Muslims Are Worried By FBI Activity

Apprehension is building in Muslim communities across Southern California as federal anti-terrorism investigators gear up for a surge of activity involving foreign nationals.

About 5,000 interviews ordered nationwide this week by Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft include more than 100 in the Los Angeles area alone. They are necessary, he said, to better understand the events of Sept. 11 and head off future attacks.

Those on the interview list are not suspects, federal officials say, but potential witnesses who may have information helpful in disrupting terrorist activity.

Some Islamic leaders, who had welcomed a recent lull in FBI activity in their communities, said the prospect of agents again showing up at workplaces or homes is troublesome, particularly at the start of the holy days of Ramadan.

The new investigative effort also intensifies concerns about how people are being singled out for attention, they said.

“If the FBI knocks on your door, and the neighbors see that, they probably assume you’re guilty,” said Sabiha Khan of the Anaheim office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

“We’re telling everybody to be frank . . . there is no reason to hide anything. But unfortunately, it does create an impression they are being interviewed because of their race or ethnicity or religion.”

The interviews, which are just beginning and are expected to be in full swing by next week, are the buzz among worshipers at San Diego’s large Islamic Center.

“The attacks, the FBI interrogations of innocent people and knowing that the government is gathering information on 5,000 more people; all this is making Ramadan different for Muslims,” said a 22-year-old man who asked to be identified by his first name, Samir.

“We are all trying to live a normal life, but it’s very difficult.”

Authorities say the new list does not rely on racial or religious profiling. It focuses on young men, ages 18 to 33, using such factors as whether they entered the United States on a passport from a country where Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network has a presence.

“If you want to know about gang activity in Los Angeles or anywhere, you go to a gang area and talk to people,” said Los Angeles FBI spokesman Matthew McLauglin.

“You don’t have to talk to a gang member to find out what is going on. You can talk to other people who have local knowledge. And I think that analogy closely parallels this effort.”

Some Muslim leaders and civil rights groups are urging those visited by authorities to be aware of their rights, particularly in light of numerous arrests of young Middle Easterners who were previously interviewed in the terrorist probe.

Some of these men now face years in prison or deportation for immigration violations or making false statements--even though they have not been tied to the terrorism attacks.

Others say President Bush’s announcement this week that military tribunals could be used to try foreigners suspected of aiding or abetting terrorists has heightened tensions and legal risks associated with the interviews.

“I think many, many people who were targeted [earlier] felt they wanted to cooperate,” said Ramona Ripston, executive director of the Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

“But when they talk about secret trials, and secret evidence and military tribunals, the picture has begun to change.”

Some Islamic leaders in San Diego and Arizona, another hotbed of investigative activity because suspected hijackers took flight training there, have begun recommending that their followers have interpreters and attorneys present during interviews with federal agents.

“The reason [is] there have been some miscommunications between the FBI and Muslims in the community,” said David Hadley, a spokesman for the Islamic Council of Greater Phoenix.

“We want to make sure there is someone there to make sure the communications are clear.

“There’s nothing worse than a guy being prosecuted because he didn’t understand what was being said.”

Abdeljalil Mezgouri, the Moroccan-born imam of the San Diego Islamic Center, said many immigrants, particularly those who have arrived recently, have little understanding of the American legal system.

Though he is encouraging members to cooperate, Mezgouri said, “People have to be educated that it is better if they have an attorney present when they meet with investigators.”

The new interviews follow a burst of investigative work in September and October. Agents across Southern California already have chased about 8,000 tips and interviewed several thousand people with even remote links to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast. Several who appeared on “watch lists” and knew some of the hijackers have been detained as material witnesses or for allegedly lying to investigators.

The new round of interviews, some of which could be conducted by local police, will be consensual, Ashcroft said. No Miranda warnings about self-incrimination will be given, and those approached are free to stop answering questions.

But one federal law enforcement official noted that those who are interviewed by federal agents must be truthful or they could face legal problems.

Indeed, the way that evidence gathered in the informal interviews can later be used by prosecutors is still an issue, another federal official said.

“Something like this could cause major legal problems. For this reason, some feel it’s better that the FBI do the interviews,” he said.

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Times staff writer K. Connie Kang contributed to this report.