Friday, July 11, 2014
A new report based on documents provided by Edward J. Snowden has identified five American Muslims, including the leader of a civil rights group, as having been subjected to surveillance by the federal government.
From Asian Americans Advancing Justice:
Reports of Surveillance Against Muslim Americans Gravely Concerning
Mee Moua, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC (Advancing Justice | AAJC), issued the following statement in response to recent reports that five prominent Muslim Americans have been subjected to ongoing secret surveillance by the FBI and NSA:
"We express profound concern at these allegations and demand President Obama and his administration provide the bases on which these individuals have been singled out and monitored. These reports remind us of the long history of government surveillance of communities of color and community advocates, including the surveillance of Japanese Americans during World War II (which preceded their unconstitutional mass incarceration); spying on civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. at the hands of the unlawful secret intelligence program, COINTELPRO; and vast surveillance networks set up by the NYPD to monitor and spy on Muslim Americans in the Northeast. These tactics are ineffective and only sow fear and mistrust in our communities."
Advancing Justice | AAJC stands in solidarity with the Muslim American community and denounces the surveillance of these individuals and all Americans who are monitored solely based on their religion and advocacy for civil rights.