NEW YORK (AP) — A secret police document shows that the New York Police Department recommended increasing surveillance of thousands of Muslims and their mosques based solely on their religion.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of a May 2006 NYPD intelligence report on Iran. It says police should expand clandestine operations at Shiite mosques. It then lists mosques around the Northeast.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said the NYPD never considers religion in its policing. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has said police only go where investigative leads take them. But the document lists no leads justifying spying at Shiite mosques.
The document will likely renew debate over how the NYPD views Muslims. Activists in the Muslim community recently sought Kelly’s resignation over a video shown to 1,500 officers saying that Muslims wanted to “infiltrate and dominate” the U.S.
