A US right-wing think tank has maintained a database of thousands of Muslim Americans and Muslim organisations for about two decades, according to a report by the HuffPost news site on Friday.
The Middle East Forum (MEF), a controversial organisation founded in 1994, compiled more than 4 million data points, including individuals' names, social media accounts and tax information, as well as details on mosques, schools, businesses and other organisations, the report said.
The database also includes people and groups considered allies of the Muslim community.
MEF disclosed the existence of the archive after HuffPost questioned the organisation about the database and indicated that it planned to publish a report. The group said it would allow scholars, journalists and other researchers to apply for access to the material.
Gregg Roman, MEF's executive director, said the organisation had planned to announce the initiative later this year, but welcomed the earlier disclosure.
MEF says its mission is to “defend” Western values. Civil rights organisations, however, accuse the group of contributing to Islamophobia and spreading misinformation about Muslims.
Anti-Muslim rhetoric
The database consists of information obtained from public records, but its scale has raised concerns among civil rights advocates.
Caleb Kieffer of the Southern Poverty Law Center described the archive as "very concerning," pointing to what he called growing anti-Muslim rhetoric in the US.
Mobashra Tazamal of Georgetown University's Bridge Initiative characterised the database as a potential "target list," warning that such information could be used to monitor or intimidate Muslim individuals and organisations.
The revelations come amid heightened concerns among Muslim Americans over Islamophobia, as well as the crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters and rhetoric from some Republican lawmakers.
MEF defended its practices, saying that “mapping ideological networks” is common among US civil society organisations and arguing that other groups maintain similar databases.
