Wall Street Journal
October 15, 2003
Pg. 12
FBI Reviews Muslims' Military Role
By Glenn R. Simpson, Staff Reporter Of The Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON -- The Federal Bureau of Investigation is reviewing how Muslim chaplains and other Muslim personnel obtain sensitive military positions and may increase security precautions by requiring more frequent polygraph testing of such personnel.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is seeking Islamic groups to help provide the armed forces with Muslim chaplains and could end its ties to two groups currently controlling the program that are already being investigated by the Justice Department for possible involvement in financing terrorism. The groups came under renewed scrutiny after the arrest of a Muslim chaplain last week on espionage-related charges at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where hundreds of suspected Islamic terrorists are being held. Two translators also have been arrested there.
The steps were disclosed Tuesday at a Senate hearing and follow efforts by the FBI and the Bureau of Prisons to thwart recruiting efforts by radical Islamists in U.S. prisons.
Earlier this year, prosecutors named the head of one Islamic school that trains chaplains for the military as an unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorism case. Last month, the head of the only other group that certifies chaplains was arrested for illegally taking funds from Libya. Last week, Army Capt. James Yee, a chaplain to Muslim terrorism suspects detained at Guantanamo, was charged with mishandling classified information. All three men have denied wrongdoing.
"As a result of the last several months of activities, we are looking around to see if there are organizations that might provide us Muslim chaplains other than the two that currently provide it," Charles Abell, deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel, told the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on terrorism.
There are roughly a dozen Muslim chaplains in the military, serving at least 4,000 Muslim servicemen. The two groups currently involved in the process are the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council and the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences. The two groups have denied any connections to terrorism or other illegal activity.
The FBI's counterterrorism director, John Pistole, said the arrests at Guantanamo Bay could mean "potentially serious breaches of national security." He said Muslims working for the U.S. military in sensitive positions may be subject to enhanced security precautions "such as more frequent polygraph examinations," he said.
The government also believes radical Islamic groups, including possibly al Qaeda, are actively recruiting in U.S. prisons, Mr. Pistole and Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Harley Lappin testified. There are about 9,600 Muslims in federal prisons, about 5.5% of the population, not including members of nontraditional Muslim offshoots such as the Nation of Islam.
The Bureau of Prisons is seeking to weed out any radicals among its 10 Muslim clerics, Mr. Lappin said, and recently blocked access to prisons for cleric Warith Dean Umar after the imam's comments and writings were the subject of a Page One article in The Wall Street Journal.
Paul Rogers, president of the American Correctional Chaplains Association, said reports of terrorist recruitment in prison "have been blown out of proportion."
October 15, 2003
Pg. 12
FBI Reviews Muslims' Military Role
By Glenn R. Simpson, Staff Reporter Of The Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON -- The Federal Bureau of Investigation is reviewing how Muslim chaplains and other Muslim personnel obtain sensitive military positions and may increase security precautions by requiring more frequent polygraph testing of such personnel.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is seeking Islamic groups to help provide the armed forces with Muslim chaplains and could end its ties to two groups currently controlling the program that are already being investigated by the Justice Department for possible involvement in financing terrorism. The groups came under renewed scrutiny after the arrest of a Muslim chaplain last week on espionage-related charges at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where hundreds of suspected Islamic terrorists are being held. Two translators also have been arrested there.
The steps were disclosed Tuesday at a Senate hearing and follow efforts by the FBI and the Bureau of Prisons to thwart recruiting efforts by radical Islamists in U.S. prisons.
Earlier this year, prosecutors named the head of one Islamic school that trains chaplains for the military as an unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorism case. Last month, the head of the only other group that certifies chaplains was arrested for illegally taking funds from Libya. Last week, Army Capt. James Yee, a chaplain to Muslim terrorism suspects detained at Guantanamo, was charged with mishandling classified information. All three men have denied wrongdoing.
"As a result of the last several months of activities, we are looking around to see if there are organizations that might provide us Muslim chaplains other than the two that currently provide it," Charles Abell, deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel, told the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on terrorism.
There are roughly a dozen Muslim chaplains in the military, serving at least 4,000 Muslim servicemen. The two groups currently involved in the process are the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council and the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences. The two groups have denied any connections to terrorism or other illegal activity.
The FBI's counterterrorism director, John Pistole, said the arrests at Guantanamo Bay could mean "potentially serious breaches of national security." He said Muslims working for the U.S. military in sensitive positions may be subject to enhanced security precautions "such as more frequent polygraph examinations," he said.
The government also believes radical Islamic groups, including possibly al Qaeda, are actively recruiting in U.S. prisons, Mr. Pistole and Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Harley Lappin testified. There are about 9,600 Muslims in federal prisons, about 5.5% of the population, not including members of nontraditional Muslim offshoots such as the Nation of Islam.
The Bureau of Prisons is seeking to weed out any radicals among its 10 Muslim clerics, Mr. Lappin said, and recently blocked access to prisons for cleric Warith Dean Umar after the imam's comments and writings were the subject of a Page One article in The Wall Street Journal.
Paul Rogers, president of the American Correctional Chaplains Association, said reports of terrorist recruitment in prison "have been blown out of proportion."