Utah Imam Educates Law Enforcement Officers about Cultural Sensitivity

July 20, 2003

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Jul/07202003/utah/77049.asp

On July 20, 2003 The Salt Lake Tribune reported that "over the course of the dozens of presentations he has given to college students, churches and community groups about Muslim culture since Sept. 11, 2001, Shuaib-Ud Din practically had become an official spokesman for Utah Muslims... Now the imam at West Valley City's Khadeeja mosque is doubly certified -- this time by the U.S. Department of Justice... Din and three Utahns participated last week at a DOJ conference in Denver focusing on training law enforcement agencies to interact with Muslim communities. While one part of the one-day event was a cultural sensitivity training session for law enforcement agency officials, it also trained Muslim leaders like Din how best to present Muslim culture to officers... The day also included a discussion of the culture of the Sikh religion, which originated in India... Since Sept. 11, Sikhs have been mistaken for Arabs by perpetrators of hate crimes."