Since Sept. 11, the FBI has released a list of over 200 suspects wanted in connection with the terrorist attacks. This list, which varies on a daily basis, is distributed to local law enforcement agencies around the country.
In an effort to narrow the number of suspects, police and sheriff’s departments have been asked to compare the list with local records to verify individual histories. At one point, officials thought a suspect may have resided in Madison.
However, the FBI list only states names and potential aliases, not birth dates or other identifying information. This lack of comprehensive information has caused the amount of matches between federal and local lists to be inflated. This amount of overlap may have caused the speculation surrounding what was thought to be a suspect living in Madison.
The FBI dissolved the theory of a suspect residing locally Wednesday.
Previously, the FBI said a name on the list matched a potential resident of Madison. However, after investigation, they determined the individual no longer resides in the city, if the person existed at all.
“There is no written record of the individual, so we can’t determine if that person was here or not,” FBI special agent Barry Babler said.
The FBI expressed frustration in tracking down potential suspects because many of the individuals listed have left the United States, fleeing to their native countries. The FBI continues to search for the 200 individuals, removing and adding names daily.
“Again, not searching for them because they are guilty, but they might have some information needed,” Babler said.
The FBI continues to deny rumors that any individuals directly involved in the terrorist acts reside in Madison or Milwaukee. The FBI reports no evidence at this time suggests suspects have previously lived in or are from Wisconsin.
“None of the people involved in the bombing itself are from Wisconsin,” Babler said.
As the tracking of suspects and individuals wanted for questioning persists, hurdles continue to pop up. Many names on the list are common in Arab and Islamic communities. Names such as Mohammed, Hamad, Almad and Abdul appear frequently, most often in combination with other common names.
According to Ahmed Quereshi, secretary of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, many local Islamic citizens have been questioned by authorities.
“A problem with the list is that whoever put it together knew little about Islamic names,” Madison resident Mohammad O. Rahman said.
Coincidentally, one of the names listed was Mohammad Rahman.
“First of all, Mohammed is the second-most popular name in Islamic countries,” Rahman said. “It is the name of the messenger God. Second, Rahman is one of the 99 names of God. This is a very common name.”
The fact that the list lacks specific information about the suspects disturbs many Islamic and Arab individuals because they fear their names may appear despite their noninvolvement.
“You can go to any Muslim country and find thousands of Mohammad Rahmans,” Rahman said.
In one check of an investigative database, a search of Mohammad Rahmans returned more than 80 matches. Other names appearing on the list are also very common, both in Western and Islamic worlds. The name Catherine K. Johnson and Allen White both appear on the list, both names too common to track by name alone. The problem of common names stretches beyond ethnic boundaries.
