Arab American's Resignation from DHS Sign of Worsening Relationship Between Federal Government and Muslim Community
By Daniel Gil/ Contributing Writer
George Selim, a senior counterterrorism official at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Director of the Office of Community Partnerships at the DHS handed in his resignation on Friday, according to The Atlantic.
Selim’s resignation reportedly came as a result of the current administration’s willingness to quash initiatives developed under the Obama administration to more peaceably combat terrorism and radical extremism. President Trump’s administration has relied more heavily on law enforcement as a deterrent instead.
Selim was a prominent department official who also served as the leader of the federal Countering Violent Extremism Task Force (CVE). The program was part of an initiative under the Obama administration to help combat terrorism through forging better relationships with Muslim organizations across the country. Selim’s resignation also demonstrates the shift in policy between administrations as Muslim organizations and the federal government worked together through the CVE under Selim’s leadership.
“There were clearly political appointees in this administration who didn’t see the value of community partnerships with American Muslims,” Selim was quoted in The Atlantic article.
However, the DHS claims Selim’s departure was “his decision” and he has always anticipated a return to the private sector. They added that “[Selim] felt the infrastructure and coordination mechanisms he and his teams had established were addressed comprehensively and could stand on their own.” However, this conflicts with the claims the source the Conservative Review’s article cited for his departure.
The DHS also said the political appointees Selim referred to were not responsible for his resignation and that “throughout its history, the CVE mission space has had vocal advocates and naysayers.”
The full text of Arab America’s correspondence with DHS is available here: https://www.arabamerica.com/selim-dhs-statement/
The political appointees Selim referred to echo the sentiments of White House officials, such as Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka. Both of them have wearily eyed Muslim organizations across the United States as proponents of Islamist doctrine, the political arm of Islam, and a threat to the country. Their rhetoric concerning the disproven threat Islam poses in the United States resembles similar rhetoric seen in alternative right media outlets.
In an article which appeared in the Conservative Review, a source at the DHS familiar with the situation explained, “Selim often clashed with Trump administration officials, who sought to do away with the past president’s policies.” Selim’s dedication to Obama’s policies may have ultimately been his downfall as the source followed by saying, “senior officials effectively quashed Selim’s efforts to maneuver Obama White House policies and strategies into the new administration, leaving a frustrated Selim with resignation as his only option.”
Arab America reached out to Selim for comment, however he did not speak about his resignation.
Obama era initiatives, like the CVE, are being slashed according to the White House’s budget proposal unveiled earlier this May, which declared the freezing of $10 million in grants the program issued to Muslim organizations. Its budget will be reduced to nothing following the 2018 fiscal year.
However, some organizations the CVE worked closely with, like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), voiced concerns that the program viewed the Muslim community strictly through a “securitized lens,” according to a brief released by CAIR in March of 2015. The brief also stated that CAIR did not believe the CVE program was the “most effective use of public resources.”
According to Corey Saylor, CAIR’s Director of the Department to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia, “the CVE and CAIR did not see eye to eye on a number of issues.” Saylor reiterated the organization’s position that “surveilling and arresting” members of the community was not an effective solution to combat terrorism as it saw them through “a national security lens.” He cited the lack of research to back the work the CVE did in combating radical extremism.
Saylor added that he believed Selim “is a very sincere public servant” and that he will miss the open discussions Selim encouraged during roundtable discussions with community members. “Reaching out to a variety of community members is important and the [federal government] has not done enough of that… George brought that variety of opinions to the table.”
Although Selim is a conservative Republican, his department received an unusual amount of criticism from the conservative establishment, according to The Atlantic. The CVE reportedly got flak for behaving in a “politically correct” manner in dealing with homegrown terrorism amongst Muslim organizations. In addition, it was also publicly condemned by Gorska last November, directly following President Trump’s win over Hillary Clinton.
Although Selim’s resignation and the CVE’s subsequent complete budget cut may face cheers from both Muslim organizations and conservative republicans, their vanishing is yet another brick in the wall between the federal government and American Muslims. CAIR is very concerned that Muslim communities will be viewed strictly through a national security lens, and most definitely, will be bolstered as Trump’s policies are implemented further, while Obama’s continue to be scrapped.
“I’m not confident in the Department of Homeland Security,” Saylor (of CAIR) added before our interview ended.