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Blog — Profiling
Wednesday April 04, 2012
The FBI and the DOJ have placed themselves in a tough position. Currently they sit isolated somewhere between a disappointed American Muslim and Arab American community and a contingent of powerful Senators who want answers. The FBI's training division and subsequently the DOJ have come under intense scrutiny since September 2011 in the wake of revelations that FBI agents were taught blatantly false and bigoted things about Muslims and Arabs as part of their counter-terrorism training. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 2:30 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday March 28, 2012
And it wasn’t only Muslims who were demonized with preposterous allegations of genocidal tendencies and such, but Arabs were also depicted in a racist fashion, said to be prone to “temper tantrums” and “Outburst and Loss of Control,” in contrast with the “Western mind[‘s] even keel.” Then, there was a bunch of silly stuff, like advising agents to not shake hands with Asians or stare at them (I’m totally serious). Read More »
Posted by Omar Baddar at 3:18 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday March 07, 2012
The Department of Homeland Security has attempted to set the record straight about the video “The Third Jihad.” The film sparked a serious controversy in January when New York Times reporter Michael Powell revealed that the New York Police Department had been showing the video on a continuous loop as part of a training program for New York City Police officers. Powell’s report implicated New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, whom the video’s producers, The Clarion Fund (a group known to harbor anti-Muslim views), interviewed for the video. As a result, several American Muslim advocacy groups called for Commissioner Kelly to step down. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 5:52 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday February 06, 2012
On Saturday, February 4, 2012, the Arab American Institute hosted a town hall on racial profiling and immigration enforcement, with a special focus on the Arab and Muslim American communities in Massachusetts. The town hall was held at Boston University, allowing community members, students, and other faculty members to join in the discussion. Read More »
Posted by Hilary Robertson at 3:38 pm / / Leave a comment
Friday December 23, 2011
On December 22nd, Arab American community members in Paterson New Jersey gathered for a town hall meeting hosted by the Arab American Institute and the newly-formed United Arab American Coalition. The meeting brought together a panel of experts to speak and answer questions on the subjects of racial profiling and immigration. Read More »
Posted by Frank Matt at 3:44 pm / / Leave a comment
Friday December 16, 2011
One year after the spark of the Arab Spring, we remain inspired by the courageous efforts of ordinary people across the Arab world to rise up and change their countries. In recent months, Arab Americans across the country have engaged in various efforts to change the national narrative on a number of important issues facing our community. In October, a coalition of Arab American organizations launched Yalla Change, a national campaign devoted to bringing about the change we need here at home. Read More »
Posted by AAI at 12:36 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday December 08, 2011
On Tuesday, AAI co-sponsored a town hall meeting on Islamophobia in Philadelphia with the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at Villanova University. AAI Executive Director Maya Berry, Matt Duss of the Center for American Progress (CAP), and Villanova Professor Marwan Kreidie moderated the discussion which was attended by over 100 community members and students. The panel addressed a multitude of questions about Islamophobia, the perceived threat of Sharia in the United Sates and the network behind what Center for American Progress has identified as Fear Inc. Matt Duss, co-author of CAP’s report, Fear Inc. The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America, explained what the report found – a vast and incredibly potent contingent of scholars, validators and activists perpetuating anti-Muslim propaganda in political discourse and civil society. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 3:44 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday December 01, 2011
Today AAI, along with 37 ethnic and religious organizations, sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and Acting Inspector General, Charles K Edwards. The letter officially requests DHS “undertake a comprehensive publicly-reported audit of the civil rights impact of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport screening policies on racial and religious minorities.” Read More »
Posted by AAI at 4:07 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday November 21, 2011
I am not attempting to exaggerate the sentiment, I genuinely cannot think of a bigger indictment of American political culture than that a disastrous clown of Cain’s proportions can continue to be taken seriously as a presidential contender. Read More »
Posted by Omar Baddar at 6:24 pm / / Leave a comment
Saturday October 01, 2011
Watch coverage of the Arab American Institute (AAI) and National Network for Arab American Communities' (NNAAC) joint three-day National Leadership Conference, September 30 - October 2, 2011, in Dearborn, Michigan. The National Leadership Conference is a quadrennial conference at which the Arab American community discusses foreign and domestic policy priorities and strategizes for the national elections. Read More »
Posted by AAI at 12:00 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday September 22, 2011
By Ben-Wadih Hamd
Racial profiling in the post-9/11 era has become a staple of national security activities. However, this discriminatory practice may soon be drawing to a close. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Representative John Conyers Jr. (D-MI) have reintroduced an invigorated plan to end racial profiling: the End Racial Profiling Act. Read More »
Posted by Guest at 9:28 am / / Leave a comment
Thursday September 15, 2011
Wired.com has obtained documents with some pretty disturbing revelations about internal FBI counterterrorism training. According to the documents, the FBI teaches its agents that “main stream [sic]” American Muslims are likely to be terrorist sympathizers. Read More »
Posted by Omar Baddar at 12:35 pm / / Leave a comment
Friday September 09, 2011
The coming days will feature a host of events across the country that are looking back – and looking forward – from that tragic day, and Arab Americans are playing a role in many of these activities, from sharing their own experiences to participating in community service. Read More »
Posted by AAI at 1:33 pm / / Leave a comment
Wednesday September 07, 2011
On Thursday, September 8 at 10:00 a.m., the House Committee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing that, according to Chairman Peter King (R-NY), will help them “get a better picture of the progress that we have made as a nation in securing our homeland since the horrific attacks of 9/11.” Read More »
Posted by AAI at 3:00 pm / / Leave a comment
Friday August 12, 2011
By Frank Matt
The TSA’s recent announcement of new software and practices that enhance passenger privacy deserve our praise. TSA Administrator John Pistole announced the implementation of new software that eliminates passenger-specific images from the screening process. What is truly reassuring about this latest TSA announcement is that it marks an advance in our security that does not come at a cost to our privacy. Read More »
Posted by Guest at 9:08 am / / Leave a comment
Wednesday August 03, 2011
It’s more of the same for the TSA – they just can’t seem to get it right. Yesterday the Boston TSA, never far from scandal, began training on an Israeli-style screening process which, the Boston Herald reports, “requires screeners to make quick reads of whether passengers pose a danger or a terror threat based on their reactions to a set of routine questions.” The $1 billion national initiative has been underway for a few years now, and a number of airports throughout the country have adopted the Israeli method called Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques or SPOT. The intent is to implement SPOT within two weeks’ time, by August 15. SPOT uses Behavior Detection Officers or BDOs to monitor passengers and gauge their responses to questions and determine their level of suspicion. See the Department of Homeland Security website to review a more in-depth explanation of screening methodology. Read More »
Posted by Omar Tewfik at 1:11 pm / / Leave a comment
Tuesday July 26, 2011
California Governor Jerry Brown (D-CA) signed into law Assembly Bill 130, the California DREAM Act yesterday. The Los Angeles Times reports that AB 130 will provide “access to privately funded financial aid for undocumented college students.” Regarding the political implications of California’s Dream Act, the Times explains that the Governor’s signature on Bill 130 is a “gesture of goodwill toward Latino voters, who helped elect him in large numbers last fall. Legislation providing education funding to undocumented students has been a top priority for many Latino groups, which have found many of their efforts thwarted so far at the federal level.” Read More »
Posted by Adam Abosedra at 1:52 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday July 25, 2011
Tucked away in the basement of Rayburn House Office Building, a controversial private citizens group - Citizens for National Security (CFNS) addressed a packed briefing room in the nation’s capital. In front of a group of Capitol Hill staffers, press, and interested outside human rights groups, Congressmen Allen West quickly introduced his invited guest. In remarks that were surprisingly defensive the Congressmen thanked them for their research, and concluded that his obligation as an elected official to give voice to his constituents’ work and then made a quick exit for the door. Read More »
Posted by John Olivieri at 3:30 pm / / Leave a comment
Thursday July 21, 2011
On March 9th, 2011, National Public Radio (NPR) published a story entitled "New Concern About Bias In Counterterror Training." The article sheds new light on potentially serious abuses of power and position in the training of local law enforcement. As part of an ongoing effort to protect the American people from terrorism, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun sending so-called “Counter Terrorism Experts” to local communities where they provide instruction to law enforcement personnel on how best to identify and combat terrorism. While in theory the program sounds like a good idea, in practice it leaves a bit to be desired. Read More »
Posted by John Olivieri at 2:03 pm / / Leave a comment
Monday July 18, 2011
On August 4th, 2004, an upstate New York Imam named Yassin Aref was approached by FBI agents while walking along a run-down part of Albany, New York. The young Imam was arrested. His hands and feet were chained, and he was interrogated (off the record) throughout the night. Mr. Aref, who suffered persecution as a Kurd under Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, described the experience as the “hardest, darkest, and longest night of [his] life”, even more terrifying than what he had endured at the hands of a ruthless tyrant. Read More »
Posted by John Olivieri at 1:35 pm / / Leave a comment
Looking at Iran by James Zogby
Kahlil Gibran Awards Gala - April 16, 2013
