It is clear to me that many do not understand how the government has been unjustly targeting Muslims for decades and how dangerous it is to speak to the FBI without an attorney experienced in FBI investigations, I thus have written my personal account below to personally attest to the harmful targeting of Muslim I have witnessed firsthand.
I decided to become an attorney to protect the American Muslim community from government profiling and targeting at 18 years old after I was detained for 6 hours and questioned about my religious and political beliefs by DHS CBP officers along with 40 other individuals all of whom were Muslim American Citizens, while non-Muslim non-citizens were welcomed into the US without detention. My alumni magazine covered how these experiences lead me to become an attorney: http://www.buffalo.edu/.../faith-in-the-system.detail.html
Shortly thereafter I listened to FBI agents threaten a well-respected Imam to become an informant or else they would convince a prostitute to falsely testify that he was using her for prostitution.
Also during my college years, I witnessed the NYPD undercover cars exclusively and illegally spy on my predominantly Muslim neighborhood in Buffalo, NY. They also spied on and recorded Friday sermons that I gave at the University of Buffalo. Their actions against my Muslim Student Organization and community and illegal spying on the Muslim community was documented in the book "Enemies Within" https://www.amazon.com/Enemies-Within.../dp/1476727937
My own personal experiences made it clear that the federal government through DHS, DOJ, and FBI was targeting American Muslims on account of our religion and national origin.
I thus went to law school with the primary motivation of protecting American Muslims from FBI and CBP targeting and in doing so, protect the US Constitution for all.
After law school, I became the Chief Executive Director for CAIR-FL, the largest American Muslim civil rights organization in Florida.
In that time, I actually personally discovered and exposed an FBI program where the FBI targeted Muslims nationwide the weekend before the 2016 Election. I was able to get the LA Times to cover this program: https://www.latimes.com/.../la-na-muslims-fbi-20141103...
Furthermore, I organized and participated in a Statewide speaking tour with Florida Center for Investigative Journalism author Trevor Aaronson, to expose and warn the Muslim community about the problematic FBI entrapment and agent provocateur program: https://www.brandeis.edu/.../catching-or-creating...
I give sermons and lectures at mosques all over Florida and the US, and always remind the community both of the importance of understanding and abiding by all laws, but also of the harms of speaking the FBI without a lawyer.
I have trained over 5,000 state and federal law enforcement officers about religious profiling and discrimination, and the harms of the Terror Watchlist, which disproportionately harms innocent American Muslims. Many of those officers admitted that most of the people they interact with on the watchlist are Muslim, but not one officer admitted to actually interacting with an actual terrorist on the list, and virtually all the officers agreed the list was at best useless and that it just resulted in harm to innocent Muslims.
I have taken legal actions and spoken on virtually every major media outlet to expose the harms of the Terror Watchlist and how it negatively impacts innocent American Muslims like myself and my clients and how the FBI has often acted in an unconstitutional manner: https://www.newsweek.com/us-terror-watch-list-must...
I have shed light on and helped victims of the USCIS CARRP program where Muslims in the US unfairly have their citizenship delayed pending unjust FBI background checks: https://www.aclusocal.org/en/carrp
In short, due to my personal firsthand experience as a victim of profiling, which lead me to become an attorney and have even more experience in terms of what my clients have faced, my law practice has focused around the following unfortunate but indisputable realities facing American Muslims:
1. The FBI regularly targets innocent American Muslims at home, at school, at their workplace, which makes them look suspicious in front of their neighbors, their classmates and their colleagues.
2. It attempts to recruit them to become informants on account of their religion. This is not difficult to do, as it is very easy to jam up people with a 1001 violation when they speak to the FBI, and there is a theory that every American commits three felonies a day, so with the number of federal laws out there is it not difficult to leverage some technical violation to coerce someone to become an informant: https://ips-dc.org/three-felonies-day/
3. Since there are not enough terrorists within the Muslim community to justify such a program, the FBI coerces informants to become agent provacteurs and target and inspire mentally ill Muslim individuals to attempt crimes that they could apprehend. (See Aaronson's book on this)
4. Muslim Americans are also regularly targeted by CBP at the border and held for hours and asked about their religion, their sect, how often they pray, what mosque they go to, and other first amendment protected activity.
5. Muslim Americans often have their naturalization and immigration paperwork delayed.
6. Muslim Americans have even been prosecuted for first amendment protected activity and their religious beliefs and practices have been used against them in court.
The above 6 are all interconnected in the US Government's reaction to 9/11 and attempting to target Muslims via FBI, DHS, DOJ, CBP, and USCIS to make America safer, but in reality, just making America less free. My practice has focused on addressing the above 6 Unconstitutional injustices. I do it through educating the community about their rights, educating law enforcement and federal agencies about these problems, exposing these problems via my wide social media network and traditional media, advocating for change with members of congress and agency heads and the White House, and taking appropriate legal action.
I have actually had one of the worst and one of the best experiences the South Florida US Attorneys Office. The bad experiences unfortunately break down community trust and erode both our civil liberties and safety. Whereas the good experiences help rebuild that much needed trust.
As for the bad experience - Imam Izhar Khan, a well respected community Imam was charged with material support by your office, simply for sending a few hundred dollars to his sister.
I reached out to the SFL USAO office as the Chief Executive of the largest American Muslim civil rights organization and informed them that it is my professional opinion that this prosecution is baseless, Islamophobic, and harmful to community trust and the constitution. The evidence in the indictment simply did not add up to the charges.
I humbly requested that the USAO not reinforce the perception that the DOJ was wrongly targeting innocent Muslims. I thus humbly requested that the DOJ either release stronger evidence to make clear that they were just in arresting Imam Izhar Khan and having him put in solitary confinement, or alternatively if no stronger evidence existed, then to release him. I warned the USAO office that if this did not happen, Imam Izhar would definitely be exonerated at trial and this would further break down the much needed trust between the government, law enforcement, and the American Muslim community.
Sure enough, my request was ignored. Not long after, but after Imam Izhar, a beloved community leader, had spent over a year in solitary confinement, he went to trial. When he went to trial, the case against him was so weak, that just as I warned, the judge did not even allow the defense to proceed with a defense. The judge acquitted and released Imam Izhar after the prosecution presented its case and before the defense even had to present its defense. That's how weak the case was that your USAO chose to prosecute. Not only did an innocent man lose over a year of his life in solitary confinement, but the Muslim community again rightfully felt unjustly victimized and targeted by those who took an oath to protect the Constitution.
You can read more about the unjust prosecution here: https://www.newyorker.com/maga.../2015/09/21/the-imams-curse
That was the bad experience I had with that office. Thus when FBI agents and an AUSA from that office requested to interview a client of mine earlier this year, I explained to them why I lacked trust in the office.
They assured me that the interaction we would have would build trust. Sure enough they were true to their word. I found the agents and AUSA I worked with from the office on another matter to be upright, honest, and straightforward, and just.
I was able to facilitate for my client to provide important information the office needed, without his rights, freedom, or safety being jeopardized.
My cautious approach with the FBI and DOJ is not limited to the Izhar Khan case and my personal experiences as a teenager.
There have been repeated cases I have worked on that have left a sour taste in my community's mouth.
For example, in the case of Ibragim Todashev, whose family I represented, an FBI agent asked to interview Todashev, and Todashev ended up being shot in the back of the head, in addition to three other bullet shots to the back during his interview at his home.
Our investigation discovered that the agent who shot him, FBI agent Aaron McFarlane, was a retired-on-disability police officer from one of the most corrupt police forces in America, Oakland. He was sued twice and investigated 4 times as a police officer for beating up suspects and beating up witnesses and falsifying evidence, yet somehow he became an FBI agent.
I also discovered that prior to killing Todashev, the FBI pressured him and three of his friends to become informants or face immigration problems. As informants, the FBI wanted them to spy on Florida Mosques, Halal restaurants and Hooka lounges.
Just as problematic was the FBI and DOJ prosecution of Imam Abu Taubah, in Orlando. He was convicted on a basic Tax fraud white collar crime usually punishable by a year in jail. However he had spent nearly three years in solitary confinement as the DOJ was attempting to stack two terrorism enhancements on him and change his sentence from one year to twenty.
What evidence did the government have that he was a terrorist? I could not believe it when Imam Abu Taubah told me until I was shocked to witness it myself during the sentencing hearing.
The only evidence they had was his possession of legitimate Islamic books, his teaching of the Holy Quran, his recitation of the Holy Quran and his encouragement of others to study the Quran overseas. All of which is protected by the US Constitution.
I could not believe it myself -and in that case became an expert witness. Thankfully the Judge quoted me when he refused to apply the terrorism enhancement and released him. See: https://theintercept.com/.../case-orlando-imam-judge.../
The US Attorney for the XXXXXX at the time XXXXXXXX, someone I respected and considered as a friend was at the sentencing hearing along with every FBI agent I know between Tampa and Orlando.
I told the US Attorney XXXXXX directly prior to the judge's decision - "What are you doing. This is blatantly unjust and Unconstitutional"
The US Attorney admitted to me that what was happening was wrong, but it was being directed by DC. He also acknowledged that the FBI and DOJ had unjustly and wrongfully targeted leaders of the American Muslim community.
I had a similar conversation with XXXXXX predecessor, XXXXXXXXX. He was US Attorney for the XXXXXXXXXXZ for years and has admitted to me how the FBI and DOJ have unjustly targeted Muslims and how he had to fight internally against it.
I have kept my conversations with these former US Attorneys confidential for years. as I do not disclose statements made to me in private by sitting officials, but as they both have been out of office for years, I feel it is now in the interest of justice to share their sentiment with you.
I wanted you to understand my background so you understand my approach, my concerns, and why I believe it is dangerous for individuals to speak with the FBI without the proper legal protection and representation.
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