The U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, Andrew Luger, recently said, “Part of our mandate [as U.S. attorneys] is to engage with our communities to prevent crime and to serve the interests of justice.”
On paper, that sounds perfect, but in reality, he’s in the wrong. To Luger, I believe, engagement means reaching out to some people while seeing others as opponents whose opinion never matters. This isn’t the kind of outreach that could build trust. In fact, it’s one-sided and downright blind.
The 93 U.S. attorneys across the country have two things in common: remarkable dedication to safeguard the American people and unwillingness to mingle with communities of interest. These high-ranking officers have failed to cope with the ever-changing religious and cultural dynamic of Muslims in America. Racial biases and procedural
mistakes stand in their way.
My personal story may explain. It was around 4 p.m. on Nov. 1, 2010, in Orange County, Calif. I was cooking dinner when two professionally dressed men
knocked on my door. They saluted me with disarming smiles. They politely asked me if I would allow them in as they identified themselves. I agreed. Alas, I had two FBI
agents in my sitting room.
They started throwing witless questions at me. “How many brothers and sisters do you have?” I resisted until one of them grabbed a file and pulled out a document.
“Mr. Farah, we have two choices for you,” he continued. “You give us the information we need, or a judge in a court will have you do it.”
I had been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury.
I found out the suspect was a former roommate of mine who was charged, in absentia, for material support of Al-Shabaab in Somalia.
The FBI made a mistake by erroneously assuming that I wouldn’t cooperate. I would have told them everything I knew had they approached me straightforwardly, without being fishy and arrogant. Truly, I believe disproportional paranoia toward Muslims complicated their reasoning.
In a time of ever-growing challenge and demand for more friendly government, suspicion, distrust and aloofness should be avoided. The FBI must wholeheartedly immerse the law-enforcement system in the needs of the Sept. 11 generation of Muslims.
