
COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS - CHICAGO | DEFENDING CIVIL RIGHTS. FIGHTING BIGOTRY. PROMOTING TOLERANCE
On May 27th, 2011, President Obama signed the renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act. The purpose of the bill was to enhance domestic security against terrorism in response to the September 11th attacks, but it has gone far beyond its preventative purpose and encroached on our constitutional rights.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is alerting American Muslims concerned with personal privacy about a security procedure recently implemented by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that scans full-body images of passengers through their clothing, revealing intimate body parts to screeners, resembling a “virtual strip search.”
In the United States today, we are witnessing the gradual deterioration of the legal rights, civil liberties and humane policies for which our government once stood. In response to terrorist threats, security on all levels is expanding along with concerns over the reach of new security techniques and mechanisms.