I can't tell the difference,
RIAD Z. ABDELKARIM
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Questioned by the FBI
The ring at my doorbell that Sunday afternoon was innocent enough. When I first peered out and saw two sharply dressed men in business suits and dark sunglasses, I thought I was being visited by a pair of friendly Jehovah's Witnesses.
It struck me that the men were a bit older than the young men of faith who usually canvas the neighborhood. Any lingering doubt about their identities was immediately erased when the men flashed their FBI badges.
``What can I do for you, gentlemen?'' I asked.
My initial puzzled reaction turned to concern when they said that they wanted to speak with me ``about the events of last Tuesday.''
I told them that I would be happy to speak with them if they made an appointment to meet me later at the local office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, where I serve as a member of the board of directors.
Although the agents were somewhat taken aback by my request, they agreed. An appointment was made for the following evening, but the agents never showed up, nor did they call to reschedule the meeting.
The next morning, I awoke ill, asked that my clinic patients be rescheduled and stepped out to buy some medication. During this time, two other agents visited both my home and work place. They ominously warned my wife that they ``would keep coming back.''
BORN IN THE U.S.A.
I contacted one of the agents by cellular phone and made an appointment to meet him and his partner at a local coffee shop.
What ensued can best be described as a combination of a fishing expedition and a scene from a straight-to-video B-movie.
Holding a thin folder stamped `Secret,'' the agents queried me about my background. One of them stopped in mid-sentence to change a question from ``When did you come to the U.S.?'' to ``Where were you born?'' They appeared somewhat surprised when I mentioned I was born in Santa Monica, Calif., and had lived in California my entire life.
I was quizzed about my political views with such vague questions as ``Are we the bad guys in this thing?'' I told the agents that there is no justification whatsoever for the horrible terrorist attacks. Further, I informed them that my political views are widely known because I write commentaries published in newspapers nationwide.
In fact, my commentaries condemning the assaults and expressing the shared grief and outrage of American Muslims had appeared in newspapers in California, Texas, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., New Jersey and Madrid, Spain.
The agents inquired about my affiliations with several widely respected American Muslim organizations. At no time was I asked about any specific individual or to identify any suspects in photographs.
The interview's low point came when I asked why the agents had gone to my clinic when I had provided them with my cellular telephone number. Their answer spoke volumes about the aimlessness of this investigation: ``When we learned that you were out sick, we thought that our worst fears had been realized, that you had fled the country.''
I could no longer restrain my laughter. ``Give me a break!'' I exclaimed incredulously. ``To where would I flee? I am an American. I do not possess nor do I desire any other citizenship.''I was quizzed about my political views with vague questions.
By the end of the 75-minute ordeal, I was convinced that the agents were not acting on any specific information but were instead groping wildly for straws in the dark. I found this quite disheartening. I harbor no ill will toward those agents who interviewed me; they were just ``following orders.''
Like other Americans who are Muslims or of Arabic ethnicity, I earnestly support the FBI's attempts to vigorously investigate this heinous terrorist act and bring those responsible to justice. What I do not appreciate is being singled out for questioning merely because of my faith, ethnicity or legitimate political activism.
As noted in a recent Christian Science Monitor editorial, ``to have FBI agents with no preparatory contact knocking on the doors of Arab or Muslim citizens with no clear ties to acts of crime is a sure way to instill fear right where cooperation is most needed.''
In legal parlance, this practice is referred to as ``profiling.'' In my book, it's just plain racism -- and it has no place in my country.
Riad Z. Abdelkarim, MD, is a communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Anaheim, Calif. www.cair-net.org
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