National security impacts all of our lives because we have a vested interest in protecting our families, our communities and our country from acts of violence by any perpetrator. We must take our place at the table and participate in discussions with lawmakers on effectively balancing national security and civil rights because the outcomes have consequences that affect all of us. AM PAC’s government relations team meets regularly with government agencies — including the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, FBI and the Treasury Department — and members of Congress to identify effective means of fighting terrorism that also uphold Constitutional rights for all Americans. Effective counter terrorism policy must also prevent racial profiling, wire tapping and violations of civil rights, all of which undermine our efforts to counter violent extremism.

As we seek to protect our nation from violent extremists, so too must we protect our nation from threats to our Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. Part of our work in national security is to ensure that our government and law enforcement officials reinforce the moderate mainstream Muslim American voice, and do not play into the rhetoric and propaganda of violent extremists.

In the words of John Brennan, President Obama’s Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security in Spring 2010:

“Nor do we describe our enemy as jihadists or Islamist, because jihad is a holy struggle, a legitimate tenet of Islam meaning to purify oneself or one’s community. And there is nothing holy or legitimate or Islamic about murdering innocent men, women, and children. Indeed, characterizing our adversaries this way would be counterproductive. It would play into the false perception that they are religious leaders defending a holy cause when in fact, they are nothing more than murderers, including the murder of thousands upon thousands of Muslims.”