Building trust

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Within hours of the Boston Marathon blasts, government officials and Boston Muslims called each other to offer assistance, calls that were the fruits of years of cultivating such relationships in an effort to ultimately prevent the very type of attack Boston experienced April 15.

But the calls after the explosions were not about the unfolding investigation. Representatives from the departments of Justice and Homeland Security offered support to Muslim communities in case they suffered backlash or threats, even days before law enforcement connected the suspected bombers to a violent interpretation of Islam.

This type of outreach has been a cornerstone of the Obama administration’s counterterrorism strategy. The goal is to prevent homegrown terrorist attacks by forming trusting relationships among law enforcement, government agencies and Muslim Americans.

“The best way to prevent violent extremism inspired by violent jihadists is to work with the Muslim American community — which has consistently rejected terrorism — to identify signs of radicalization and partner with law enforcement when an individual is drifting toward violence,” President Barack Obama said Thursday in his counterterrorism speech at National Defense University.

In Boston, the Muslim community handled the situation just as the Obama administration has asked them to. Yet the city suffered a terror attack from two of its own that killed three people and injured more than 260 others.

The Obama administration has asked communities to notify law enforcement if it suspects someone is becoming radicalized toward terrorist activity. And the administration has asked religious leaders to talk to members of their communities about views that may be outside the mainstream or raise red flags.

Through outreach and relationship building, the administration’s hope is that members of the nation’s Islamic communities should know to call the government when they suffer civil-rights violations such as hate crimes or bullying. And if they trust the government to protect their constitutional rights, they will trust the government enough to call when they see suspicious activity that could be an indication of terrorism.