Muslim Student who wrote PLO on notebook in 2003 questioned by FBI

Civil Rights Groups Question FBI Interrogation of Muslim Student
Written for the web by Jason Kobely, Internet News Producer


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Karen Massie's Report
Area civil rights groups are angry after a Muslim Elk Grove high school student was taken out of class and questioned by FBI agents over a three letters he scrawled on his binder two years ago.

Calvine High School student Munir Raseh, 16, said he was pulled out of class on September 27 and questioned by two men who identified themselves as FBI agents. Raseh said the men asked him about a 2003 incident, when a math teacher at another school reprimanded the teen for writing the letters "PLO" on his binder.

"Basically, the teacher said he saw the PLO and said it was a terrorist organization and that the people that run it are all terrorists," Raseh said.

Raseh told the agents that while the letters did represent the controversial Palestinian Liberation Organization, the letters were merely the result of doodling.

http://www.kxtv.com/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=14824

... I feel safer already. Thanks to your diligence, we can put an end, once and for all, to students doodling letters on their book binders.

So glad to see taxpayers' dollars going to worthwhile investigations like this!

Reprimanded at the very least.

Since Columbine and Jonesboro, aren't teachers supposed to be more vigilant? That was one of the big ideas back then. You can't tell teachers to act one way and then penalize them for doing so. Besides, the PLO is, in fact, a terrorist organization. I don't see the need to penalize the teacher if he did contact the FBI (the article doesn't verify that). It's up to the FBI to decide if this kid needs to be interviewed or not.

Talk about a knee-jerk reaction.

It is not on a list of terrorist organizations. President Clinton has met with the head of the PLO. Leaders of Israel have met with the leaders of the PLO.
So your statement lacks merit.

:eyes:

It's still up to the FBI to determine if they should interview this kid, not the teacher.

Bill of Rights. Some of us believe that applies to Arab Americans too.

because some juveniles were robbing my house (or threatening to) without notifying their parents, would that be okay, or would that violate the Bill of Rights?

Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough earlier. My point was that the teacher should not, in any way, be penalized for calling the FBI (if he did). Whether or not the FBI made the correct decision to interview this kid (with or without his parents present) is a different debate.

He was carrying a notebook that had the letters "PLO" written on the cover. You're seriously arguing that that in and of itself merits FBI investigation?

Whether or not this merits an FBI investigation, saying that the teacher should be fired for contacting the FBI is absurd. Get a grip, people. Do you have to be pissed off at everybody who thinks differently than you? Where's all the tolerance I've been hearing about?

It has deep roots in racism, bigotry, xenophobia and vigilantism.

But in our hysterical atmosphere, someone somewhere along the line in the school should have said, "You know, why don't we call in the young man in question and talk with him about this a little bit?" The whole thing could have been resolved far short of calling in the feds.

It's not the first time that someone has overreacted, and it won't be the last. To err is human, and that sort of thing.

I would also be willing to bet that this kid's past behavior had something to do with someone calling the FBI. If he was known to have behavior problems in the past, that could have contributed to how this was handled. It was also mentioned somewhere in the article that someone had alleged he had pictures of suicide bombers on his cell phone. If that were true, this kid probably has some serious issues that cause people to view him with suspicion. Maybe that's not a very good excuse (or maybe it is), but it could have weighed into how this all played out.

notifying Government authorities of a young person's political expressions...
Its just not what many of us want here.

This young person did not do any violence or threaten any violence. Please read the story.

Sorry, I'm just not that offended. I guess I'm not trying hard enough to get pissed.

but not a drop of sanity to drink.

Today we find out that the New York Times held on to stories that the Nazis in control of the country have been spying on people without warrants for years.

Everything needs to be questioned, and anyone requiring supposed vigilance needs to be confronted directly.

It is time to blow the lid on the massive lie that the U.S. has been living under for over four years. Today's the day.

Sorry-- won't swallow that bait.

Talk about talking about a knee jerk reaction.

Go have fun --

The teacher should still be reprimanded and/or fired.

Or are you, like many others, just looking for a reason to be pissed off? Do you want everyone who does something you don't agree with to lose his job? You must have a personal axe to grind, or else you're just a petty person in general.

that's a strange reaction to have...looking for a scapegoat as well?

How's about this.

The teacher overreacted and caused all sorts of problems for the student. It's called accountability. As a teacher myself, I am disappointed that someone in the education field would act in this fashion.

As for the insulting tone of your message, I'll chalk it up to .... oh, well, take your pick.

I was lucky to not go to jail.

The IRA is a Christian organization. The PLO and the student are Muslim.

It doesn't matter what religion the terrorist organization claims.

but unfortunately if people are of a certain religion, the government appears to be less tolerant.

I am probably older than the agents that were sent to harrass this kid, so it will be a more equal arrangement.

Support Freedom for Palestine. Support Free Speech!

look like the Salvation Army.