LOS ANGELES, Jan 22: Senior representatives from the United States Justice Department, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) on Monday tried hard for three hours to convince Muslims that they were not being persecuted in the wake of the Sept 11 attacks, but their audience remained unmoved.

The occasion was a community meeting at Holiday Inn, La Mirada (CA), on a sunny Sunday, sponsored by California’s Anaheim-based Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

The meeting was moderated by Ronald K. Wakabayashi, the Justice Department’s egional Director for Community Relations, as well as by Tareef Nashashibi, Chairman Arab-American Committee of Republican Party of Orange County.

Top regional officials from these three US government organizations had been invited to confront face-to-face an emotionally charged audience of 120 Arab-Americans as well as Muslims from Pakistan and India.

“Do not forget your rights. Do not think we will solve all the issues,” snapped-back John Gordon, United States Attorney, California Central District, who was disturbed that despite his arguments his listeners refused to budge.

Gordon said so when some of the audience interrupted the smooth trappings of the meeting, shouting: “We all Arab-Muslims are preparing to experience encampments.”

Gordon said the Justice Department was investigating various cases of excesses by FBI and other agencies, triggered after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks.

However, Muslims should also know their civil liberties and consult lawyers in an event they feel being victimized, he added.