Muslim-American organizations and policing (and self-policing)

"Still more alarming is the apparent complicity of mainstream American Muslim organizations in the United States government’s shift toward viewing their communities through the prism of national security policy. In addition to the surveillance and infiltration of community spaces by law enforcement agencies, these organizations themselves have advanced self-policing. MPAC launched the Safe Spaces initiative earlier this year, which examines community activism purely through the lens of its propensity toward engaging in violence and proceeds to offer antidotes to extremism. Also this year, a CAIR press release urged mosques to apply for funding from the Department of Homeland Security’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program. According to the press release, “the program is designed to assist nonprofit organizations that are vulnerable to terrorist attacks with procuring and installing security equipment to enhance safety.” One cannot help but marvel at the notion of a leading American Muslim civil rights organization calling on mosques to willingly open their doors to government surveillance. Indeed, participation of groups and individuals in government initiatives such as Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) and so-called “sensitivity training” programs with law enforcement agencies has become a booming economy unto itself. " (thanks Abdullah)