Journalism Lesson Plan

Overview: In a controversial move in late January, FBI director Robert Mueller equated a stepped up program to find terrorists with a directive to count mosques. He instructed 56 field offices to develop “demographic profiles of their localities—including counting mosques. Those profiles will be used to help set specific numerical goals for counter terrorism investigations and secret national-security wiretaps in each region. The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups concerned with individual rights are objecting to this action. What is the situation in your community?

Suggested time allotment: 1 –2 weeks to interview and another week to write the in-depth story. An editorial could also be part of this project.

Objectives:
Students will:

1. Gather as much background as possible about this controversial FBI directive and what Muslim and civil liberties groups believe about it.

2. Interview those of the Muslim religion in your school. What do they think about this? Have they already seen examples of religious profiling in their community? Interview the imam or another leader in the Mosque to get his views. What is the biggest concern? How are area Muslims reacting to this directive?

3. Find the FBI field office nearest you and interview a spokesperson about how this office is going about following this directive. The field offices are listed on the site in the links below.

4. Write a news analysis piece about how the FBI is following the directive in your community and how Muslims in your community react to this. Do they believe simply counting the Mosques puts them at risk or not?

5. Consider a sidebar about religious profiling in general or a historical sidebar about such events in the past.

6. Write an editorial with your editorial board or staff opinion about this topic.

Standards: National Council of Teachers of English and International Reading Association Standards for English Language Arts

7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

8. Students use a variety of technological and informational resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

12. Students use spoken, written and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion and the exchange of information).

Resources and materials:
Web sites with information:

• The Newsweek MSNBC.com gives a news story about the FBI directive, including view of the Council on American Islamic Relations and some unnamed FBI sources who say the move is “dicey.

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• At the Common Dreams NewsCenter: Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community, the focus is on the loss of civil liberties with this directive.

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• Also opposed to the plan is the Human Rights News: “The United States should not engage in religious profiling as part of its anti-terrorism efforts, Human Rights Watch said today.

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• “The Fact Sheet: Strengthening Intelligence to Better Protect America is dated Jan. 28, 2003, and spells out what President George W. Bush covered in his State of the Union Address. One specific section deals with the FBI and its ability to collect and disseminate information about terrorists.

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• A press release from FBI director Robert Mueller covers information about the Terrorism Threat Integration Center.

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• The FBI lists 10 Priorities on its Web site. And #5 is “Protect civil liberties.

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• Sunspot.net from Maryland

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• Check sites that define racial profiling, expressing a range of political views: “Ethnicmajority.com

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“Adversity.Net: For Victims of Reverse Discrimination

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“The Effect of Racial & Religious Profiling in the American Muslim Community since September 11, 2001; Compiled By: Civil Rights & Government Relations Departments Presented to: United States House of Representatives House Judiciary Committee by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Jan. 24, 2002. Although a year old, this downloadable pdf has statistics and presents the Muslim view: “Since September 11, CAIR has registered 1658 cases of discrimination, harassment, profiling, physical assault and inappropriate law enforcement behavior. This compares with 640 total cases from the previous year.

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The National Iranian American Council Web site includes an article entitled “Innocent until proven Muslim In America, by Anai Rhoads, Nov. 25, 2002.

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• How does this compare to the experience of the Japanese before World War II? Check out a site devoted to internment, especially exploring what happened even before Pearl Harbor. The site has been developed and is maintained by the National Asian American Telecommunications Association.

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• Find the FBI field office nearest you to interview a spokesperson there.
In Cleveland:
FBI Cleveland
Federal Office Building
1501 Lakeside Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
http://cleveland.fbi.gov/
(216) 522-1400
For other locations:
http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm