DEARBORN — Community members and organization leaders expressed frustration with the apathetic attitude given by federal officials toward Muslim and Arab Americans’ efforts to cull discrimination and planned to demand answers from government leaders at a BRIDGES meeting at The Arab American News office on Tuesday. 

Despite heavy engagement by numerous officials from federal agencies and state legislators, BRIDGES attendees were disappointed by the ineffectiveness of the meetings.

Building Respect in Diverse Groups to Enhance Sensitivity (BRIDGES) was established shortly after 9/11 to address security and civil rights grievances between the government and the community.

They proposed the formation of a steering committee that relays the organization’s priority issues to federal officials in Washington D.C., holding them accountable to their promises.

Nabih Ayyad, a civil rights lawyer and the organization’s chair, questioned the power of some local officials to impact U.S. policy and advocated for the compilation of specific, accomplishable goals directed at government agencies that are authorized to shift U.S. protocol in how immigration and national security are approached.

Imam Hassan Al-Qazwini said unproductive meetings with government leaders who use the gatherings as photo opportunities should be halted.

“I think we should show them some seriousness,” Qazwini said. “If there are no results after this, we should suspend some of these meetings.”

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Michigan chapter, said ineffective dialogues with government officials that give hope to removing names from the No-Fly List or mitigating airport security harassment is eroding community members’ trust in the organization leaders whose role is to accomplish these feats. 

Attendees agreed to create a list of tangible requests by BRIDGES members to be presented to local officials at the next meeting.

They also voted to elect Mona Fadlallah, president of the Arab American Political Action Committee, as the co-chair of BRIDGES.