A group of Muslim Americans gathered outside NYPD headquarters this morning to support the Police Department’s surveillance of Muslims.
Led by Dr. Zuhdi Jasser of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, the ralliers spoke out in favor of the NYPD’s counterterrorism efforts.
“We stand behind transparency and police work,” said Jasser, who was the narrator of the controversial documentary “The Third Jihad,” which focused on radical Muslims. “In no way do we want to be spied on. But this is not about spying, this is about the monitoring of public programs.”
Reports that undercover cops are doing surveillance on Muslims in mosques, businesses and universities in both New York and New Jersey have drawn criticism from civil-rights groups, other Muslim leaders and even New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
But today’s group of more than 20 Muslims Americans — mainly authors, activists and representatives of Muslim organizations — said the NYPD was reacting appropriately to a threat.
“This is the city where the enemy hit, and this is the city where Muslims came together to say, ‘You will not attack the NYPD in support of Islam,’ ” said Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress.
Jasser said the statistics speak for themselves.
“If you look at arrests for terrorism, of the last 200 arrests, 80 percent have been from Muslims,” Jasser said. “So, it’s rather denial not to recognize that we have a responsibility to root out the radicalization.”