New York, October 06: The recent arrest of a New York imam, known for his cooperation with the FBI, on terror-related charges is casting its shadows on relations between US Muslims and the law enforcement authorities.
“People are scared,” a 36-year-old New York Muslim man told the Washington Post on Monday, October 5, on condition of anonymity.
“They’re scared that if they work with the police they’ll get hurt, and if they don’t work with the police they’ll get hurt.”
Two weeks ago, police arrested Ahmad Wais Afzali, a New York local imam and Muslim community leader, on terror-related charges.
Afzali, who had helped FBI agents in the past, was accused of tipping off Najibullah Zazi that authorities were asking questions about him.
Zazi was later charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction to carry out terror attacks in the US.
The authorities said the imam’s action complicated their unfinished investigation and indicted him on criminal charges.
Afzali, who ran the Islamic Burial Funeral Service, has pleaded innocent and was released on a $1.5 million bond.
His attorney Ron Kuby insists that his client was trying to help investigators find Zazi, whose family attended his mosque several years ago.
He asserted that the imam “consistently cooperated” with police in previous investigations and now “feels ill-used.”
This has undermined trust in the law enforcement authorities among some Muslims.
“If somebody dies in the family, he’s the only person we trust,” a 31-year-old restaurant cook who gave his name only as Nabi told the Post.
Defend
But the Justice Department said law enforcement authorities are keen on having good ties with the Muslim community and they are doing their best to achieve this.
“(The agency) works on a daily basis to ensure that investigations are conducted in a manner that protects the civil liberties and privacy of Americans,” it said in a statement.
“As the attorney general has stated previously, we will closely monitor the implementation of the FBI guidelines to see how well they work in operation and will revisit them if changes or refinements are necessary.”
Despites the assurances, the imam’s arrest sent shockwaves through the tightly-knit Afghan community in New York.
“People are so afraid,” Afifa Yusufi, daughter of the late longtime imam of Sayed Jamal Uddin mosque in Queens, told the Post.
“I think this is going to scare the community, and going to scare people away from going to mosques.”
Afzali, 37, immigrated to the US from Afghanistan with his family when he was 7, has established himself as a role model to young Muslims.
Ahmad Wais, president of the Masjid Al-Saaliheen and a childhood friend of the imam, has earlier warned the case may have a negative impact on the community’s relationship with law enforcement.
“Personally, I feel that the law enforcement, what they did with this guy even the people who want to help, now they’re afraid to come forward.”
-Agencies