Corona Muslim leaders in suit against government

By PAIGE AUSTIN and SONJA BJELLAND
The Press-Enterprise

Islamic leaders and local Muslim residents sued Tuesday to find out if federal investigators are monitoring them.

The lawsuit filed in federal court by the American Civil Liberties Union accuses the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI of essentially ignoring public records requests for information about the surveillance of prominent Muslims.

A year after the request was filed, the government produced only four pages of documents, three of them concerning an interview the FBI had with a Corona official of an Inland Muslims group.

The Corona resident, Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Southern California chapter of the Council on American- Islamic Relations, said the interview was about improving relations between the FBI and the Muslim community.

Ayloush is one of two Corona residents who are plaintiffs in the suit. The other is Rafe Husain, former president and board member of the Islamic Society of Corona-Norco...

Reached by phone Tuesday, Ayloush said he has reason to think the FBI is holding back...

"I hope there is not more, but there must be something more to explain why I always get stopped in airports," Ayloush said. "It has happened eight times now, and I am either being stopped for the fact that I am a Muslim which is morally and ethically reprehensible, or the other reason is that some government agency might have some erroneous information about me.

"The only way for me to clear it up is with this Freedom of Information Act request."...

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Corona Muslim leaders in suit against government (Press Enterprise)

Also, read:
Southland Muslim leaders contend the agency withheld information about alleged surveillance after the 9/11 attacks. (Los Angeles Times)