Civil rights advocacy group says banks closed more accounts of Muslims

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131121/METRO08/311210142/1361/Arab-American-group-says-feds-closed-more-bank-accounts-of-Muslims

November 21, 2013 at 1:00 am

Civil rights advocacy group says banks closed more accounts of Muslims

  • Mark Hicks
  • The Detroit News

The Council on American-Islamic Relations–Michigan is asking federal officials to investigate more complaints that JPMorgan Chase is allegedly closing bank accounts of Muslim customers in Metro Detroit.

“It seems like it’s solidifying our idea more that there’s a disturbing pattern going on,” said Dawud Walid, executive director of CAIR-MI. “These aren’t just isolated incidents.”

Spurred by about a dozen complaints in the past two months, the advocacy group has contacted the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates banks, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. CAIR-MI also received new complaints Thursday, Walid said.

One of the latest involved the checking and savings accounts for Annisa Patimurani, a Wayne State University graduate student.

The Indonesia native, who is married to an American and started attending WSU this year, said she applied and was approved without issue. But after weeks of local purchases for books and other necessities, her debit card suddenly stopped working last month, she said.

When Patimurani of Detroit visited her local Chase bank for answers, an employee told her the accounts had been closed. The explanation on file said the bank would not open one for people with ties to foreign officials, she said.

She later received a letter from Chase saying the bank is “no longer opening personal banking accounts for current or former non-U.S officials, their immediate family or their close associates.”

Patimurani was puzzled. When applying in person, wearing a hijab, she disclosed that her parents are retired Indonesian government officials, but was told this would not be an issue in securing accounts. “I just don’t understand why they need to discriminate against us,” Patimurani said.

A Chase representative said privacy reasons prevent the company from discussing details of its customer relationships. But “on occasion, Chase determines it can no longer maintain a customer’s account but those decisions are not based on the customer’s religion, ethnicity or any other similar basis.”

CAIR-MI asks people to report recent bank closures by calling (248) 559-2247 or emailing info@cairmichigan.org.

Meanwhile, a ruling is expected soon on a lawsuit involving similar complaints against Huntington National Bank.

In July, the Arab-American Civil Rights League filed a class-action lawsuit against the bank after allegations accounts for area Muslims and residents of Middle Eastern descent were closed without cause or explanation.

According to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court, the bank’s actions suggest “racial, ethnic, national origin and religious discrimination,” which violate state and federal civil rights laws. Damages were estimated at millions of dollars, and the suit seeks a temporary restraining order barring Huntington from closing accounts for discriminatory reasons.

The civil rights league this year asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and launched a complaint hotline.

Since then, more complaints — all from the minority group allegedly targeted — have frequently poured in, attorneys said.

While 25 are represented in the suit, as many as 1,000 or more in Metro Detroit could be affected by the alleged practices, said attorney Nabih Ayad, board chairman for the Arab-American Civil Rights League.

According to the complaint, a former Huntington employee has come forward with details on periodic lists bank superiors circulated instructing branches to close the accounts of customers perceived to be Muslim or of Middle Eastern descent.

But lawyers for Huntington Bank are asking a federal judge to have the case dismissed. In a motion filed last month, they said there was not sufficient evidence to support claims the bank discriminated against or treated them differently than other customers.

The attorneys representing the bank in the suit did not respond to requests for comment.

DawudWalid

Dawud Walid is currently the Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), which is a chapter of America's largest advocacy and civil liberties organization for American Muslims and is a member of the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) Imams Committee. Walid has been interviewed and quoted in approximately 150 media outlets ranging from the New York Times, Wall St Journal, National Public Radio, CNN, BBC, FOX News and Al-Jazeera. Furthermore, Walid was a political blogger for the Detroit News from January 2014 to January 2016, has had essays published in the 2012 book All-American: 45 American Men on Being Muslim, the 2014 book Qur'an in Conversation and was quoted as an expert in 13 additional books and academic dissertations. He was also a featured character in the 2013 HBO documentary "The Education of Mohammad Hussein." Walid has lectured at over 50 institutions of higher learning about Islam, interfaith dialogue and social justice including at Harvard University, DePaul University and the University of the Virgin Islands - St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses as well as spoken at the 2008 and 2011 Congressional Black Caucus Conventions alongside prominent speakers such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Congressman Keith Ellison. In 2008, Walid delivered the closing benediction at the historic 52nd Michigan Electoral College in the Michigan State Senate chambers and gave the Baccalaureate speech for graduates of the prestigious Cranbrook-Kingswood Academy located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Walid was also a featured speaker at the 2009 and 2010 Malian Peace and Tolerance Conferences at the University of Bamako in Mali, West Africa. He has also given testimony at hearings and briefings in front of Michigan state legislators and U.S. congressional representatives, including speaking before members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, D.C. Walid has studied under qualified scholars the disciplines of Arabic grammar and morphology, foundations of Islamic jurisprudence, sciences of the exegesis of the Qur’an, and Islamic history during the era of Prophet Muhammad through the governments of the first 5 caliphs. He previously served as an imam at Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit and the Bosnian American Islamic Center in Hamtramck, Michigan, and continues to deliver sermons and lectures at Islamic centers across the United States and Canada. Walid was a 2011 - 2012 fellow of the University of Southern California (USC) American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute (AMCLI) and a 2014 - 2015 fellow of the Wayne State Law School Detroit Action Equity Lab (DEAL). Walid served in the United States Navy under honorable conditions earning two United States Navy & Marine Corp Achievement medals while deployed abroad. He has also received awards of recognition from the city councils of Detroit and Hamtramck and from the Mayor of Lansing as well as a number of other religious and community organizations.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *