Engaging U.S. Muslim youth.. Re-Post

Seeking to restore the Muslim confidence, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has met with young American Muslims to listen to their concerns in post 9/11 America.

"(The point of the meeting) was to engage the Muslim community here," Justice Department spokesman Matthew Miller told the Los Angeles Times on Saturday, July 18.

Holder held discussions with over 200 young American Muslims at the Omar Ibn Al Khattab Foundation, a mosque and community center in Los Angeles, California, on Thursday.

The discussions took up challenges and concerns of the Muslim community in the post-9/11 America.

"For American Muslims specifically, these are times that pose serious civil rights and civil liberties challenges," Holder told the crowd.

Appealing to Muslim help in fighting extremism, Holder pledged to reinvigorate enforcement of civil rights and work to advance religious freedom.

He said Muslims have seen their "faith maligned and insulted by those who commit acts of hatred and violence in its name."

Since the 9/11 attacks, American Muslims, estimated at between six to seven million, have become sensitized to an erosion of their civil rights, with a prevailing belief that America was targeting their faith.

• Restoring trust

Holder also sought to restore the confidence of American Muslims in the law enforcement agencies.

"(He) recognized that the department has to be sensitive to religion," said Sharaf Mowjood, 26, who attended the meeting.

The relationship between American Muslims and the Justice Department has come under increasing strain recently.

Muslims are particularly infuriated by the FBI's sending informants into mosques to provoke Muslim worshippers and trap unsuspecting youth.

Earlier this year, a coalition of America's largest Muslim organizations threatened to halt cooperation with the law enforcement authorities over the FBI practices.

Dafer Dakhil, Omar Ibn Al Khattab Foundation's director, said the meeting was a step forward to ease tension and restore the Muslims' trust.

"The attorney general got to meet face to face with a generation of Muslims born and raised in this country," he said.

But many American Muslims still want to see action, not words, from Holder.

"It was a good gesture for him to come out," said Adel Syed, a student, who is critical of the FBI's use of informants in mosques.

"(But) more telling will be what the attorney general does next and the DOJ does next."