American Muslim group report shows majority of FBI watchlist entries are Muslims
WASHINGTON – A report released Monday by an American Muslim group shows that more than 98% of the entries on the FBI watch list are Muslim names.
The report titled “Twenty Years Too Many, A Call to Stop the FBI’s Secret Watchlist,” prepared by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), sheds light on the targeting of Muslims by the terrorism screening database.
The 2019 version of the FBI’s list was found by a Swiss hacker.
Using the data, CAIR conducted a comprehensive analysis of over 1.5 million entries.
The analysis found that the 50 most common names on the watch list are all Muslim names, with over 350,000 entries containing variations of Mohamed, Ali, or Mahmoud.
“Of the watchlist entries we’ve reviewed, we estimate that more than 1.47 million of those entries regard Muslims—over 98 percent of the total,” it added.
The report highlights that the secret list of the FBI has caused hardship and anxiety in the Muslim community over the past two decades.
The report serves as a cautionary message to fellow Americans, signaling that they will be the new targets in the future.
“But the FBI’s next million targets won’t be Muslim. With the War on Terror fog lifting, the FBI’s secret list will one day find a new target. The next targets will be our fellow Americans, and this report is meant as a warning to them,” said the report.
The Muslim group also called on President Joe Biden to take immediate action to address the watch list.
People on the watch list face numerous problems, including travel restrictions, immigration problems, and encounters with the FBI.
There have been cases of police violence against individuals on the list. There are also difficulties in obtaining permits and licenses, professional consequences, and restricted access to government buildings.
The report mentions the incident of New Jersey Mayor Mohamed Khairullah, who was denied access to the White House despite an invitation from President Joe Biden.
The Swiss hacker had come across the list on the Internet after it was accidentally published by a regional airline carrier.
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