The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday sued the Obama administration, seeking information about government programs that unfairly target Muslims in the United States. The Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeks details on federal programs against what the government calls “violent extremism,” which the ACLU says is a “poorly defined and malleable concept” that could unduly bring American Muslims under official scrutiny.
In a blog post announcing the action, Hina Shamsi, who directs the ACLU’s national security project, said that she was inspired by President Barack Obama’s words during a historic visit to a mosque last week, but is taken aback by the government’s unequal treatment of Muslims.
“What was hard about listening to the president’s speech, though, was the disconnect between his powerful words and government policies that target American Muslims unfairly and foster our national climate of fear and discrimination,” Shamsi wrote. She pointed to the Huffington Post’s effort to track Islamophobia across the country as evidence. The FOIA complaint filed in federal court in Washington, names as defendants the FBI and several departments in the national security apparatus, including Justice, Homeland Security and State.
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