Thank
you, Dr. Basha, for the introduction, and good afternoon everyone.
I appreciate
the invitation to talk with you today, to talk to you about
the relationship of the FBI with the American Muslim community.
I am here because we must all be in this war against terrorism
together and because a sound and trusting relationship with
the Muslim community can only bear the fruit of a safer nation
for us all. I appreciate the help and support many in the American
Muslim communities have already given us, especially over the
past nine months, and I call on you, as Americans, to continue
working with us to defeat terror. As we all know, it will be
a long and difficult struggle.
I realize
that like all Americans, Muslim Americans have been deeply impacted
by the events of September 11. You lost family, friends, and
fellow Muslims that day.
And I know
that the American Muslim community has suffered in other ways
from the events of September 11. Sadly, some individuals in
this country have questioned the loyalty of some Muslim Americans
to this country just because of their race and religion. In
some cases, American Muslims have been targets of discrimination
and hateful words. Some houses of worship have been damaged
and desecrated. A number of Muslim Americans -- and others wrongly
believed to be Muslims -- have been threatened, attacked, and
even killed. These attacks against you and your communities
are not only reprehensible, like terrorism, they are attacks
against humanity.
At a time
like this, when you are vulnerable, it is important that you
have access to your government. That is why, within hours of
the attacks, the FBI opened a dialogue with many Muslim and
Arab American organizations. This is not the first time we have
worked together; we have had a productive and beneficial relationship
with the members of your community for several years. But we
did come together with a new sense of urgency. We were told
of concerns about retaliatory attacks in your communities in
the wake of the terrorist hijackings, and we in the FBI promised
to do something about it.
In response
to your concerns, the President, the Attorney General, and I
all emphatically stressed that such attacks would not be tolerated
and would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. And
we followed through on that commitment. In the days following
September 11, the FBI investigated numerous attacks and threats
against Arab, Muslim, and Sikh Americans. In all, we have launched
more than 360 investigations in concert with state and local
law enforcement. Well over 100 individuals have already been
charged with federal, state, and local crimes. Fortunately,
the number of retaliatory assaults dropped off quickly, but
our commitment to aggressive investigations remains as strong
as ever. And we appreciate all the support your communities
and others have given us in identifying victims and bringing
to justice those who have committed these terrible acts.
Even as
we have investigated these hate crimes, we in the FBI have continued
to build our relationships with the American Muslim community
in other areas. Shortly after the attacks, and again in February,
I met personally with a number of American Muslim leaders to
discuss our September 11 investigation and to hear their thoughts
and concerns. In September, we also asked our 56 field offices
to reach out to Muslim Americans in their communities, to address
your concerns, to build relationships, and to ask once again
for help.
As I prepared
to talk with you today, I asked our Special Agents in Charge
to update me on the steps they had taken. Their response was
overwhelming. They wrote back with story after story of productive
meetings, insights, generosity, and substantive assistance.
In all, our field offices attended more than 500 meetings and
made some 6,000 personal contacts in Muslim and Arab American
communities. They went to mosques, town halls, and media briefings.
They held recruiting drives. They invited -- and graduated --
members of Muslim communities at FBI Citizens' Academies.
At the
same time, many in the American Muslim community have come forward
to support the FBI in very visible ways. Many leaders have generously
sent educational materials to our field offices and to our headquarters.
They have taken the time to talk with our Agents and support
professionals to help them better understand Muslim perspectives
and Muslim beliefs. Muslim Americans have cooperated with our
interviews and supported our investigations. In some cases,
Arab American newspapers have even provided us with useful information.
The active work of many in the American Muslim community in
cities nationwide has merited public thanks and praise.
But perhaps
the greatest act of support has been the way Muslim and Arab
Americans have responded to our urgent need for translators.
Six days after September 11, I announced that the FBI was seeking
Arabic and Farsi language experts. The response was extraordinary.
Within hours, our switchboard was overwhelmed with calls. Those
who came forward included doctors, lawyers, engineers, academics
-- Muslim and Arab Americans from all walks of life who were
willing to quit their jobs, come to work for the FBI, and give
something back to their country in the fight against terrorism.
As a result,
we have doubled our number of Arabic translators and linguists,
and many more candidates are in the process of being hired.
Already, these language experts have made important contributions.
They have helped us substantially reduce the backlog of materials
needing to be translated. They have gone to Guantanamo Bay to
help us interview prisoners. They have supported our FBI offices
around the world.
Again,
I want to thank the many Muslim Americans who have provided
help to the FBI over the past nine months. It has been invaluable.
At the same time, I ask you again in the strongest of terms
for your continued support. Because the reality is, we need
it more than ever.
Make no
mistake about it, our country remains vulnerable to attack.
Day after day, intelligence about potential attacks continues
to pour in from across the globe, prompting warnings and keeping
our nation in a permanent state of alert. Time after time, Al
Qaeda has openly threatened America, saying more attacks are
on the way.
The President
has asked the FBI to do everything in its power -- within the
bounds of the Constitution -- to prevent the next attack in
concert with our partners in the law enforcement and intelligence
communities. We are fully committed to doing so. But it is no
easy task. Our society is so open, our population so large,
our landmarks so plentiful, and our borders so extensive. We
must head off attacks and track down terrorists and those who
support terrorism in our own cities and neighborhoods, and we
must also be there to help every nation where America has a
presence and every country where terrorism has put down roots.
To prevent
terrorism we must have: excellent intelligence work; superior
analytic capability; robust investigations; state-of-the-art
technology, seamless partnerships; and the strong support of
the people -- all people. The FBI is racing to improve in every
one of those areas, and that is driving what is perhaps the
most fundamental transformation in our history. We have restructured
our Headquarters. We have created a range of prevention programs
that simply didn't exist before September 11, and refocused
many that did. With nearly half-a-billion dollars in funds from
Congress, we are overhauling our technology as quickly as we
can given how far behind current capabilities we are today.
To vastly improve our ability to manage and analyze information,
we are hiring a crop of new analysts, borrowing resources from
agencies like the CIA, and improving the skills of those on
board. And we are rethinking and rebuilding relationships with
a range of organizations and agencies, including our 650,000
colleagues in law enforcement nationwide.
All of
this is putting a tremendous strain on the men and women of
the FBI. They are working long hours, missing dinners and soccer
games and birthdays, all so that they don't miss that one lead
that might prevent the next attack. They are changing how they
do things in mid-stream, adjusting to a vast array of changes
in their operations. They are reaching out to their many colleagues,
coordinating with every agency under the sun, in ways they have
never done before.
It is clear,
however, that the men and women of the FBI can't do it all alone.
The Bureau has 11,000 Agents, about one quarter of New York
City's police force.
We are
one nation, and we are all in this together. The FBI needs the
support not just of its law enforcement and intelligence partners;
we need the support of every person within our borders. There
is no question that all of you can help. You can help us better
understand your communities and the concerns of those who live
in them. You can help by telling us about suspicious behavior,
as thousands of Americans have done since September 11. You
can help by staying alert wherever you might be, like the courageous
flight attendants and passengers who foiled the "shoe bomber"
over the waters of the Atlantic. Most especially, you can help
by working to overcome the differences that separate us all,
the dividing lines of beliefs, and culture that incite terrorism
and support for terrorism.
We also
need help educating our Agents in dealing with Muslim communities
here and around the world. The more culturally fluent our investigators
are, the more effective and respectful our investigations will
be. For some time, the FBI has incorporated ethics and cultural
diversity into new Agent training and continuing education programs
for all Bureau employees. But we need to do more. And you can
help us do so.
Let me
give an example. Almost a year before the attacks of September
11 an Agent from our Atlanta Field Office went to interview
two women originally from Afghanistan. The interview went well.
The Agent handled himself professionally, and he treated both
of these individuals with respect and courtesy. But he later
found out that he had inadvertently violated Afghan culture
by sitting down in the home of these two women without an Afghan
adult male present. Later that day, two Agents and four Afghan
representatives met over dinner to bridge the gap of differences.
Everyone came away with a better understanding of each other's
concerns and perspectives. That dinner was a success and the
ultimate result was an FBI program called "Bridging the Gap"
that is raising awareness and understanding among Atlanta immigrants
in concert with a local project of the same name.
Now, let
me fast forward to just this month. In the first week in June,
we held a four-day training conference for FBI managers. As
part of that training, we brought in a panel of diverse speakers,
including a local Imam who articulated the viewpoints and concerns
of the Muslim American community. And this past Tuesday, Dr.
Aziza Al-Hibri was kind enough to participate in a nationwide
satellite broadcast on Arab-American and Islamic Cultural Awareness
for FBI investigators, our multi-agency Joint Terrorism Task
Forces, and U.S. Attorneys.
In the
months to come, we have still more plans underway. Next month,
we will begin a national program to begin counter-terrorism
training for every member of our many Joint Terrorist Task Forces,
including at least four hours on the tenets and cultures of
Islam. We're also expanding similar training for new and current
Agents.
As I finish,
I would like to return for a moment to the impact of the events
of September 11th, to the importance of building a relationship
between the Muslim community and the FBI, and to issues that
may strain our best intentions in that regard.
As I am
sure you are aware, my appearance here today has generated some
controversy. And while that did not deter me from coming, as
with most such matters I believe it is best to address it openly.
My reason for being here is simple: to continue our discussion
and help build a relationship that I am convinced is beneficial
to us all. But I think it is also important to be open and frank
about the concerns of those who urged me not to attend.
Like all
Americans, you were shocked and outraged by the terrorist hijackings
and quickly condemned them. As Dr. Basha has said, echoing sentiments
across the nation, Muslim Americans felt violated by the attacks,
and he wasted no time in denouncing those horrible acts in the
strongest language possible.
Nonetheless,
you have not always spoken with one voice. Unfortunately, persons
associated with this organization have in the past made statements
that indicate support for terrorism and for terrorist organizations.
I think we can -- Muslims and non-Muslim alike -- justifiably
be outraged by such statements. No perceived political or other
agenda justifies acts of terrorism. We must be, as Dr. Basha
is, loud in our condemnation of acts of terrorism.
We must
-- again, together -- speak out against terrorism, and -- again,
together -- act to thwart terrorism. As we move forward into
the future, what's clear is that we are operating in a different
and dangerous environment, one that requires all of us to be
more aware and more diligent when it comes to our security.
America has always been a land of diversity, a nation rich in
ethnic and cultural chemistry. But what has always seen us through
the tough times is our unity. All through history, Americans
have found a way to put aside their differences and to step
forward with courage in times of need.
World War
II was such a time, and there are many examples of Americans
who overcame years of adversity to make a profound difference
for the future. Like the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of courageous
and spirited African-Americans, who battled discrimination long
before they took on the enemy in the skies of Europe. Like the
Navajo Indians who, with their beautiful and sophisticated native
language nearing extinction, created a code for the Marines
in the Pacific Theater, a code that could never be cracked.
Today,
America faces a new, potentially more dangerous global conflict.
The threat is elusive, with ever shifting terrorist tactics
and enemies who are nearly invisible. The weapons are instruments
of terror: from explosive-laden vehicles to "dirty bombs." And
the front lines are right here at home, in our own streets and
cities and neighborhoods.
We need
to pull together as a nation. We in the FBI need to do our part,
and we are counting on the American Muslim community to do its
part. I look forward to working with members of your community
in the weeks and months ahead. Thank you very much.