Michigan Muslim Group Says FBI Asking People to Spy

Group Asks Attorney General to Investigate

The Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan (CIOM) has sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder asking him to investigate complaints that the FBI is approaching Michigan Muslims and asking them to to spy on their congregations.

The letter says several Muslims have been asked by the FBI to monitor people coming to mosques and how much money they donate. Executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Dawud Walid says the FBI appears to be on a “fishing expedition.” The FBI simply insisted that it “does not target innocent individuals.”

Muslim communities across America have been suspicious of the FBI since the revelation earlier this year that they planted a false convert in an Orange County mosque to get close to the “brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden’s bodyguard,” whom they reportedly attempt to press into spying for them before ultimately trying him for fraud. In the wake of the effort, several Muslim groups have threatened to suspend all contact with the FBI.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.