History
Issues
of San Francisco
Samina Faheem Sundas,
Executive Director of American Muslim Voice
Sept 25, 2004, Presidio Public Library
Samina Faheem Sundas, Executive Director of American Muslim Voice, was given an enthusiastic reception as the featured speaker at a public forum entitled "The USA Patriot Act and Racial Profiling," sponsored by the San Francisco Gray Panthers at the Presidio Library on September 25th.
Mrs. Sundas talked of the profiling of people from Arab, South Asian, and Muslim countries by the Bureau of Immigration and other sections of Homeland Security, by the FBI, and by the Transportation Security Administration, as well as acts of discrimination by individuals. She spoke of how 13,000 Arab, South Asian, and Muslim residents submitted to the Special Registration last year. Of that number, more than 8,000 were deported, mostly on immigration technicalities that were often beyond the resident's control. On a more personal level, she spoke her son's experience, where what should have been a routine smog matter turned into his car being towed and his being stranded on the freeway.
She then spoke of American Muslim Voice's outreach
program which aims to build bridges between Muslims and other communities,
and to simultaneously join other groups to give themselves and others
the experience of transcending communities. She sees these activities
as improving the safety and security of everyone. Members and friends
of the Gray Panthers supported this idea and hope to work closely with
AMV in the future.