MAS Youth interviews Dr. Moinuddin

Abdulghani: The first question I would like to ask is, what is the goal of the FBI seminar for the Muslim community?
Dr. Moinuddin: The purpose of the FBI seminar is that the FBI wants the citizens to know the responsibilities of the FBI and in certain circumstances where the FBI are supposed to do their job, the citizens should not be scared of their usual interrogation because it appears that just at the word “FBI” the citizens get scared and this is hopefully to make the citizens comfortable they are in contact with the FBI.

Abdulghani:  As you said how most Muslims are scared of the FBI, don’t you think there is somewhat of a distrust as well?
Dr. Moinuddin: Yes there is indeed a distrust as well, but let me clarify something, the word FBI is not only scary for Muslims, but also Non-Muslim Americans as well, like when I got this award a physicist in my department said “I read the article and wanted to congratulate but also it’s scary.” And I said “why is it scary?” And she said “well, it’s the FBI.” So this shows you that even the Americans are scared of the FBI. Commenting on the distrust on many occasions at least some of the officers in the FBI did not carry on the interrogation in a professional way, and it so happens that in every walk of life there are the efficient and the inefficient, just like in the FBI there are those that are efficient and those that are inefficient. So because of that small amount of inefficiency committed by certain people it caused the distrust.

Abdulghani:  What are you expecting/hoping for at the seminar?
Dr. Moinuddin: We will inshallah start at 9 am and it will be approximately 6 hours with a coffee and lunch break at it will end at 2:30. The FBI office asked what subject to cover and I told them the civil rights is an important subject for all of us to know about and also the obligations of the FBI to the citizens and vice versa. All these things need to be discussed, and I told them I will talk about this with my own community at the masjid and whatever they suggest I will forward that to the FBI office.

Abdulghani:  Should the Muslim community expect more seminars such as this in the near future?
Dr. Moinuddin: Yes I would think so as we bridge the gap of communication with different organizations we can definitely have more seminars so we learn more about how things work in a society and it is always good to have knowledge although we can’t use all of it, but even if we use a fraction of it is always good to be well-informed, as this dua says “My lord give me more knowledge.”

Abdulghani:  Would you be welcome for Muslims to join the FBI?
Dr. Moinuddin: Yes as a matter of fact there are a number of Muslims in the FBI like when I went to get my award, I found a number of Muslims working for the FBI. One came from LA and he was in fact supervising a portion of the responsibilities of the FBI in that office on that day. So there are a few Muslims working for the FBI, and if there are Muslims here interested in the way the FBI works, then I am definitely welcome to Muslims joining the FBI.

Abdulghani:  What are the general questions you think we will ask at the seminar?
Dr. Moinuddin: There will be many question answer sessions and if anyone has a concern or question they should feel free to ask for example I read about an incident in Southern California when FBI implanted agents in the mousque to find out what was going on and this spying activity was scoffed by muslim organizations and these type of incidents incited bitterness between Muslims and the FBI and some of these organizations boycotted the FBI also. But in my opinion we need to continue our relationship with the FBI, if you have an problems/complaints we should discuss this out instead of being aloof or ignoring them.

Abdulghani:  Is there a key audience you wish to attend this seminar?
Dr. Moinuddin: This seminar is for everybody, I would not say that this is particularly for a portion of the society because every citizen is supposed to know the FBI’s responsibilities.

Abdulghani:  Is this seminar the most effective way to open dialogue between us and them?
Dr. Moinuddin: I don’t know if this is the most important step but certainly one of the important ways to open contact with them just to give an example we have received officers wishing to interrogate people here and because of our relationship they were kind, polite and understanding. And therefore it is always good to have some kind of understanding and friendship with the FBI. And this seminar hopefully will bridge the communication gap.

Abdulghani:  As the liaison between the Muslim community of Memphis of the FBI, do you think there are Muslim who doubt you?
Dr. Moinuddin: Yeah well I don’t know. It depends on the individual, but it shouldn’t. There are certain Muslims in the community that are informants for the FBI to the community. I would not be surprised if there are people who have wrong ideas about me and the FBI but I can assure the people it is nothing like that and once you attend the seminar any misunderstandings should be cleared up.

Abdulghani:  What do you think is causing people to be hesitant to register for the seminar?
Dr. Moinuddin: Most people are probably skeptical about the FBI because of passed events have made them suspicious or uncomfortable to be in contact with the FBI. Since they feel that law power has been given to the FBI they can do whatever they want when it is not the case. My experience with them shows they are responsible people and in certain circumstances they have made mistakes and hopefully the upcoming seminar will clarify that.

Abdulghani:  What are the expectations of the MSA of Memphis as far as the seminar is concerned?
Dr. Moinuddin: Well I expect those that attend will learn a lot, in fact I am attending so I expect to learn a lot about the obligations of the American citizen and the FBI towards the society, so this should be a very good seminar good teaching seminar and many unclear things will hopefully be cleared during the seminar.

Abdulghani:  How would you appeal on people to attend the seminar?
Dr. Moinuddin: Announcements, Emphasizing the importance, telling them not to be scared or skeptical. It is just a seminar to familiarize the people with the responsibilities of the FBI and everyone should be well informed of the civic responsibilities of the citizens towards the country and towards such organizations so hopefully this will render a better understanding.

Abdulghani:  The FBI has given you an award? How were you chosen from so many people as large as the community is?
Dr. Moinuddin: I myself was surprised because I think there are people that have done more than me. I am really practical than nothing and I learned this just a couple of weeks ago when they gave me the certificate the chief of the FBI was asking a special agent what made him choose me to be the awardee and he said “Moinuddin was the first to say not to go to knock on the door of the neighbors.” The incident was when an FBI agent knocked on a door of a neighbor asking on the whereabouts of a Palistinian family who were away from their home at the moment. Word spread quickly and they were isolated from their neighborhood. One of them even got fired from his job. I gave this example to the FBI for them to know their impact. Even without knowing the facts, just the negative connotation renders bad results. So I suggested them to rather warn them of the visit via phone. When I said this, a person got up and said “Are you trying to tell us how to do our job?” I just said “no, I am trying to tell you your impact. You all do not realize how much strength or impact you have just by holding your position, so if you use it wisely it can safeguard the security of the individual, and therefore if you let the person know before hand that you are visiting and don’t tell others, than that would be a good thing. And in fact there was nothing wrong that the Palistinian family did, it was just a routine interrogation that resulted in him losing his job.

Abdulghani:  Is this a new day between the Muslim Community of Memphis and the FBI?
Dr. Moinuddin: I would not carry that far, but certainly it is trying to bridge the gap of communication and I hope will carry an understanding so we can be of mutual help to each other.

Abdulghani:  Final words?
Dr. Moinuddin: My final words are please try to attend this seminar, I assure you you will enjoy, there will be a coffee break, a good ethnic lunch. The discussion will be interesting and it will be very informative, and it will be good company for all of us. There will be 20-25 people attending and you will all be given a certificate of attendance at the end of the seminar.