers “geological and geophysical information and data, including maps, concerning wells.
You are a troll, the ACLU is NOT and organization that stands behind the constitution, it is an organization that pushes a communist agenda under the guise of upholding the consitution, a typical communist tactic. They have long been exposed, to people with a brain, as they lying sacks of sh** they really are. They consistantly help subversive organizations and VERY RARELY take up a real case of injustice. If yo actually believe the ACLU to be a good org. than I feel sorry for you, it must be painful to be unable to think clearly.
Exactly - sounds like a fishing expedition by the ACLU. They came up dry and now they’re mad about it. Tough {expletive} ACLU...
The ACLU should be held accountable for a portion of 9/11.
Wow, an ACLU supporter on FR.
You can’t be serious that you really think that they’re trying to defend the Constitution, can you?
Are you that deluded?
those are just the details that I have to work out ... any suggestions?
The original Constitution was a document detailing the structure and powers of the proposed federal government. There was nothing whatsoever about "rights" in it.
The "Bill of Rights," added to the original Constitution at the insistence of hypocritical slaveowners who feared federal interference in their way of life, originally was intended to limit federal power only. However, over time it was reinterpreted as a positive grant of rights and then applied to state and local situations, which is the diametrical opposite of its original intent.
Invoking the First Amendment to prohibit prayer at high school football games is not "defending the Constitution."
No it isn't.
L
The ACLU was founded by a cadre of communists, socialists, pacifists, feminists, agnostics and revolutionaries.
"Over the years, I have been very critical and, I must admit, hostile to the ACLU. What I found out about its origins horrified me. It was the political goal of many of the founders of the ACLU to destroy this country and everything it stood for." (Dr. Roderick T. Beaman, Florida author and poet).
The heirs to the original ACLU cadre are with us today.
By the way, Dr. Beaman is a leading Libertarian. The Libertarians have an accomodation with the ACLU and make common cause with it on many issues.
Leni
The ACLU would've sued the military to get records to the Axis powers detailing how we intercepted secret communications in WWII.
Actually the organization was chartered to help destroy the Constitution. But why let facts get in the way of a good troll.
L
>>FOIA exempts documents pertaining to ongoing investigations.
too bad.<<
You would think though that each person that has been interviewed by the FBI would have an FBI file and even redacted that would be at least one page per person.
You noticed that too?
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