Dear friend –
We're at the Supreme Court this morning in FBI v. Fazaga – a case on behalf of three Muslim Americans who are challenging the FBI for its secret and invasive surveillance of them and their community based on their religion. This is likely to be a landmark case that will impact us all, but not many people have heard of it. So as arguments unfold today, I wanted to share with you our clients' stories in their own words – as well as the critical facts of the case below. Here's what to know : - In 2006 and 2007, the FBI sent a paid informant into the large and diverse Muslim community in Orange County, California. Sheik Yassir Fazaga, Ali Uddin Malik, and Yasser AbdelRahim were all members.
- The informant, posing as a convert to Islam, used hidden surveillance devices to record private conversations and sensitive locations, including mosques, homes, and businesses. When the community discovered what was happening, many people felt violated and afraid of practicing their faith openly.
- Sheik Fazaga, who is also a religious leader in the community, had invited the FBI to speak to members of his mosque before this discovery and, as he explains, "They looked us all in the eyes and assured us unequivocally that they were not spying on us. We trusted them. But they lied."
- Together – Fazaga, Malik, and AbdelRahim – sued the FBI for unlawfully targeting Muslim community members in violation of their constitutional rights, represented by the ACLU, ACLU of Southern California, and several other organizations.
- The FBI claims that allowing our clients' case to go forward could reveal classified information – and it has invoked the "state secrets privilege" as a way to dismiss the lawsuit. But to allow routine government surveillance like this to continue without accountability would have corrosive effects on constitutional rights like freedom of speech and religion.
- That's what will be up for argument today : Unless the Supreme Court rejects the FBI's overbroad claims of secrecy, the government has every incentive to continue invoking state secrets to conceal abuses and thwart accountability in court.
Friend, in response to 9/11, the government has wrongly and disproportionately subjected Muslim communities to surveillance. That's why we must hold the FBI accountable for spying on Americans because of their religion. Sheik Yassir Fazaga, Ali Uddin Malik, and Yasser AbdelRahim deserve justice – as do countless others Muslim Americans who had their rights violated in the last 20 years. So please take a moment to hear the personal stories of this morning's critical case, and we will keep you posted as things develop after today's arguments. Thank you for being with us in the fight, Patrick Toomey
Pronouns : He, him, his
Senior staff attorney, National Security Project, ACLU. | 
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