WASHINGTON, 1 January 2005 — After the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the ensuing racial profiling against Muslims and Arabs, many Muslims are nervous to visit the United States. Now Muslim Americans may think twice before leaving the country.

US Muslim organizations are calling for an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into an incident at the Canadian border where American Muslim citizens were singled out for special security checks based on their attendance at an Islamic conference. They were held until they agreed to be fingerprinted.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the incident was a disturbing example of religious profiling that would have a chilling effect on the constitutional rights of American Muslims, particularly the right to the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and the right to be “secure in their persons; against unreasonable searches.”

The 34 Muslims who were singled out for questioning and fingerprinting told CAIR that they were returning from a weekend Islamic conference on Dec. 24-26, which was attended by more than 10,000 Muslims in Toronto when they were stopped by US Customs and Border Protection at a bridge crossing near Niagara Falls, N.Y. (CBP is part of the Department of Homeland Security.)

A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border

Protection bureau, Kristie Clemens, said agents detained anyone who said they attended the three-day convention, entitled “Reviving the Islamic Spirit.” She said that such gatherings could be a means for terrorists to promote their cause. (For conference details, see: http://www.revivingtheislamicspirit.com/)

“As the front-line border agency, it is our duty to verify the identity of individuals — including US citizens — and one way of doing that is fingerprinting,” said Clemens.

Hamza Yusuf, a keynote speaker at the conference, had met with US President George W. Bush after the Sept. 11 attacks. He was also detained and interrogated for several hours by US Customs officials on Tuesday before boarding his flight to San Francisco.

“They asked me about the religion of my family and wanted to make photocopies of my notebook and other material without being able to tell me what I was accused for.

“When I said I have rights as an American citizen, they said they don’t apply at the border. If anyone is to blame, it is those who are giving orders, not the people following them,” Yusuf said after arriving in California.

“The image of a room full of American Muslim citizens apparently being held solely because of their faith and the fact that they attended an Islamic conference is one that should be disturbing to all Americans who value religious freedom,” said Nihad Awad, CAIR’s executive director.

“This incident must be investigated to determine what the policy on fingerprinting American Muslim citizens is and who is behind it.”

Ironically, the Toronto conference they attended was on peace, unity and understanding among Muslims and non-Muslims.