LAPD: Muslim Mapping Project- Ill Concieved Policy

Racial and Religious Profiling disguising Intelligence gathering (coming to a city near you!)

What you need to know:

1. Immediate Los Angeles Times Article on the issue on Oct. 31, 2001
2. Congressional Quarterly Article on the issue which was forwarded by MPAC to its listserv- "Los Angeles Police, Muslim Group on Same Page With Mapping Plan" by Daniel Fowler which unfortunately is subscription based. (found on MPAC email, update 11/09/07)
   
3. Daily KOS puts out this release of a letter sent to LAPD, Mayor V and Jack Weiss by the ACLU, Shura Council, Muslim Advocates and CAIR.
   
4. The New York Times comes out with this report on November 9th, 2007.
5. USA Today also does an article.
6. LA Times follows up with another article (updated 11/09/07) on Community dissent building against proposed plan.
7. MPAC releases a Press Release for an immediate PRESS CONFERENCE Stating: "MPAC unequivocally opposes any profiling on ethnicity or religion as counter to American legal principles and federal law enforcement guidelines. At the same time, MPAC remains committed to fostering engagement and dialogue between law enforcement and the Muslim community...has not taken a position on the proposed program" (updated/received 11/09/07 12:26 PM, this was for 12PM)
8. The Pakistani and Iranian communities are at risk for Radicalization, according to Downing- read it here. (updated 11/09/07 320PM)
   
9. Mayor V says "police department has good intention" lets map them terrorists...read here at the LA Times follow up article (updated 11/09/07 327PM).
10. Shura Council posted a special advisory to the Muslim community where they request your feedback on the program- see here. (updated 11/09/07 400pm)
    
11. Downing has done it now- the Muslim Hysteria builds as John and Ken radio show are requesting vigilante citizens to call in and report where Muslims hang out so that they can report it to LAPD- now we can just wait until some crazy guy pulls up and starts shooting people. (updated 11/09/07 410pm)
12. Buzzing with updates- CAIR sends a Press Release out. Hussam Ayloush says “Based on statements of those involved, it is clear that the ‘mapping’ project would target the Muslim community based not on any suspicious criminal activities, but rather on the basis of legitimate religious and political views protected by the First Amendment,” (updated 11/09/07 440pm)
13. Hussam Ayloush on CNN discussing LAPD Mapping:
    
    
    (Updated 11/09/07 6:39pm)
14. IECOC issues a statement opposing the Mapping of the Muslim community- read here. IECOC is a local, national and international player in the Muslim community and a major American institute for Shia Muslims. (updated 11/12/09)
    
15. MPAC releases a press statement saying: "Amid news reports that mischaracterized MPAC's position on a proposed Los Angeles Police Department "mapping" plan, the Muslim Public Affairs Council sent a letter today to LAPD Deputy Chief Mike Downing expressing deep concerns regarding misrepresentation and quotes attributed to LAPD officials." (To me it seems this came on the heels of a strongly worded statement sent out to the Muslim community by a community activist questioning MPAC's position and asking for a definite clarification of the issue.) (Updated 11/12/09 146pm)

What started as a pretty decent Los Angeles Police Department testimony in a matter of days has turned into a heated debate about a MASSIVE RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS PROFILING program described by Captain Micheal Downing of the LAPD's Counter-Terrorism/Criminal Intelligence Bureau.

Downing deserves commendation for several important issues he raised (read here). However, his plan, the presumptions they are based on, and its Constitutionality are in dire need of addressing.

His testimony begins by stating:

"What is important to law enforcement is that we carefully and accurately define those who we suspect will commit a criminal-terrorist act within our communities"

Which is valid and I agree with this assessment. However, Downing proceeds to share with us a comparative analysis of American Muslim communities and those of Europe and Israel, pointing out "we do not have the same types of problems" stressing that these behaviors are transnational and can be brought to the US via groups- the kicker- and the internet. That is certain and plausible.

He discusses 'rick profile' something we all should be aware of because for some time there has been immense talk about "homegrown terrorism" and trying to understand this phenomenon. That is something that sets American Muslims and European Muslims apart, however, in this testimony the assumption is that "if it happens there then these Muslims will also radicalize".

Downing goes on to build the mistrust and anxiety of the community post 9/11 saying

"Unfortunately, despite all of the positive aspects of the Internet, it allows those individuals and groups with ideological agendas to easily make contact with like-minded individuals and access potentially destructive information."

He assumes because of this mistrust Muslims are going to naively end up on Terrorist websites online and ANOTHER BIG ASSUMPTION is that because Muslims don't get their news from mainstream media they are obviously terrorism minded- maybe he is referring to the thousands who get their news from Al-Jazeera versus Faux News, I don't know, but he sure leaves it vague. His vagueness leaves only a second option that poor Muslims because they don't trust our media they end up on terrorist websites for world news.

What is worse and shows the complete lack of understanding of the Muslim community is the comparasion to LOS ANGELES GANGS.

"Similar to gangs, the signs of extremism are first seen on the most local levels: in the families, neighborhoods, schools, mosques, and work places. The walls built by the community is the barrier created to sustain cultural identity and values and protect against the pace of assimilation"

ASSIMILATION? What we are all going to be celebrating Christmas and drinking champagne on New Years. Or we are all going to eat pork and get obese like the millions of Americans who suffer from poor nutritional values due to assimilating a culture of "fast food"? The vary comparison to gang communities is a critical lack of understanding the values and structure of the Muslim community in America. Yes gangs are a social, economic, race-less issue. I know of Muslims in gangs, but the assumption is that the entire American Muslim community functions within this paradigm.

I agree however on the "community structure" analysis that is offered by Downing, however that must be done with the community as partners not specimens for a "mapping project". This approach by Downing is characteristic of a "social project" to "civilize the heathen American Indians".

But Downing wants to be our "trusted friend" which is fine with me. However, how you think the friendship will develop is based on how you approach this community. Here, unfortunately Downing wants the 300 officers of the Counter-Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence Bureau of the LAPD to serve as social workers, religious edict givers (they plan to come out and measure the beard lengths and monitor how often we pray at the mosque, just wait I will get to that part) as well as the Counter-Terrorist officers (conflict of interest). These are the same officers that the community in Los Angeles is very much fearful of and threatened. These officers are often times the one's involved with the FBI and create the fear of the Police Departments because the give the local strong arm role.

These 300 officers are trained to hone in on violent extremism, which I do not doubt. However, what startles me is that these officers will serve as the "mappers" along with USC and their job is to:

"have aligned people, purpose and strategy around the mission of building capacity to hunt and disrupt operational capability on the part of terrorists (recruiting, funding, planning, surveilling, and executing operations)" (which is what we want Law Enforcement to do)

Legitimacy and intelligence are key to the fight on terrorism, or rather also against the ideological battle that we are engaged in. However, the conflict of interest that arises from Downings statement only gets worse:

"If social factors- such as enclaves where residents are culturally and linguistically isolated- contribute to radicalization, it is important for law enforcement to be aware of those potentially vulnerable communities...We want to map the locations of these closed, vulnerable communities, and in partnership with these communities, infuse social services that will help the people who live there while weaving these enclaves into the fabric of the larger society... law enforcer is not one of religious scholar or social worker...(need) to understand how better to support their integration into the greater society."

To put it into context, earlier Downing says:

"...The problem we face in the U.S. is mainly political. Three are those among us, political jidhadist who are attempting to create division, alienation, and a sense of persecution in Muslim communities in order to create a cause. They are the nemesis of community engagement. Their purpose is to create the conditions that will facilitate the radicalization process for international political causes."

That is one loaded statement. He acknowledges the political nature and possible solution to this issue. Good. Then he makes a huge leap on which you can write an entire book- political jihadist- what in the world are those? He defines them as those "who are attempting to create division". No qualification to that statement- evidence? explanation? how about some simple analysis? This could mean anyone who says "look not all things are black and white"- right the party line is that your either with us or against us!

"create...alienation" in what sense? Is alienation stating that their is a sense of difference? That there are things that we disagree with? Are we all supposed to group think?

"create...a sense of persecution" is a loaded term! Is this to say that there are no Muslims who are getting abused, that its all media hyped? Does this mean that Palestinians are not being denied basic Human Rights? Does "sense of persecution" mean that people in Abu Ghraib and Guantanomo are not being treated inhumanly? Or that Muslims are not having their Civil Rights infringed?

Any organization stepping up to speak on issues of alienation and persecution will automatically be labeled as political jihadist that is trying to create a "cause"? What is worse is that this is based on the idea that this will "facilitate radicalization"- excuse me?- so organizations and community leaders stepping up to the plate to criticize and bring attention to issues affecting the community are opportunist that want to create a sense of victimization in order to facilitate the radicalization of the community. There are four times where emphasis on "moderate voices" is used. Put aside this idea of the amibiguity of "Moderate Voices" but is our police now going to determine my moderation? Will they come and measure my beard? How absurd is it that the police will be determining my moderation in religious views. What is sad, is that this reminds me of the Taliban, Iranian and Saudi "moral police".

How about-no- a police department involved in promoting "moderate voices" and analyzing religious practices in order to establish if one "salafi-wahabi" country of origin makes a person more susceptable to radicalization and forcibly assimilating the Muslim community- whether recent immigrants, refugees, converts or third generation Muslims - does not faciliate a friendly trust based relationship between Law Enforcement and the community. Nor does the fact that 300 officers trained to do counter terrorism work will be the ones conducting this community relations building effort/social work/ religious edict mapping fiasco.

This is an example of a BAD POLICY. Based on horrible premises and is ingenious since it seems the true policy initiative is intelligence gathering (read- 300 Counter-Terrorism and Criminal Investigation officers).

I am ashamed to say that USC is the academic institution supporting this effort. So now academia serves as a legitimizer for intelligence gathering (aka racial and religious profiling).