In its difficult pursuit to curb terrorism, the FBI has offended some Muslim-Americans.

Relations between the two are strained at best. They are marked most significantly by scare tactics and intimidation, said NIU student Muhammed Shirazi, a senior international relations and pre-law major.

With an educational background in international relations, Shirazi said he is a target for FBI inquiries. He has received calls concerning the FBI having pictures of him.

“What do I say to that?” Shirazi said.

After Sept. 11, 2001, Sa’ad Quadri, a junior English major, was mistaken for Osama bin Laden. He was rollerblading with his wife in Texas when someone reported to the FBI that bin Laden was rollerblading in the park and drives a Volkswagen Beetle.

Quadri said he understands the FBI has to follow up on such a call, but the ensuing questions – Are you Osama bin Laden? – were out of place. “Osama is 6-foot-5,” he said, “and I am a full foot shorter than that.”

Quadri holds a number of discussions concerning contemporary Muslim American issues, and any mention of jihad prompts an immediate questioning by the FBI of his panel members.

Of the mosques attended in the area, Shirazi said most of them deal with weekly visits from the FBI, questioning the content of their services.

Special Agent Ross Rice from the Chicago FBI field office sharply denied this claim, and no contacted mosques were able to verify this allegation.

No agents have come on an official capacity to witness sermons, said Rafiq Jabar, the vice president of the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, but they have come to his office.

Although no agents have come officially, Jabar said it is only sensible that they would have informants among the Muslim community.

This idea corresponds with the FBI’s modus operandi, that is, relying on the public to help solve cases.

Just prior to the last presidential election, the FBI visited Jabar in his office, asked questions about possible attacks in the future, and he said that the agents’ conduct did not offend him.

“They are just using me to get information,” Jabar said. “I am willing to cooperate. Some people might misunderstand [their intentions].”

Because he knows American law so well, Jabar said he is often able to define the course of the discussion.

The FBI has been making “efforts to reach out to the Muslim community,” for years, especially after Sept. 11, 2001, Rice said. Information that Muslims can provide is invaluable, he said, and many cases are solved with the public’s aid.

Terrorism is not the only concern between the FBI and Muslim Americans, he said.

The FBI have handled a number of hate-crime cases in which Muslims were the victims. “If someone has a misconception of what the FBI is about, we want to fix that,” Rice said.