Muslim Americans in southern California are feeling “anger, disillusionment, and distrust” toward the FBI following reports that it used an informant to infiltrate mosques in Southland, said a local office for the Council on American-Islamic relations. “The American Muslim community has never wavered from its commitment to keeping America safe, nor has it hesitated from cooperating with various law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, in ensuring the security of all US citizens,” said a statement by the local branch of CAIR.
Informants were reported to have been paid to monitor and “provoke” law-abiding Muslims in local mosques. An Irvine man named Craig Monteilh has come forth claiming to have worked as an FBI informant to infiltrate a mosque and gather information about a man now accused of lying about ties to Al-Qaeda. “…The FBI’s counter-productive actions damage the trust between Muslims and law enforcement and trample our constitutionally mandated civil liberties,” said a statement by CAIR concerning Monteilh’s story.
