The Washington Post
WASHINGTON -- The millions of blue forms being mailed this month in the first census count since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, do not ask about religion. But the idea of answering any questions posed by the government makes some Muslims uneasy, so community leaders are worried that many may avoid the census altogether.
"A lot of people, they have the concern," said Raja Mahmood, 50, a Manassas, Va. taxi driver who moved to the United States from Pakistan 25 years ago. "The majority of Muslims, they don't want to draw attention."
Although he plans to fill out the census form -- and the mosque he attends has encouraged it -- Mahmood said many Muslims he knows are wary about why the government, which treated them with suspicion in the years after the terrorist strike, wants to collect information about them.
"They can look for the count of how many people live here, and that's a good thing," he said, "but God knows what is in their heart."
Muslim leaders have been holding forums to explain the process. Last week, the Justice Department said that information-gathering and sharing provisions of the Patriot Act do not override federal confidentiality laws related to the census, with stiff penalties for sharing information about an individual.
"That would go a long way toward calming fears," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations.Still, community leaders say they understand why people might be cautious. Many remember the trepidation that arose after Sept. 11, 2001, when men from some Muslim countries were required to register with the then-Immigration and Naturalization Service. The requirement led to deportations for visa violations or minor infractions unrelated to terrorism, Hooper said, adding that "whole neighborhoods were emptied."
Ashraf Nubani, a Virginia-based lawyer who helped men who were asked to register with authorities, said that even now, Muslim immigrants "may be extremely distrustful any time the government is asking them for information."
Imam Mohamed Magid of the All-Dulles Area Muslim Society in Sterling, Va., has recently given speeches to his congregation about the Census, explaining that uncounted minorities can be underrepresented or ignored when government resources are allocated. He said most congregants are not worried about filling out the form but added that "some immigrants talk about the time of the Patriot Act and the Census, where somebody can misuse information about them."
"A lot of questions come up on the community level," said Hazani Barmada, president of the Washington-based American Muslim Interactive Network, which hosted a talk about Muslims and the Census on Monday night at Georgetown University. "What does the Census do with this information? If I tell them about my children and my life and my information, how's that going to affect me?' "
Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, director of outreach at Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque in Falls Church, Va., said the fear can run so deep that some Muslims were wary of getting government-funded flu shots after rumors that they were used to experiment on minorities. "So if you think like that, then you're not going to participate in the Census," he said.
Many Muslims, however, said they have no worries about filling out the basic form, which asks for name, race and number of people in a household.
"I don't know what the Census would have to do with Muslims or non-Muslims," said Hany Osman, 35, an Egyptian clinical system analyst who moved to the United States seven years ago. "It's highly recommended that we fill it out and be part of American society instead of alienating ourselves."
