'US Muslims live in state of fear'

'US Muslims live in state of fear'

Fri Sep 2, 2011 1:6PM GMT

The Muslim community in the United States lives in a state of fear, as intelligence services in the country mount pressure on the minority group, an American Islamic activist told Press TV.

“The Muslims of America actually live in a state of fear; fear of [lack of] privacy in their own homes, fear of going to businesses, fear of even going to prayer or Eid celebrations. The Muslims feel very oppressed and spied on here in America,” said Abdul Alim Musa, Imam of Masjid al-Islam in Washington.

He made the remarks in reaction to new reports indicating that the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have singled out Muslim communities for surveillance after 9/11 attacks.

“This is a gross violation of the rights of the Muslims and we believe there is a contrived effort by the government to spread an air of suspicion and distrust amongst the Muslims about each other,” Musa pointed out.

The Muslim activist contended that Israel and the US government are ones that benefit from the mounting pressure on the Muslim community.

“If you go to the root of it, the ones that feel most threatened by an Islamic revival are the Zionists, the occupiers of Palestine. Then that is associated with the US government where it feels that any progress that we make is a threat to their stability.” he said.

According to a recent report released by the Pew Research Center poll, 55 percent of American Muslims believe the US government's anti-terrorism policies have singled them out for increased surveillance and monitoring.

The new poll also showed that the abuse of Muslims by airport security, law enforcement officers and others have increased considerably since Muslim-Americans were first polled in 2007.

Almost as many as 43 percent reported experiencing harassment in the past year, which shows an increase from the 40 percent reported in 2007.