NEWARK -- With questioning of about 70 Middle Eastern men about to begin, community leaders from the Paterson area advised FBI agents about how to do it without offending Muslims.
Mohammed Younes, president of the American Muslim Union; Nabil Abbassi, president of the Islamic Center of Passaic County; and Sohail Mohammed, a Clifton immigration lawyer representing many Middle Eastern men being detained by federal authorities, met Thursday with about 140 FBI agents at the bureau's Newark offices.
They were there to explain Muslim culture and religion, and explain how certain activities that might seem suspicious to law enforcement agents are actually harmless, routine religious customs.
"It went very well," said Younes.
Mohammed said he told the agents how during the last 10 days of the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims tend to seclude themselves as much as possible, either at home or in their mosques, to reflect and pray.
"So if an agent knocks on a door and it looks like there's somebody at home but there's no answer at the door, they may be praying," Mohammed said. "We said, 'Give them 5 or 10 minutes -- our prayers don't take that long, and then do what you need.' "
Nationwide, the Justice Department, as part of its Sept. 11 investigation, plans to interview 5,000 young men who have recently come to the United States from the Middle East. The men are not considered suspects, and the interviews are to be voluntary.
Special Agent Sandra Carroll, a spokeswoman for the Newark FBI office, said New Jersey interviews are "imminent." She said about 70 New Jerseyans are on the list, most of whom live in the Paterson or Jersey City areas.
She, too, said Thursday's meeting was useful.
"It was a reiteration of their cultural traditions and differences," she said. "In exchange, we agreed to be mindful and sensitive to a large extent to that. We made it clear we are conducting a very complicated, sensitive investigation."