By Diana Day

The hall was filled with about 30 or 40 people there for the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California’s Know Your Rights Workshop. Children ran in and out, entertaining themselves, and there was a friendly clutter of dishes in the little kitchen in the back of the room.

As people gradually gathered for the presentation, I noticed that the men sat toward the front, the women toward the back. I was self-conscious and wondered if I was sitting too far forward or if, like the other women present, I should have worn a headscarf to be respectful. Suddenly, I felt ignorant and made a mental note that next time, I should learn more about people’s customs before entering their communities to work as a reporter.

The Shura Council’s Executive Director Shakeel Syed introduced ACLU of Southern California lawyer Ahilan Arulanantham. Arulanantham said the main purpose of the workshop was to help people understand their rights in the event that the FBI approached them to come in for an interview. According to Arulanantham, hundreds of Muslims across Southern California have been contacted by the FBI.

Agreeing to speak to federal agents without a lawyer present is how “people get into all kinds of problems,” Arulanantham said. He pointed out that the FBI is talking to people even though they have no reason to believe they have committed a crime.

Syed noted that in Muslim culture, people want to offer hospitality to strangers. But, Syed and Arulanantham agreed, this is not the best strategy with FBI officers, even if it is tempting to give in to the idea that, if I have nothing to hide, why should I need to contact a lawyer?

People should be aware that even if they make an honest mistake when talking with a federal agent – for example, if they innocently say that you have been to Syria three times in the last three years, when you have actually been four times – they have committed a felony and can be charged. Therefore, people should tell FBI agents something like: “I’d be happy to talk with you, but I don’t want to do it right now.” Then, they should take the agent’s business card and call the ACLU. The ACLU will contact the FBI on behalf of the concerned party. Most of the time, Arulanantham said, the FBI doesn’t even bother to schedule the interview.

“It’s very, very important for people to have a family plan” especially if they have children, Arulanantham added. He suggested a plan of action that includes who to call in case someone comes or if someone takes a family member away.

Arulanantham also mentioned that, for the most part, the local police shouldn’t be asking people questions about their citizenship status. He noted that Costa Mesa and Orange County police are planning to train officers to act as ICE agents and that the ACLU is trying to fight this policy.

Finally, Arulanantham and Syed also spent time taking questions about airport issues and giving money to charity. I learned that non-citizens are very vulnerable in airports because, unlike citizens, they have to answer all the questions asked by ICE agents, for however long it takes. Citizens only have to answer questions about citizenship, and they can request to terminate an interview.

The issue of charitable donations is an important one in Islam, where one of the basic beliefs, for both Sunni and Shi’a Muslims, is zakat, or freely giving away a certain percentage of one’s income to the poor. Arulanantham said that nobody has been charged for giving money to charity, but if people give money to be used for violence and guns, etc., then of course that’s a problem. Also, Arulanantham said that it is wise for people to be aware of which organizations are listed as terrorist organizations.

After the presentation, the men went to pray, and I left, pausing to browse in the gift shop, as is my obligation when coming within shouting distance of any gift shop. As I drove through peaceful, yellow-lit Mission Viejo streets to pick up my daughters from Grammie and Pop-Pop’s house, I couldn’t help but consider a different scene: if half-WASP, half-Spanish people who look like me had brought down the World Trade Center, would my husband and I be sitting nervously in a Know Your Rights workshop on a Saturday night, when we could be taking our daughters bowling or to a movie or to dinner at a friend’s house?

When I arrived at my father’s house and Dinah and Djuna ran to me, I hugged them extra hard and made sure to smell their little necks for an extra heartbeat.