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The Oregonian - February 01, 2005
Oregon Muslim leader asks FBI
to explain remark on jihadists
NOELLE CROMBIE
A prominent Portland-area Muslim leader has asked the top FBI agent in Oregon to explain his recent remarks about the presence of jihad-trained fighters in the state.
In an e-mail Monday to Robert Jordan, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon, Shahriar Ahmed, president of the Bilal Mosque Association in Beaverton, wrote he was "shocked" to hear Jordan say there are people in Oregon who have trained in terrorist camps in Afghanistan.
In his remarks, Jordan said: "We have people here in Oregon that have trained in jihadist camps in bad areas. In the bad neighborhoods of the world." He added that the FBI knows "they've trained overseas, taken oaths to kill Americans and engage in jihad," but the challenge is "to prove those things."
Jordan, through his spokeswoman, has refused to explain his remarks. Beth Anne Steele, the FBI spokeswoman in Oregon, said Monday that Jordan planned to respond to Ahmed's letter privately.
Jordan's remarks come as the Portland City Council is considering whether to continue its commitment to the joint terrorism task force with the FBI. The issue has not been scheduled for a council vote.
Ahmed said Jordan's comments have dealt a setback to efforts to mend ties between federal law enforcement officials and local Muslims, an already fragile relationship damaged by the botched Brandon Mayfield case last year.
Mayfield, an attorney and Muslim, was detained as a material witness for two weeks in connection with the deadly train bombing in Madrid, Spain. Federal officials had linked him to the terror attack through a fingerprint, which they later said they had misidentified. Mayfield is suing the federal government over his detention.
Ahmed, who has been a vocal supporter of Jordan and his efforts to repair relations with Muslims, said the agent's comments were "so out of character."
"He has been very cautious in what he has said," Ahmed said.
Ahmed said the remark damaged the image of Muslims. In his e-mail to Jordan, Ahmed writes that he thought Muslims had "communicated to you the affect such comments have, especially from law enforcement, in making our lives, those of our wives who wear the head scarf, the lives of our children, especially our daughters who wear the head scarf in school, extremely difficult."
In an interview Monday, Ahmed questioned how people should respond to Jordan's statements. "What is he expecting from us? What is he expecting from our neighbors? What are we supposed to do?"
Ahmed, who also sent the letter to local religious leaders, said he wants to hold a public meeting with Jordan.
Kareem Shora, director of legal policy for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, based in Washington, D.C., called Jordan's remarks irresponsible.
"If the average individual hears that coming from someone in authority at the FBI, you don't know how that plays out in real life on the streets," Shora said. "Are people going to start suspecting the average Arab American citizen on the street?"
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