ISNA and the FBI

Why are we so concerned about what appear to be hundreds of pages of revisions to FBI counterterrorism training materials?

Among many reasons, here’s one.

As ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) reported on February 14^th, (see ISNA’s release below), the organization met with top leadership of the FBI to discuss concerns about the training materials.

Who is ISNA?

It’s connected to the Muslim Brotherhood. In fact, it is the first organization listed in the back of the Muslim Brotherhood’s “explanatory memorandum” which calls for a “civilization jihad” against America. It was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial. It condemned the post 9/11 seizure of Hamas assets by our government. Hamas is a designated terrorist organization.

We could provide you a lot more information, but you get the point. As we point out in a DVD entitled “Unmasking the Enemy Among Us,” the Muslim Brotherhood and its front organizations such as ISNA are experts at information warfare. (This DVD is available on our Donate page.)

Now ISNA is advising the FBI on what should be in our counterterrorism training materials! In fact, scroll to the end of ISNA’s release and you’ll see it calls this is a “first step.”

If you have not yet signed our open letter to congressional chairmen asking them to investigate what the FBI is doing, PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME TODAY.

Immediately below is a two minute interview with Rep. Allen West on the issue of the FBI training materials. Rep. West will be the keynote speaker at this year’s National Conference & Legislative Briefing.



ISNA & Nat. Orgs. Meet with FBI Dir. to Discuss Biased FBI Training Materials

http://www.isna.net/articles/News/ISNA--Nat-Orgs-Meet-with-FBI-Dir-to-Discuss-Biased-FBI-Training-Materials.aspx

(Feb 14, 2012) In a continuing effort to address concerns related to inflammatory training material, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently met with community and interfaith organizations to provide an update on steps taken by the agency to rectify the matter. On Wednesday, February 8, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Arab American Institute (AAI), Interfaith Alliance, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Muflehun, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), and the Shoulder-to-Shoulder campaign had an opportunity to discuss the matter with the Public Affairs Office of the FBI. Director Robert Mueller joined the meeting to discuss these matters with the representatives from the organizations.

The conversation with Director Mueller centered on material used by the agency that depicts falsehoods and negative connotations of the Muslim American community. The use of the material was first uncovered by Wired Magazine in an article published on September 14, 2011. Director Mueller informed the participants that the FBI took the review of the training material very seriously, and he pursued the matter with urgency to ensure that this does not occur again in the future.

ISNA President Imam Magid stated, "The discovery of FBI training materials that discriminated against Muslims did damage to the trust that was built between dedicated FBI officials and American Muslim community. We welcome and appreciate Director Mueller's commitment to take positive steps toward eradicating such materials and rebuilding trust and an open dialogue."

The Director also informed participants that to date, nearly all related FBI training materials, including more than 160,000 pages of documents, were reviewed by subject matter experts multiple times. Consequently, more than 700 documents and 300 presentations of material have been deemed unusable by the Bureau and pulled from the training curriculum. Material was pulled from the curriculum if even one component was deemed to 1) include factual errors, 2) be in poor taste, 3) be stereotypical, or 4) lack precision.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to share with Director Mueller other matters of concern to community members. Issues related to privacy, including the surveillance of mosques, were discussed. It was clear to all meeting participants that the issue of trust between community members and the FBI needs to be taken seriously by all of our nation's decision-makers. It was also evident that the Bureau must strengthen its efforts to build trust. The Director has testified before Congress about the invaluable contribution that the Muslim community makes to our nation's security, noting a recent bomb plot in Tampa, FL that was foiled thanks to a joint effort by the FBI and the local Muslim community.

The changes proposed by the FBI to the training modules are a welcomed first step in ensuring that such a mistake does not occur again in the future. The group asked the FBI Director to issue a formal statement on this matter acknowledging the negative impact of these training materials on the Muslim community. Representatives from the community and interfaith organizations also stressed the importance of transparency by the Bureau in dealing with these matters, and suggested that a committee of community leaders and experts be assembled to review training material issued by the FBI. Meeting participants requested that the training process be open and transparent moving forward, and requested future meetings with Director Mueller to continue the conversation.