Mid-February, 2011, CAIR-Washington received an invitation to a listening session with U.S. Attorney of the Western District of Washington, Jenny Durkan, and Muslim, Sikh, and Arab community leaders. Monday, March 7, 2011, CAIR-Washington Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari and Civil Rights Coordinator Jennifer Gist commuted to the U.S. Courthouse in downtown Seattle to attend the meeting. In the company of Somali community leaders, One America staff and board members, and Muslim leaders, Arsalan and Jennifer cleared the security checkpoint and arrived at Jenny's office. The agenda was loosely arranged, as Jenny explained that her intention was to listen, not lecture. Specifically, Jenny asked community leaders and representatives what kind of issues their communities face and how she can be of assistance to marginalized communities.
Among the issues raised were school safety and bullying, negative representations of Muslim and Arab Americans in local media sources and public discourse, integration of immigrant youth, the recent increase in anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hate crimes, and the lack of accountability and consistency of various complaint processes within the Department of Homeland Security. After much discussion about these various issues, Jenny asked meeting attendees what she and the U.S. Attorney's office could do to help. One of the repeated requests by community leaders was that Jenny be more vocal about the Muslim community; specifically, that the U.S. Department of Justice be more present in the defense of hate crimes against members of Muslim, Sikh, Arab and immigrant communities and that Jenny speak out about her positive experiences with these communities. Community leaders expressed desire for public leaders like Jenny to be more outspoken in their defense of the Muslim community, especially at a time of widespread public dialogue about "extremism," momentous due to Representative Peter King's (R-NY) hearings. Though meeting attendees recognized the importance of giving voice to (or, rather, listening to the voices of) Muslims themselves, they also concurred that a positive narrative about Muslims from the mouths of government representatives and law enforcement employees is powerful in shaping public discourse.
Regarding issues of immigrant youth (a discussion spurred by the recognition of the attempted bombing in Portland, which many have alleged was the result of provocation by an FBI informant) and cultural integration, representatives of One America asked the Department of Justice to get involved in preventative measures regarding terrorism, and not merely criminalize youth with the well-funded enforcement measures. The suggestion from One America was for the Department of Justice to fund immigrant integration programs for youth, including job training and English acquisition courses. As meeting attendees remarked, celebrating one's own cultural heritage and one's loyalty to the United States can and should go hand in hand. Finally, Jenny concluded the meeting by requesting invitations to events in which she can meet with community members and promised to have ongoing listening sessions in locations where security checkpoints are not mandatory.
