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‘Mosque’ raid drill irks Muslims in
US
WSN Network
 SAN
FRANCISCO:
American Muslim
civil rights groups have denounced an exercise by US security
officials in which a place designated as a ‘mosque’ was stormed in
Irving.
Over 120
officials from about 30 government agencies participated in the
drill, targeting a community facility that had been named the
‘Irving mosque’. Officers from the Illinois Law- Enforcement Alarm
System stormed the building using an armoured car. One ‘hostage’ was
hooked up to an explosive device and the ‘suspects’ in the ‘mosque’
released nerve gas.
American Muslim
Voice president Khalid Saeed said the outrage should be offensive to
the sensibilities of all civilised Americans and it should be
condemned in strongest possible way because it sent a wrong message
about a large peaceful segment of American society and Islam.
“The use of a
fake ‘mosque’ in this type of a drill sends the wrong message to law
enforcement officials who may now view mainstream institutions, such
as Islamic houses of worship, as potential security threats,”
according to Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council on
American- Islamic Relations. “Officials must be trained in dealing
with hostage-taking and responding to chemical, biological or bomb
attacks. We are only questioning the wisdom of linking the American
Muslim community and its institutions to such incidents.”
A preview of the
exercise was highlighted by the media with sensational headlines
like: “Pennsylvania’s police prepare for radical Islam” and
“Radical Islam: A law-enforcement primer.”
Mr Saeed said
the exercise would reinforce the anti-Islam and anti- Muslim image
among the masses.
14
May,
2008
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