An article published on April 8 in New York's Times by Nina Bernstein says "A Bangladeshi 16-year and another Guinean 16-year-old girl are now described by the government as would-be suicide bombers and are being held in a detention center for illegal immigrants in Pennsylvania.

Little is known about the second 16-year-old. The mother of the Bangladeshi girl, said the two girls met for the first time at 26 Federal Plaza after her daughter's arrest. But when the other girl, a Guinean who was facing deportation with her family, noticed her daughter's veil, she gave her a traditional Muslim greeting, and federal agents seemed to think they were friends. The second girl ended up in the Pennsylvania detention center, too.

Neither girl's name is being published because they are minors who have not been charged with any crime. There are no firm time limits on immigration detention, so the burden is on the girls to prove that they are not potential suicide bombers, rather than on the government to prove they are. Indeed, the evidence is withheld from the girls and anyone who represents them under a "protective order" that F.B.I. investigator obtained from the immigration court.

The girls have no right to a court-appointed lawyer, and according to the government document that described the Guinean girl; her family had not retained one. 

In an interview at the Islamic Center of North America in Queens, the Bangladeshi girl's mother said the girl came home crying from school because of upsetting remarks, some directed at her Islamic dress.

The parent coordinator at the school, Karen Hundley, said "A lot of things other kids did offended her sense of religion," Ms. Hundley said, citing jokes about movies and an ethics class that mentioned condoms. But she said that nothing about the girl's behavior or comments was threatening.

A 17-year-old girl who was "very close" to the Bangladeshi girl called the notion that her friend could be recruited as a suicide bomber a terrible mistake. Their three-year friendship, she said, revolved around Islam, prompting both to learn Arabic and to teach classes on Islam to young women at two mosques. "We talked about what was going on in Palestine, suicide bombings, and I know she's completely against it," she said.

The Bangladeshi girl's mother said her daughter told her that during a brief detention visit the F.B.I. interrogators had threatened her that unless she confessed to terrorist ties, her two youngest siblings, who are American citizens, would be placed in foster care and her parents sent back to Bangladesh without them." 

Two law enforcement officials, both speaking to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the case is pending, confirmed a government document, that says the girls are "an imminent threat to the security of the United States based on evidence that they plan to be suicide bombers.", but suggested that it may have exaggerated the threat.

"Investigators were concerned that girls might be recruited sometime in the future for a suicide mission by a suspect in an ongoing terrorism investigation, one of the officials said. They decided to detain the pair before they could become involved", the official added.

Is this a Joke or a Nightmare? This could happen to any practicing Muslim! I wear the Islamic dress, and use the traditional Islamic greeting; " Salaam Alaykum" meaning " Peace Be Upon You"; to Muslims I see, even a strangers. Does that make me a would-be suicide bomber?

Are we going back to the Dark Ages of religious persecution? And this is happening in the land of Democracy, human rights, and justice. It is not happening in a third world country that is ruled by a dictator. Is this an intimidation tactic to scare the 8 million American Muslims living in this country? 

We call upon all people of conscience to stand up and do all that can be done against this injustice. Remember injustice anywhere leads to injustice everywhere!

Soon the preemptive persecution based on imaginary allegation will expand to every practicing Muslim, since Islam is perceived as the real enemy.

Dr. Salwa Rashad is an Egyptian writer based in Madison, USA. She holds a PhD in engineering and a master's degree in computer science. A freelance writer for Aljumah magazine, Rashad also presents Islamic views at schools, colleges, and churches. She is a peace activist with Beyond Terrorism group and Madison Area Peace Coalition (MAPC). You can reach her at [email protected]