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Thursday 26 Nov 2015 - 12:25 Makkah mean time-14-2-1437
Image from KCUR public radio news.
Kansas City, Missouri (IINA) - Muslims in Kansas City area of Missouri, USA say the feeling of anxiety among the community members is as high as it’s been since 9/11, KCUR public radio news reported.
Terrorist attacks in Paris and around the world combined with increased anti-Muslim rhetoric has caused a spike in hate mail and venomous posts on social media.
There have been overt acts of aggression against Muslims in several cities in the United States in recent days. Local leaders say the issue of Syrian refugees has fueled Islamophobia as well. Kansas Governor Sam Brownback joined more than half of the nation's governors in efforts to prohibit Syrian refugees from entering the state.
Moussa Elbayoumy of the Kansas Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said he would like the opportunity to clarify some things for Brownback. “No one has been able to prove that any of the Syrian refugees that came to Europe or anywhere else has come from ISIS,” he said in an interview. “These people are escaping from torture and murder that ISIS is committing.”
Elbayoumy says the organization is not aware of any major incidents of aggression or violence against Muslims in the area, but the community remains on high alert. “Everyone is concerned,” he pointed out.
According to a number of metro leaders, there is a level of trust between law enforcement and the Islamic community that has been built up over the years.
But they're aware of dubious intelligence gathering allegedly in an effort to prevent terrorist activity in other parts of the country. Elbayoumy says the community is cautiously optimistic that authorities will behave differently here.
“At this point," Elbayoumy says, “I hope they realize there is no need to infiltrate … that open, direct dialogue between law enforcement and community members is more beneficial to all sides.”
Eric Jackson is special agent in charge of the FBI in Kansas and most of Missouri. He says the FBI has been cooperating for years with local and state law enforcement to nurture relationships with the Islamic communities. He says this relationship has enabled authorities to protect the public while maintaining the rights of Muslims.
SM/IINA
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