Some Muslims Fear Census Forms

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The millions of blue forms being mailed this month in the first census count since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, do not ask about religion. But the idea of answering any questions posed by the government makes some Muslims uneasy, and community leaders are worried that many may avoid the 2010 Census altogether.

 

"A lot of people, they have the concern," said Raja Mahmood, 50, a Manassas cabdriver who moved to the United States from Pakistan 25 years ago. "The majority of Muslims, they don't want to draw attention."

Although he plans to fill out the census form -- and the Falls Church mosque he attends, Dar Al-Hijrah, has encouraged it -- Mahmood said many Muslims he knows are wary about why the government, which treated them with suspicion in the years after the terrorist strike, wants to collect information about them.

"They can look for the count of how many people live here, and that's a good thing," he said, "but God knows what is in their heart."

Muslim leaders have been holding forums to explain the process. Last week, the Justice Department said information-gathering and -sharing provisions of the Patriot Act do not override federal confidentiality laws related to the Census, laws that provide stiff penalties for sharing information about an individual.

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Source: Washington Post, On Faith

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