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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI reported Omar Mateen to the FBI. Trump is wrong that Muslims don’t do our part.
We love America, too, and we're horrified by what our neighbor did.
By Mohammed A. Malik
Donald Trump believes American Muslims are hiding something. They know whats going on. They know that [Omar Mateen] was bad, he said after the Orlando massacre. They have to cooperate with law enforcement and turn in the people who they know are bad.
But you know what? They didnt turn them in. And you know what? We had death and destruction.
This is a common idea in the United States. Its also a lie. First, Muslims like me cant see into the hearts of other worshipers. (Do you know the hidden depths of everyone in your community?) Second, Trump is wrong that we dont speak up when were able.
I know this firsthand: I was the one who told the FBI about Omar Mateen.
I met Omar for the first time in 2006 at an iftar meal at my brother-in-laws house. As the women, including his mother and sisters, chatted in the living room, I sat with the men on the patio and got to know him and his father. Omar broke his Ramadan fast with a protein shake. He was quiet then and always and let his dad do the talking.
Id seen them before at the oldest mosque in the area, the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce. We have a lot of immigrants in our community. They grew up in other countries, often with different sensibilities. A few dont understand American culture, and they struggle to connect with their American-born or American-raised kids.
I came here from Pakistan in 1979 when I was 6 years old, grew up in Queens (like Omar) and Fort Lauderdale, went through the American education system, and assimilated well. So I was able to make better inroads with young people in our community, including that introverted teenager I met at the iftar. I tried to stay in touch with the younger generation, acting as a mentor when I could.
I saw Omar from time to time over the next decade, and we developed a relationship because most of the other Muslim kids in his age group went elsewhere for college, and he stayed behind. We mostly spoke over the phone or texted with one another a half-dozen times per year. We talked about the lack of social programs at the mosque, especially for teens and young adults like him. I often played pranks on him. Once, around 2009, I attached LED lights to the tires of his car, so when he drove the wheels glowed neon. He laughed when he figured it out a few days later.
Soon after Omar married and moved to his own home, he began to come to the mosque more often. Then he went on a religious trip to Saudi Arabia. There was nothing to indicate that he had a dark side, even when he and his first wife divorced.
But as news reports this week have made clear, Omar did have a dark outlook on life. Partly, he was upset at what he saw as racism in the United States against Muslims and others. When he worked as a security guard at the St. Lucie County Courthouse, he told me visitors often made nasty or bigoted remarks to him about Islam. He overheard people saying ugly things about African Americans, too. Since Sept. 11, Ive thought the only way to answer Islamophobia was to be polite and kind; the best way to counter all the negativity people were seeing on TV about Islam was by showing them the opposite. I urged Omar to volunteer and help people in need Muslim or otherwise (charity is a pillar of Islam). He agreed, but was always very worked up about this injustice.
-more-
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/06/20/i-reported-omar-mateen-to-the-fbi-trump-is-wrong-that-muslims-dont-do-our-part/?wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
TexasMommaWithAHat
(3,212 posts)nt
MariaThinks
(2,495 posts)InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,110 posts)metroins
(2,550 posts)If you're going to snitch, you don't tell people that you snitched.
That was not eloquent, I'll explain:
When you tell the FBI about members in your community, not only does it make you a target, but it also confirms the radicalized communities fears that you will report them. The radicalized will become less trusting of their own community and less forthcoming with potential details.
Telling the world that you reported one of your own will make it more difficult to catch the next act because the next bad actor won't tell anybody, out of fear of being caught.
I understand what the guy is doing with the article, but I'm my opinion, I think it was a mistake.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,786 posts)Malik, the writer, is working for a higher purpose than you suggest.
He is countering the impression that people in the US have that muslims don't report radicalism. This serves a great public good for the community and the USA to counteract islamophobia, prejudice, and bigotry. Conceivably some radical may hide themselves more, but that too has a positive effect in that it restricts their actions and makes it more likely they will trip up.
jtx
(68 posts)Exactly the kind of thoughtful insight that makes wading through some of the other stuff worth the effort.
tonyt53
(5,737 posts)The FBI had lost track of them. They were arrested for sending cash to terrorist organizations.
SoCalMusicLover
(3,194 posts)"I last saw him at a dinner at his fathers house in January. We talked about the presidential election and debated our views of the candidates that were running he liked Hillary Clinton and I liked Bernie Sanders."
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,283 posts)I'd guess he's exceptional and brave. A rarity.
But does that prove Trump's point?
TexasMommaWithAHat
(3,212 posts)publicly. He wants us to know that Muslims are, indeed, turning in other Muslims they suspect, and, while also serving as an inspiration for others to do the right thing.
IronLionZion
(45,256 posts)is what makes him brave.
Informing the authorities about this kind of activity is exactly what should be encouraged. Organized crime in America became much weaker once immigrant communities from Italy and Eastern Europe became more trusting that law enforcement was their allies not their enemies.
Trump's point is to make America white again and blame those dark skinned foreigners with funny names as the enemy.
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,283 posts)Some ISIS/AlQaeda big shot might just issue a fatwa calling for the death of Mr. Malik. If that happens, it would probably discourage others from making the call to authorities.
Prism
(5,815 posts)I wish him the best of luck. I think we forget, Muslim Americans are to some extent fighting a battle within their own communities against radicalization. As this young man's story shows, they not only worry about what the rest of America thinks, but they worry about foreign influence in their community.
They have a tough row to ho, and they should have our full support.
King_David
(14,851 posts)Too bad they never acted .