In summer of 2011, CNN’s Anderson Cooper reported on Islamophobic trainings for national security and law enforcement personnel that had been taking place for years. Cooper’s report showed that self-proclaimed experts were telling law enforcement “to be leery of Muslim doctors, engineers, students and mosques” and that “terrorism and Islam are inseparable.” The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee also became aware of bigoted trainings and raised concerns about “vitriolic diatribes” being delivered by “self-appointed counterterrorism experts”. All trainings were stopped and a six-month review period was implemented during which a new training would be developed.
Just a few months before the CNN Report, we had screened its Inside Islam film to over 100 U.S. Attorney’s at the Department of Justice and received excellent feedback. When it was announced that a new Islam training for national security/law enforcement was to be developed, we were brought in to help. Luby Ismail, my wife, participated as a panelist at the film screening, and as a diversity trainer who has worked with the DOJ Community Relations Services (CRS) for over 12 years, took the lead and solicited involvement from organizations and experts.
We found that a good deal of our film content, particularly Inside Islam, fit very well in the training module. We also shared our own knowledge and experiences, ensuring that training participants understood key issues like how sharia deals with the religious practice of American Muslims, diversity within the Muslim community, the contributions of American Muslims, and their desire to live as full citizens.
Over the next several months, numerous meetings were held at CRS as the training was reviewed and vetted by a special committee set up by Attorney General, Eric Holder. After this lengthy process, the training was cleared by the DOJ and debuted in March at two presentations at the DOJ. The first was conducted for an audience of 120 U.S. Attorneys. Attorney General Holder opened the training, and emphasized the importance of engaging with American Muslims to keep our communities safer and protect civil rights. The new training has generally been positively reviewed by numerous Muslim community organizations. Imam Mohamed Magid, President of the Islamic Society of North America, participated throughout and praised the new training. This is a huge accomplishment. More importantly, it truly proves the films do make a difference. Image source