Mapping Muslims: NYPD Spying and Its Impact on American Muslims

7/29/2019 Mapping Muslims: NYPD Spying and Its Impact on American Muslims

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About te Autors

The Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition (MACLC) is a Ne York-based coalition of citizens,

community and fait leaders, organizers, adocates, attorneys, and organizations. MACLC aims to gie

oice to absent perspecties on issues of national security, counterterrorism, la enforcement, andciil rigts, especially as tey impact Muslim communities in post-9/11 Ne York City. MACLC first

formed in response to te publication of te Ne York City Police Department s policy report entitled

Radicalization In The West: The Homegrown Threat.Te group aimed to engage te NYPD in a

constructie dialogue to callenge te reports false assumptions and armful conclusions. MACLC

met on tree occasions it Commissioner Raymond Kelly and te autors of te NYPD Report,

Mitc Silber and Arin Batt, to register concerns and delineate flas itin te NYPD Report. In

response to MACLCs efforts, te Department only issued a clarification but did not disao te

reports findings. Te 2012 reporting on te NYPD sureillance program as essentially confirmed

at MACLC ad arned about in 2007 and 2008, and as led MACLC to join community leaders,

elected officials, and oter ciil rigts groups in calls for oersigt, accountability and transparency.

MACLC as also continued to seek to constructiely engage it te NYPD. To tat end, te Coalitionas issued an initation to Commissioner Kelly to a ton-all meeting to allo im to ear Muslim

communities concerns it suspicionless sureillance. To date, tat initation as been ignored.

The Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) project is oused at Main

Street Legal Serices, Inc., te clinical arm of te CUNY Scool of La. CLEAR primarily aims to address

te legal needs of Muslim, Arab, Sout Asian, and oter communities in te Ne York City area

tat are particularly affected by national security and counterterrorism policies and practices. Our

ork is defined by our relationsips it communities and grassroots organizations ose members

is to sape and respond to national security and counterterrorism policies and practices affecting

tem. CLEARs community-oriented approac combines free legal representation it oter serices

directed at satisfying te fuller range of community concerns.

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) , founded in 1974, is a national

organization tat protects and promotes te ciil rigts of Asian Americans. By combining litigation,

adocacy, education, and organizing, AALDEF orks it Asian American communities across te

country to secure uman rigts for all. AALDEF focuses on critical issues affecting Asian Americans,

including immigrant rigts, ciic participation and oting rigts, economic justice for orkers, language

access to serices, affirmatie action, educational equity, ousing and enironmental justice, and te

elimination of anti-Asian iolence, police misconduct, and uman trafficking.

Inquiries sould be addressed to:

Te Creating La Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) ProjectCUNY Scool of La

2 Court Square, Long Island City, NY 11101-4356

t: 718.340.4533 |f:.718.340.4478

[email protected]

CLEAR Project, AALDEF, and MACLC


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MACLC, CLEAR and AALDEF are grateful to te folloing indiiduals

for teir contributions to te preparation of tis report:

AUThORS AND RESEARChERS

Diala Samas, Nermeen Arastu

EDITORIAL

Ramzi Kassem, Ken Kimerling, Amna Akbar

ADDITIONAL RESEARChERS

Gabriela Lopez, Micael Figura, Julia hernandez, hirra Amin

REvIEw COMMITTEE

Fad Amed, Faiza Patel, Asim Reman, Linda Sarsour.

DESIGN

Joe Namy

Acknoledgments

Tis report ould not ae been possible itout te many indiiduals o ere illing to tell

us teir stories. Teir desire to break te silence surrounding sureillance in teir community

in Ne York City, and to coney teir communitys experiences, ae guided our researc and

riting at eery stage.

Te autors are also grateful to all te community groups, imams, Muslim Students

Associations, and oter organizers o trusted us and facilitated our researc. In addition, e

ould like to tank Paige Austin, Tarek Ismail, Umair Kan, Margaret Fung, and Josep Pace for

teir tougtful comments on earlier drafts.

Finally, e ould like to tank City Uniersity of Ne York (CUNY) Scool of La, te Liman

Program at Yale La Scool, and te Proteus Fund for teir generous support.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART ONE: Background: Mapping & Monitoring American Muslims. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

PART TwO: Findings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Section One: Suppressing Religion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Section To: Stifling Speec & Association. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Section Tree: Soing Suspicion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Section Four: Seering Trust in La Enforcement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Section Fie: In Focus - Campus Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

PART ThREE: Responses to Te NYPD Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

PART FOUR: Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50


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Executie Summary

Since 2001, te Ne York City Police Department (NYPD) as establised a secret sureillance program

tat as mapped, monitored and analyzed American Muslim daily life trougout Ne York City, and

een its surrounding states. In 2011, te uneiling of tis program by te Associated Press (AP) and

oter journalists1 o ad obtained leaked internal NYPD documents led to an outcry from public

officials, ciil rigts actiists, American Muslim religious leaders, and members of te public. Protesters

and adocates eld tat suc racial and religious profiling as not only an example of ineffectie

policing and asteful spending of taxpayer dollars, but it also marginalized and criminalized a broad

segment of American Muslims. Almost a year later, in August 2012, te Cief of te NYPD Intelligence

Diision, Lt. Paul Galati admitted during sorn testimony tat in te six years of is tenure, te unit

tasked it monitoring American Muslim life ad not yielded a single criminal lead.2

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exist beteen te police department and te communities it is carged it protecting.

Section Oneof te findings igligts te impact of NYPD sureillance on religious life and expression.

Interieees felt tat te NYPDs spotligt on American Muslims practice of teir fait, teir degreeof religiosity and teir places of orsip disrupted and suppressed teir ability to practice freely. Many

also indicated tat itin eterogeneous Muslim communities, tis as resulted in te suppression

of certainpractices of Islam more tan oters. Interies also igligted te atmospere of tension,

mistrust and suspicion tat permeates Muslim religious places ic te NYPD as infiltrated it

informants and undercoer agents, deeming tem ot spots. Tese la enforcement policies ae

deeply affected te ay Muslim fait is experienced and practiced in Ne York City.

S Tw documents o NYPD sureillance as cilled American Muslims freedom of speec.

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NYPD . T M issues, and quelled demands for la enforcement accountability. Parents discourage teir cildren from

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engage.

1 Long-time police reporter and columnist Leonard Leitt also obtained many of te same documents, and publised some

of tem in columns aailable on is ebsite, .nypdconfidential.com.2 handscu . Special Sers. Di., No. 71CIv.2203, Galati Dep. 128-129 (June 28, 2012), aailable at ttp://.nyclu.org/

files/releases/handscu_Galati_6.28.12.pdf.


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Section Three turns to te communal and social consequences of sureillance. As American Muslims

learn tat members of teir on communities are recruited as informants or undercoer officers

to spy on teir communities, an atmospere of mistrust as settled in. Interieees unanimously

obsered tat eeryone scrutinizes eeryone, noting particular esitation it regards to ne faces

in te community, or conerts to Islam. Many interieees admitted to sunning indiiduals o

beaed differently, akardly, or een tose o soed interest in political topics or in exploring

Islam. Similarly, some described an aersion to tose o appeared oertly religious orpolitical,

because tey ere assumed to be more likely targets of sureillance. Finally, in addition to suspicion

itin te American Muslim community, te section outlines consequences of NYPD scrutiny

on American Muslim communities relationsips it non-Muslims. American Muslims fear tat

non-Muslim Americans ill ie tem it suspicion because la enforcement as branded tem

a population of concern ork or scool relationsips ae suffered as a result, and Muslims

political marginalization as been compounded.

Section Fourexplores te distinct arm te NYPD sureillance program as ad on te departments

relationsip it American Muslims. An inability to trust teir local police is deeply armful to American

Muslims, many of om ae orked ard since September 11 to deelop positie relationsips

and constructie dialogue it teir local precincts as ell as te NYPD brass. Interieees noted

deep appreension of te NYPDs intentions and practices toards tem. Tis as trickled into te

day-to-day interactions it beat-police officers, eter it is esitation about filing stolen pone

complaints, asking an officer for directions, or reporting ate crimes. Muslim institutions ae similarly

felt compelled to distance temseles from te NYPD. Interieees noted tat because te NYPD as

blurred distinctions beteen its community affairs diisions, its precinct-leel la enforcement, and

intelligence gatering, American Muslim leaders duties toards teir communities require a more

cautious approac it te NYPD.

Section Five turns to te impact of NYPD sureillance on speec, religiosity and community dynamics

on college campuses. College students are afraid to discuss politics, ciil rigts issues, or international

affairs itin teir student organizations and in teir classrooms. Professors ae described tis

cilling of student life as deastating to te student experience. By cilling students propensity

to engage in actiism during teir formatie college years, sureillance is deterring a generation

of American Muslims from deeloping teir leadersip skills and mobilizing for social causes. Te

potential long-term effects of tis penomenon on tose students communities as yet to be fully

grasped.

Tis report concludes it some key recommendations, many of ic eco tose already articulated

by many American Muslim and ciil rigts adocates: Te need for meaningful oersigt, transparency,and accountability en it comes to te NYPD as neer been greater.


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Metodology

In response to groing concerns about te ability of American Muslims to enjoy teir constitutional

freedoms, te Muslim American Ciil Liberties Coalition (MACLC) tasked to of its partner

organizations, te Creating La Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) project and te

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), to explore and document te effects of

te NYPDs sureillance practices on te ability of American Muslims to speak itout restriction,

practice religion, associate freely and simply go about daily life.

To identify and document tese impacts reliably, CLEAR and AALDEF interieed 57 American

Muslims in Ne York City.3 In identifying interieees as ell as erifying our findings, e dre

on our respectie organizations, as ell as MACLCs member organizations knoledge and

experience orking itin affected communities. we spoke it Muslim religious figures, yout,

business oners, mosque-goers, professionals, and la enforcement officers, including former NYPD

Intelligence Diision employees. Many of our interieees mosques, businesses, student groups, and

neigboroods ad been directly mentioned in leaked NYPD Intelligence Diision documents. we told

all interieees tat our researc aims to document te impacts of te NYPD sureillance program

on tem and teir community. All ere gien te option of being interieed anonymously. Te

oerelming majority of our interieees agreed to being interieed on condition of anonymity,

some on te furter condition tat e not disclose een generic information about tem, including

teir class year, college, or country of origin. Tis request as as common for young students it

foreign-born parents as it as for ell-establised and affluent young professionals, and een ciil

rigts attorneys. To onor tese concerns, e used aliases for tose interieees o requested to

remain anonymous, and ae marked names it an asterisk eneer aliases ere used. In addition,

e ae scrubbed details tat migt identify a particular mosque or Muslim students association, to

respect te priacy of oter members om e ae not necessarily interieed but ose interests

are implicated in te representation of teir community or sentiments.

we ae grouped accounts according to te major areas of impact religious life, speec, community

life, relationsips it la enforcement, and education to display o NYPD sureillance

as permeated eery layer of American Muslim life. Te folloing pages present a unique and

unprecedented collection of te stories of tose directly impacted, in teir on ords.

3 To interieees ere from outside Ne York City, members of mosques tat te NYPD ad sureilled in Long Island and

in Ne Jersey.


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PART ONE. Background: Mapping & Monitoring American Muslims

In te years after 9/11, te NYPD Intell igence Diision took

adantage of te climate of public tolerance for aggressie

police practices4 and began systematically spying on American

Musl im concentrations trougout Ne York City and its

surrounding metropol i tan area. A secret unit it in te

Intelligence Diision mapped and spied on te residential, social,

and business landscape of American Muslims. Te unit, calle d te

Demograpics Unit ic as since been renamed te Zone

Assessments Unit focused explicitly on tenty-eigt listed

ancestries of interest, including almost eery Muslim-majority

country in te orld, along it American Black Muslims.5

In August of 2011, te Associated Press reealed te NYPDs

surei l lance program in a series of Pul itzer Prize-inning

inestigatie reports. Toug te post-September 11 expansion

of t e N Y PDs i n te l l i ge n ce gat e r i n g as e l l kn on ,6

te leaked documents first described te nuts and bolts of te programs and te dept of te

NYPDs reac into American Muslim daily life. Te reporting also igligted te NYPDs unique

ties it te Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as te modern Intelligence Diision as built by a

former CIA official, as furter deeloped by anoter CIA official orking at te NYPD ile on

leae from te Agency, and until 2012 een employed a ig-leel clandestine CIA operatie.7

Sadly, race and dissent-based sureillance as a long lineage in te NYPD. Police sureillance

of d iss ident and minori ty groups can be traced as far back as 1904, en te NYPD

created an Italian Squad to monitor te practices and actiities of Italian immigrants.8

In 1906 te NYPD ad an anarcist squad ic focused on arassing anarcists and labor actiists.9

Te NYPDs sureillance of political actiists of arious kinds communists, anarcists, labor

actiists, and ciil rigts actiists continued troug te 1930s and te 1960s, under arious

names: te Bomb Squad, te Ne York Radical Bureau, and te Bureau of Special Serices

(BOSS).10

4 Adam Goldman & Matt Apuzzo, With CIA Help, NYPD Moves Covertly in Muslim Areas, Associated Press (Aug. 23, 2011),

available atttp://.ap.org/Content/AP-in-te-Nes/2011/wit-CIA-elp-NYPD-moes-coertly-in-Muslim-areas.

[ereinafter AP Aug. 23, 2011 Article].5 N.Y. Police Dept., The Demographics Unit (2006), available atttp://id.ap.org/documents/nypd-demo.pdf; See also

handscu . Special Sers. Di., No. 71CIv.2203, Galati Dep. 25-27 (June 28, 2012), available atttp://.nyclu.org/

files/releases/handscu_Galati_6.28.12.pdf.6 See, for example, Christopher Dickey, Securing The City (Simon & Scuster 2009). In addition to publicly aailable

information, CLEAR and AALDEF clients, and communities tat MACLC orks it ae long knon about te NYPD

Intelligence Diisions policies troug teir on experiences.7 AP Aug. 23, 2011 Article; Adam Goldman & Matt Apuzzo, CIA to Pull Officer from NYPD After Internal Probe, Associated

Press (Jan. 26, 2012), available atttp://.ap.org/Content/AP-In-Te-Nes/2012/CIA-to-pull-officer-from-NYPD-

after-internal-probe.8 N.Y. Civil Liberties Union, Police Surveillance of Political Activity - The History and Current State of the Handschu

Decree (2003) available atttp://.nyclu.org/content/testimony-police-sureillance-of-political-actiity-istory-and-

current-state-of-andscu-de.

9 Id. (citing Frank Donner, Protectors of Privilege, Red Squads and Police Repression in Urban America (1990)).10Id.

I never made a lead

from the rhetoric

that came from a

Demographics report,

and Im here since

2006.

Tomas Galati,

Commanding Officer of

te Intelligence Diision,

June 2012.


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BOSS notoriously focused its inestigations on dissident groups and indiiduals, including te NAACP,

te American Ciil Liberties Union, te Fift Aenue Peace Parade Committee, and te Loer East

Side Mobilization for Peace Action, compiling detailed profiles of organizations and indiiduals.

BOSS informers and undercoer agents ere required to submit detailed reports including specific

information on future plans, unlaful actiities, trouble makers, leaflets, eapons, speakers, and

statements.11

NYPD sureillance of political groups is ongoing.12 But after September 11, 2001, te NYPD fixed

its attention on American Muslims. wile te metods are reminiscent of prior incarnations of

NYPD spying, ere te police uniquely focused on religion and religious practice. For example, te

NYPD took special interest in signs of Muslim religiosity and actiely implemented a sureillance

program guided by a deeply flaed teory of Muslim radicalization. As a result, NYPD agents

documented o many times a day Muslim students prayed during a uniersity iteater rafting

trip,13 ic Egyptian businesses sut teir doors for daily prayers,14 ic restaurants played

Al-Jazeera, and ic Neark businesses sold alal products and alcool.15 Not only did te NYPD

11Id.12N.Y. Police Dept, Deputy Commisioners Briefing (APR. 25, 2008), available atttp://osted.ap.org/specials/interacties/

documents/nypd/dci-briefing-04252008.pdf.13N.Y. Police Dept, weekly MSA Report (2006), available atttp://osted.ap.org/specials/interacties/documents/

nypd-msa-report.pdf.14N.Y. Police Dept, Egyptian Locations of Interest Report (July 7, 2006), available atttp://osted.ap.org/specials/

interacties/documents/nypd/nypd-egypt.pdf.15N.Y. Police Dept, Newark, New Jersey Demographics Report (Sept. 25, 2007), available atttp://osted.ap.org/specials/

interacties/documents/nypd/nypd_neark.pdf.

A istory of NYPD mapping: In 1919, te NYPD and State Police created etnic maps of Ne York City, identifying neigboroods in

ic certain immigrants groups and teir offspring predominated, it te aim to inestigate socialists, communists or anarcists.

CourtestyofNewY

orkStateArchives


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Secret Surveillance: Is it effective policing?

Te NYPD as frequently justified te broad based sureillance of American Muslim

communities by claiming its effectieness in tarting terrorist plots. In te ake of

te Associated Press reports, an NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Paul Brone, credited

te NYPD Intelligence Diision it tarting terrorist plots. Ne York City officials

ae asserted tat sureillance as tarted 14 terrorist plots.A

On closer scrutiny, oeer, suc claims of te programs effectieness seem to lack any

factual basis. Inestigatie reporters ae debunked te notion tat any plots tat te

NYPD elped tart ere a result of its spying actiities. In reality, of te fourteenplots listed on te NYPD ebsite only tree ere actual potential terrorist plots, and not

one as preented by te NYPD. Furter, te oter cases eiter inoled goernment

informants o played a dominant and enabling role in te plot, ere so lacking in

credibility tat federal officials declined to bring carges, or ere instances ere plots

ere abandoned.B

Nor as te NYPD son tat its secret sureillance program as any role to play in

yielding leads to potential criminal actiity. In fact, te Intelligence Diisions documents

temseles so an empasis on separating intelligence gatering from criminal

inestigation. Our interies it ex-NYPD intelligence or counterterrorism officials

confirmed tat te Demograpics Units efforts to spy, map, and document AmericanMuslim life ere unrelated to actie inestigations. Correspondingly, Assistant Cief of

te Intelligence Unit, Tomas Galati, testified tat te Demograpics Unit neer led to

a single lead or inestigation.C Undercoer spying and te mapping of communities did

not play any tangible role in tarting terrorist attacks. Rater, as our findings igligt,

sureillance as stifled constitutionally protected actiity and destroyed trust beteen

American Muslim communities and te agencies carged it protecting tem.

A Press Release, N.Y. Police Dept., Ne York Times is wrong: NYPD Lafully Tarts Terror & Suppresses

violence (Marc 18, 2012), available atttp://.nyc.go/tml/nypd/tml/pr/pr_2012_03_18_ny_

times_is_rong.stml.

B J E, Fact Check: How the NYPD Overstated Its Counterterrorism Record, ProPublica.org(July 10, 2012).

C handscu . Special Sers. Di., No. 71CIv.2203, Galati Dep. 128-129 (June 28, 2012), available atttp://

.nyclu.org/files/releases/handscu_Galati_6.28.12.pdf. In fact, te Demograpic Units on

documents indicate tat intelligence gatering is deliberately kept separate from inestigations.


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single out American Muslims for sureillance, but officers found eery facet of American Muslim

religiosity and outard practice of Islam eter Sunni or Sia orty of exceptional scrutiny.

Furter, ere te NYPD as spying in Arab neigboroods it sizeable populations of Syrian

Jes and Egyptian Cristians, te intelligence unit explicitly focused on te Muslim populations.16

Tus, NYPD sketced a detailed picture of te American Muslim community trougout Ne York

Citys fie borougs and beyond, in Ne Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylania. Tey sent undercoer

officers, om tey called rakers, into identified neigboroods to isolate at te NYPD called

ot-spots: restaurants, cafes, alal meat sops and ooka bars. Capitalizing on teir ability to

recruit a dierse force it dierse language capabilities, te NYPD as able to send officers it

arious etnic and linguistic backgrounds into communities, matcing tem accordingly.17 Undercoer

Pakistani officers ere sent into Pakistani communities and Arabic-speaking officers ere dispatced

into te Egyptian community to listen to neigborood gossip and get an oerall feel for te

community.18 Tey ere instructed to isit scools and interact it business oners and patrons

to gauge sentiment.19 Tey identified locations ere community members socialize (coffee sops,

ooka bars) and participated in community cricket matces and student trips.20 Blending into

eery facet of teir assigned neigboroods, rakers discreetly set-up listening posts and obsered

16N.Y. Police Dept, SyrianLocations of ConcernReport (date unknon) available atttp://osted.ap.org/specials/interacties/documents/nypd/nypd-syria.pdf.

17 handscu . Special Sers. Di., No. 71CIv.2203, Galati Dep. 112 (June 28, 2012), available atttp://.nyclu.org/files/

releases/handscu_Galati_6.28.12.pdf; see alsoN.Y. Police Dept, The Demographics Unit (2006), available atttp://id.

ap.org/documents/nypd-demo.pdf.18N.Y. Police Dept, SyrianLocations of ConcernReport (date unknon) available atttp://osted.ap.org/specials/

interacties/documents/nypd/nypd-syria.pdf.19 handscu . Special Sers. Di., No. 71CIv.2203, Galati Dep. 68-69 (June 28, 2012), available atttp://.nyclu.org/

files/releases/handscu_Galati_6.28.12.pdf.20 handscu . Special Sers. Di., No. 71CIv.2203, Galati Dep. 104-105 (June 28, 2012), available atttp://.nyclu.org/

files/releases/handscu_Galati_6.28.12.pdf, see also, Matt Apuzzo & Adam Goldman, Inside the spy unit that NYPD says

doesnt exist,Associated Press (Aug. 31, 2011).

Courtesty of The Associated Press


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eeryting from idle catter after community prayers to te

type of pizza an Arab-oned pizzeria sered.21 At te end of

te day, te NYPD officers ere instructed to record eery

detail of at tey eard, indiiduals tey spoke it, and

community appenings in a daily actiity report. Te NYPD

also employed cralers, o ere informants tasked it

infiltrating mosques and religious eents, recording at te

imam or congregants say, or potograping lists of attendees.

Finally, NYPD andlers instructed informants to engage it

Muslim community members and employ a tactic dubbed create and capture, ere te informant

ould try to start a conersation about terrorism or anoter controersial topic, record te response

elicited, and sare it it te NYPD.

Inestigatie reporters gae te public documentation proing te existence and seep of a secret

intelligence program tat communities ad long suspected tey ere dealing it in teir on

experiences. Still, indiiduals, organizations, mosques and businesses trougout Ne York ere

socked to see teir names in classified NYPD documents. Te geograpical scope as expansie:

te NYPD monitored Muslim Students Associations from Piladelpia to Ne haen; rakers ad

isited, obsered and documented American Muslim businesses from Neark to Queens; and mosque

cralers ad spied and reported on sermons and post-Friday prayer conersations in more tan 250

mosques.22 Te NYPD as monitoring een its closest partners in anti-terrorism ork, including

imams o frequently appeared at te Mayors side.23

Te leaked documents also confirmed one of te communities orst fears: an extensie collaboration

beteen te precinct-leel police doing beat ork and te Intelligence Diision, as te Intelligence

Diision mined precincts local knoledge of te communities tey are meant to sere and to protect.24

For example, te Cityide Debriefing Team, a unit itin te Intelligence Diision, as tasked it going

to precincts or jails to question or debrief, in NYPD terms arrestees of Muslim or Arab background.25

As CLEAR and AALDEF clients experiences confirmed, upon being taken to te precinct for a traffic

iolation, or een for filing an identity teft complaint indiiduals ae been met by officers or

detecties from anoter unit and questioned about teir community, and teir religious or political

beliefs.

Emphasis is on

intelligence collection,

not criminal

investigation.

NYPD Intelligence Diision.

21 handscu . Special Sers. Di., No. 71CIv.2203, Galati Dep. 101 (June 28, 2012), available atttp://.nyclu.org/files/

releases/handscu_Galati_6.28.12.pdf.22 Adam Goldman & Matt Apuzzo, Documents Show NY Police Watched Devout Muslims, Associated Press (Sept. 6, 2011),

available atttp://.ap.org/Content/AP-In-Te-Nes/2011/Documents-so-NY-police-atced-deout-Muslims.23 Eileen Sullian, NYPD Spied on Citys Muslim Anti-Terror Partners , Associated Press (Oct. 6, 2011) available atttp://.

ap.org/Content/AP-In-Te-Nes/2011/NYPD-spied-on-citys-Muslim-anti-terror-partners.24N.Y. Police Dept, Intelligence Strategy Report, at 3 (May 15, 2006) (noting tat intelligence units sould utilize precinct

personnel to gain a better understanding of te Sia communities itin teir command).25 Adam Goldman & Matt Apuzzo, NYPD Eyed US Citizens In Intel Efforts , Associated Press (Sept. 22, 2011), available at

ttp://.ap.org/Content/AP-In-Te-Nes/2011/NYPD-eyed-US-citizens-in-intel-effort; Leonard Leitt, The Spoils

of Spying, NYPD Confidential (Jan. 8, 2012), available atttp://nypdconfidential.com/columns/2012/120109.tml.

In addition, seeral CLEAR clients ae noted tat a traffic stop, or an arrest, often results in questioning about teir

religious beliefs, teir acquaintances, and een recruitment as informants. Samiur Raman, te informant o publicly

acknoledged tat e ad been orking for te NYPD Intelligence Diision as also initially recruited after being arrested

on marijuana possession carges. see Matt Apuzzo & Eileen Sullian, Informant: The NYPD paid me to bait Muslims ,

Associated Press (Oct. 23, 2012), available atttp://bigstory.ap.org/article/informant-nypd-paid-me-bait-muslims.


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PART TwO: FINDINGS

SECTION ONE: SUPPRESSING RELIGION

Its as if the law says: the more Muslim you are, the more trouble you can be, so decrease

your Islam.

Sari*, 19, Brooklyn College.

T NYPD ,

, NYPD

. T N Y M

. T ,

, ,

of is or er fait, and een at type of Islam American Muslims feel comfortable practicing.

Tis section traces te different ays in ic Muslim religious life is affected by Muslims aareness

of sureillance and of te suspicion tat te NYPD directs toards Muslims and Islam. In teaggregate, it becomes clear tat la enforcement policies ae deeply affected te ay Muslim fait

is experienced and practiced in Ne York City. Tis raises grae concerns about te erosion of te

rigt to practice ones religion freely and itout meddling by te State.

1. Th Mq: Fm Sy H S

The whole area around [my mosque] is now tainted by the idea that it is a hot spot.

- Taanie Abousi, layer.

They [the NYPD] dont have that sense of sanctity coming into our places of worship.

- Ali Naqui, community organizer.

Places of orsip are te prime focus of te

NYPD Intelligence Diisions attention. Te

Demograpics Unit mapped, potograped

or infiltrated at least 250 mosques in te Ne

York City and its surrounding areas. Te NYPD

deemed tese places of orsip ot spots,

it any actiity in or around te mosques

meriting sureillance.

A ,

duty for many Muslims as become tantamount to placing oneself on la enforcements radar. Te NYPD

American Muslim community tat eery mosque in Ne York City is subject to someform of sureillance.

Eeryone in te community knos tat our mosque is being sureilled.... A fe years back tey

used to just park tis undercoer car outside te mosque. Tey ould just atc people alk in

and out. - Amira*, 22, Sunday scool teacer.

Tere are alays parked, unmarked cars outside of mosques. - Imam Kalil*, 31, Queens.

[Government may not] influence

a person to ... remain away from

church against his will

United States Supreme Court, Everson

v. Board of Education of the Township

of Ewing.


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Religion as Radicalizing

In a 2006 policy report entitled Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat, te

NYPD presented its teory of o indiiduals become radicalized. Te report described

many of te spaces ere Muslims congregate in teir daily life as radicalization

incubators and enues tat proide extremist fodder. Tese included mosques, cafes,

cab drier angouts, and student associations.

Te report also igligted typical signatures tat indiiduals on a purported trajectory

toards iolence adopt: earing traditional Islamic cloting, groing a beard, becoming

inoled in social actiism and community issues, een giing up drinking, cigarettesand gambling. Tus, in addition to social spaces, signs of community mobilization and

religious practice ere all explicitly designated as potential signs of radicalization and

meriting close police sureillance.

Te NYPDs Radicalization in the Westreport cast a sado of suspicion on a large sat

of Muslim life. Te Muslim American Ciil Liberties (MACLC) first conened to respond to

tis report, noting its troublesome implications for racial and religious profiling.A After

seeral meetings it arious NYPD officials, te NYPD appended a clarification to te

publised document, noting tat te report is not intended to be policy prescriptie.B

Years later, it te publication of te leaked documents, it as become eident tat te

NYPDs flaed radicalization teory as in fact a blueprint for a policy of profiling and

suspicionless sureillance.

ASee MACLC, Community Statement to NYPD Radicalization Report (No. 23, 2007), available atttp://

maclc1.files.ordpress.com/2008/09/communitystatementonnypdreport.pdf.

B Mitcell D. Silber & Arin Batt, NYPD Intelligence Di., Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat

(2007).


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Religious leaders noted tat congregants are acutely aare of te sureillance of teir mosques, and

may be cilled from attending serices.

Not eeryone as te same leel ofimaan [fait]. Teyll get discouraged. People tell me Ill

make my salaah [prayer] at ome. Tey mention te [NYPD] camera rigt outside te mosque

as te reason. - Imam Mustapa*, Brooklyn.

One former officer in te NYPDs Intelligence Diision said e took it upon imself to explain to is

unit te basic tenets of Islam, including te empasis on prayer in groups and congregation on Fridays,

because e realized tat te intelligence unit as ieing it undue suspicion large groups of men

congregating outside a mosque after Friday prayers. he continued:

[An NYPD unit] ould park outside eery mosque listening to ats going on. One time tey

came to my mosque. I told tem youre not going to find anyting tere; teyre all doctors,

engineers. I dont kno exactly at tey ere looking for.. Some people stopped going tote mosque as a result, and complained to me. Its obious it as tere. - Yousuf*, former

Intelligence Diision officer.

For many, te risk of subjecting oneself to being featured in a police file is reason enoug to cease

attending te mosque or praying it oter Muslims:

Te eek of te nes [referring to Associated Press inestigations], te students ouldnt

come to te prayer room. Tey felt tey couldnt meet in teir on space. Te idea of being

sureilled for a 19 or 20 year old is a terrifying ting. - Amin*, caplain for a Ne York

City-area college Muslim student group.

Tis itdraal is particularly deastating to te more ulnerable members of te community,particularly tose o ae temseles been subject to more direct forms of NYPD pressure or

arassment. Asan Samad, a 26-year-old resident of Brooklyn o as isited by to NYPD Intelligence

Diision detecties and questioned at lengt about is online actiities, commented:

I used to go to te masjid [mosque] quite a lot.

Tat stopped as soon as tey [te NYPD] knocked

on te door. -Asan Samad, 26, Brooklyn resident.

Similarly, anoter young man o befriended a fello

mosque goer only to find out tat is friend as an NYPD

undercoer responded by seering is relationsip it

te mosque altogeter for a year. he as since returned

to te mosque, but refuses to inole imself in te

mosques actiities, or to befriend anyone. he just goes

to pray, and ten promptly leaes, belieing tat anyting

more migt put im at risk.26

Imams e spoke it felt tat teir on ability to fulfill

teir role as spiritual adisors and guidance ere indered

No person can be

punished for entertaining

or professing religious

beliefs or disbeliefs, for

church attendance ornon-attendance.

United States Supreme Court,

Everson v. Board of Education

of the Township of Ewing.

26 Interie it Adam*, 23.


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15

by sureillance. Some noted tat tey ere unable to guarantee confidential consultations in teir

sureilled spaces. Oters noted tat tey aoided proiding one-on-one consultations because tey

could neer be sure tat a question posed by a congregant is a sincere one, or eter it is an attempt

by an informant to elicit opinions tat e or se ill ten pass on to teir andlers.

Te relationsip of trust and confidentiality beteen an imam and is congregation is no less

sacred tan tat of pastors, rabbis or oters, and tose om tey sere. Te actions of te

NYPD ae compromised tis sacred relationsip. In tis day and time en people look to teir

spiritual leaders for sincere, fait-based guidance in arious matters, iolation or compromise

of te sacred contract of confidential consultation is particularly repreensible and damaging. It

not only eakens te capacity of some Muslim religious leaders to sere as adisors in sensitie

matters, but it also compromises teir effectieness as partners in te struggle against extremism.

After all, o can a leader gie guidance in matters tat e or se is esitant to discuss in any

ay, for fear of coert monitoring or entrapment? - Imam Al-hajj Talib Abdur-Rasid, Majlis

As-Sura (Islamic Leadersip Council) of Metropolitan Ne York.

One imam at a large mosque described a qualitatie and quantitatie cange in te mosque

experience, caused by suspicion and fear of sureillance. he noted a definitie decline in demand for

actiities and oerall inolement of members. No te mosque te largest one in its community

does not operate at its full potential: People come, pray and leae. Te congregants no longer plan

extracurricular eents, Sunday scool trips, or oter actiities tat transform a mosque into a true

community center. Tis cange in actiity is especially troubling gien tat te imam described suc

actiities as among te core functions of te religious institution.27

2. Looking and Acting Muslim

I cant grow my beard, Ill get in trouble. I cant dress like this, I cant talk like that... Its stressful.

- Kaled Refat, 24, Ne Jersey resident.

Almost all our interieees noted tat appearing Muslim, or appearing to be a certain type of Muslim,

. O M

include te coice to ear te ijab (eadscarf), te niqab (full coering), gro a beard, or dress in certain

I . T NYPD

,

personal, religious coices or cultural identities but rater sere as indicators of dangerousness.

Teres alays been a sense of stereotyping about dress. But no te eil ting as becomemore tan just about being different. It as become carged it suspicion. A ijab or a beard

isnt just about being different and not fitting in. But no, its not just tat, it s also tat people

ill see me as prone to iolence. -Assia*, interfait community organizer.

Younger interieees described o parents ae oiced concern about teir coices of dress, and o

Muslim tey look. One Brooklyn College student said tat is parents did not ant im to go to Muslim

S A (MSA) M . A Q C

niqab, or face eil, noted tat er moter asked er to stop earing all black because se orried er dress

27 Interie it Seik Rafiq*, Imam, Bronx.


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NYPDs Radicalization Theory: Mislabeling Salafis

In its policy paper Radicalization in the West, te NYPD explicitly identified certain routine American

Muslim beaiors as suspicious and broadly caracterized tese beaiors as Salafi. Te NYPD

ten claimed tat anyone o participates in tese Salafibeaiors may be exibiting indicators of

radicalization. Te contention is deeply problematic because it broadly associates Salafism it

radicalization and because it miscaracterizes a set of routine beaiors as necessarily Salafi.

Salafism deried from te Arabic ord Salafa, ic means at precedes refers to a particular

metodology of Islamic interpretation and practice. wic particular beliefs and practices fall under

tis rubric remains te subject of muc dispute bot itin and outside of Muslim communities.

Despite complex teological debates, te NYPD Radicalization report broadly declares Salafism as a

marker of radicalization ile proiding no factual grounding for suc an association. Rater, it lists

typical signatures of indiiduals o adopt Salafism to include:

Becoming alienated from ones former life; affiliating it like-minded indiiduals

Joining or forming a group of like-minded indiiduals in a quest to strengten ones dedication

to Salafi Islam

Giing up cigarettes, drinking, gambling and urban ip-op gangster clotes wearing traditional Islamic cloting, groing a beard

Becoming inoled in social actiism and community issues

One Islamic scolar it om e spoke, o self-identifies as Salafiand o as, as a result, been

targeted by te NYPD for sureillance, explained:

Salafism refers to a particular metodology of understanding Islam, and as noting to do

it degrees of religiosity. A salafi, simply put, is one o beliees tat te appropriate form

of interpreting Islamic texts looks at te original and earliest ritings. As a result, tecnically,

it is possible to be salafi, and not ae a beard, or not een be pious. Salafism also does

not correlate it any one political moement, and certainly not any ideology of iolence.

- Moammad Elsinay, lecturer and teacer, Brooklyn.

By associating a ide range of normal American Muslim beaiors it Salafism and in turn associating

Salafism it radicalization, te NYPD stigmatizes many routine American Muslim practices. Tose

o identify it SalafiIslam are also placed under blanket suspicion itout any basis.

Te NYPDs assumptions about and attention to Salafism are not lost on American Muslims, as one

interieee stated:

wen I as on te MSA board, e ere to niqabis [omen o ear te face-eil] and to

broters it big beards. Ie eard from some people tat tey tougt e ere Salafi- but

tats just because e looked te part. Tecnically, e erent. But tats o e ere labeled

and I tink tats o te NYPD as labeled us, too. - Asma*, 19, CUNY student.

Tis meant tat scolars affiliated it Salafiideology een if rongly so are also stigmatized and

silenced. Many students e interieed noted a policy at teir MSAs of etting speakers for tose o

may be perceied as Salafi, altoug tey could only enture guesses as to at exactly tat migt be:

we try to position ourseles by tinking eter te NYPD is going to tink te speaker is

Salafi, or eter te person as training from Saudi, tat migt gie us unanted attention

from te NYPD. - Jamal*, 23, CUNY student.


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. I ,

because e doesnt necessarily look Muslim. An imam at a Brooklyn mosque recounted parents

:

,

orried about is son o ad recently become more religious, started groing a beard, and prayed at a

certain mosque. Te parent felt tese coices meant is son ould fit te bill for sureillance.

La enforcement scrutiny of outard manifestations of Muslim caracteristics led some

interieees or teir friends to cange teir appearance and practice of religion.

Ie seen tis emerging again: te number of young omen o are not earing ijab, young

men saing teir beard, people canging te ir names. Tese decisions are made in part based

on psycological trauma tat tese people are experiencing. -Debbie Almontaser, educator

and community organizer.

For some people, tis [scrutiny of Muslim caracteristics] as made tem ater don Islam,

ic is really sad. - Asma*, 19, City Uniersity of Ne York (CUNY) student.

Beyond cloting, many interieees aoid becoming inoled in particular Muslim social, religious

and political moements, or expressing passion about teir fait, for fear tat suc inolement ill

dra increased police scrutiny. At a City Uniersity of Ne York (CUNY) Muslim Students Association

listed in te NYPD documents, to young female students o ear te niqab (face eil) felt tat

oter students ere concerned about associating it religious people like temseles. Tey

expressed feeling ostracized because of te ay tey look.28

One parent and actiist interieed described er anxiety about te coices er teenage son faces:

hes already feeling estranged from community and community organizations because te

larger orld is telling im tat tese are places, beliefs and ideas not to trust. So es naturally

not going to graitate toards tose spaces. he ould ae to consciously decide to go to is

scool MSA. And if e cooses to make tat decision, ten I dont kno if tats a safe space

to go to. Maybe e souldnt seek support for is religious identity troug tese institutions.

-Assia*, interfait community organizer.

3. Mistrust of Fellow Congregants and Converts.

Its not like everybody stopped going to mosque it s just that everybody looks around

wondering who everyone else is.

-Faisal hasmi, actiist, Queens.

The person I took my shahadah [formally converted] in front of ended up being an informant. I

felt disappointed and angry when I found out about that.

-hassan*, 20, board member of a CUNY MSA.

As Section Tree discusses in furter detail, suspicion of informants and undercoer officers is

idespread. Tis section focuses on te consequences of tis penomenon on religious practice.

28 Interies it Samia*, 20, and Inas*, 21, CUNY students.


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Te NYPDs broad-based sureillance of an entire religious community as turned religious spaces,

intended to proide a aen for ne and old congregants to forge bonds and support netorks, into

te opposite a space ere interactions ae become marred by mutual suspicion. Many former

regular mosque-goers ae decreased mosque attendance, and tose o attend do so to just pray

and leae, looking oer teir soulders for eaesdropping spies te entire time.

One young oman o is responsible for organizing yout actiities in er mosque noted o

congregants ae internalized te need to self-edit religious Sunday scool curriculums.

Its ery difficult, its ery ard, you dont kno at to say, I ae to tink tice about te

sentences I say just in case someone can come up it a different meaning to at Im saying.

-Amira*, 22, Sunday scool teacer.

Indiiduals expressing an interest in Islam are ieed it suspicion. Interieees ae noted tat

tey ould be concerned by or suspicious of people o talk really passionately about Islam, oreen by non-Muslims o come to te mosque expressing interest in learning about Islam.29

One interieee o is responsible for mosque security at a Brooklyn mosque noted:

we ae to be suspicious of people coming in . . . Sometimes, e start asking people

ere are you from, at are you doing? wee een asked at masjid[mosque] did

you attend before? Tats not a good ting for te masjid. So naturally, members are

uncomfortable. - Muammad*, mosque administrator, Brooklyn

Eerybody I see in te mosque, if tey act a little abnormal, I alays onder eter teyre

an informant, or just a regular person. Tis is really sad: sometimes en e get conerts, and

tey are finding all tis interest in Islam, I start ondering if teyre an informant. -Amira*, 22,Sunday scool teacer.

One is no paranoid about someone becoming Muslim and doing te same ting [becoming an

informant]. -Inas*, 20, CUNY student.

Suspicion of fello congregants makes it difficult to pursue meaningful spiritual deelopment

and foster a religious community. Ne congregants, eter recent conerts, ne arrials to te

community or former inmates, feel te most marginalized:

If a ne person sos up at te mosque, eeryones eyes and ears are on te person.

- Mamood*, 37, Staten Island.

wen ne faces come in, teres definitely a sense of o are you? - Lana*, 29, Brooklyn

Resident.

Suc a tense atmospere in mosques puts at risk te ery iability of tese religious institutions.

Mosques income and actiities are almost entirely membersip-dependent. A qualitatie cange

of te mosque experience, resulting in difficulty recruiting ne members and reduced or cilled

participation by existing members undermines te basic function of tis important community

institution.

29 Interie it Amira*, 22, Sunday scool teacer.


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Former Inmates

According to internal documents, te NYPD is concerned about radicalization in

prisons, and as targeted tose mosques perceied to ae strong connections to

prisons, ones tat receie many pone calls from prisons, or ose imams also sere as

prison caplains. Conersely, tese ties also make some community members suspicious:

seeral of our interieees noted tat former inmates, like oter recent conerts, are

ieed as aing a iger likeliood of being potential informants.

Some masaajid(mosques) ae a lot of people in and out of jail, so I tell te imam

to be careful. - Muammad, mosque administrator, Brooklyn.

Te result is tat former inmates and recent conerts find temseles doubly-ictimized.

One imam o seres as a caplain in State prisons described te essential role tat

community and te mosques play in a former inmates reintegration.

It connects tem it te outside community. Tey become Muslim in prison, tey

ae no clue at Islam is in a community setting, in a mosque, Islam as a family.

Its a ole different culture. So en tey embrace Islam, tey need to ae tat

connection. It gies inmates a kind of ope, someting to look forard to en

tey come out, to continue teir education, to find a community, to continue teir

deelopment, to be moral, uprigt. wee ad penomenal success in integrating

former inmates. - Amin Abdul Latif, Imam, Brooklyn.


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SECTION TwO: STIFLING SPEECh & ASSOCIATION

Free speech isnt a privilege that Muslims have.

- Asan Samad, 26, Brooklyn.

T NYPD A M ,

. L

. T NYPD

religious speec to be of concern. Suc speec includes mainstream Arabic-language nes cannels,

. NYPD A C T G

, U A, .30 Ironically,

te NYPD also found tat discussions about anti-Muslim bias by American Muslims to be of alue.

American Muslim interieees stress tat te eer-present sureillance cills or completely silences

teir speec eter tey are engaging in political debate, commenting on current eents, encouragingcommunity mobilization or joking around it friends. Political organizing, ciic engagement and

actiism are among te first casualties of police sureillance. Based on our researc and interies, it

is clear tat te sureillance program as, in fact, quelled political actiism, quieted community spaces

and strained interpersonal relationsips.

T

te deelopment of an informed electorate. Knoledge of sureillance leads not only to self-censorsip on

, ,

. T S

C -.31 Toug

Americans, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, rally and organize against expansie sureillance, many AmericanMuslim organizations and indiiduals esitate to participate in protests, to lobby, and to speak out.

Een if e kno e ae rigts, e kno tat tey dont apply equally to eeryone. - Amira*,

22, Sunday scool teacer.

1. Self-Censorship of Political Speech & Activism

Were Arabs, we talk about politics all the timePolitics is all we do! Every coffee shop, its

either Al Jazeera or a soccer game on TV. This new idea that we must be suspicious of those

who speak about politics -- somethings wrong.

- Linda Sarsour, community organizer.

Bot keepers of community spaces and tose o isit tose spaces feel pressured to censor te

discussions going on itin teir alls. Business oners, mosque leaders and community members alike

, ,

political content ill keep tem and teir respectie religious and social spaces off te NYPDs radar.

30 handscu . Special Sers. Di., No. 71CIv.2203, Galati Dep. 85-86 (June 28, 2012), available atttp://.nyclu.org/

files/releases/handscu_Galati_6.28.12.pdf.; Adam Martin, NYPD Spying Led to Lunches, Not Leads, The Atlantic Wire

(August 21, 2012), available atttp://.teatlanticire.com/national/2012/08/nypd-spying-led-lunces-not-terror-

leads/56008/.31See, e.g., Garrison . Louisiana, 379 U.S. 64, 74-75 (1964).


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The Use of the Term Jihad

A central concept in Islam,jihad, is translated from Arabic as to strie. Te term is used

in Muslim life as an eeryday term denoting an effort, endeaor, or struggle to improe

ones morality. It is meant to be frequently discussed, debated, explained and aspired

to. Toug used to justify political iolence by some, te term as also used to describe

Gandis non-iolent liberation of India and te omens liberation moement. Because

of te automatic association in mainstream parlance of iolence and militancy it te

ord jihad, for American Muslims under sureillance it as become an alarm-ord tat

automatically triggers furter sureillance. As a result, many interieees said tey

aoid te term altogeter. wen it is used, speakers ill make eery effort to clarify teirintentions.

we dont use te ord ji had. Sometimes speakers ill steer aay from tat

ord, or make extra effort to explain it more, explain exactly at e mean,

so tat nobody can misinterpret or get te rong idea, especially in larger

gaterings. - Amira,* 22, Sunday scool teacer.

I dont talk about te concept ofjihad. But anytime someone asks tat question,

my first reaction is to deflect tat question to someone else o can anser

itout me aing to talk about it. Because of te knon tings tat appen

en you talk about jiad, its one of tose ords tat can trigger automatic

sureillance. - Jaad Rasul, 25, CUNY student


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Business oners are concerned tat carged political discussion could garner increased la

enforcement attention, or keep oter, more ary customers aay. Tus, some business oners ae

consciously taken steps to aoid political discussion by muting, or completely banning, popular nes

cannels. wen approaced by CLEAR and AALDEF, many indiiduals or oners of businesses tat

ere listed in te NYPD reports ere unilling to comment on te sureillance altogeter, for fear of

unanted attention.

I dont allo Al-Jazeera on in our ooka bar. Particularly en tings flare up in te Middle

East. we cant control at people start saying in response to te nes, and e neer kno

o else is in te bar listening. - hamza, oner of business mapped by te Demograpics Unit.

Ironically, a leaked Demograpics Unit document notes tat te oner of a particular restaurant did

not allo te screening of te Al Jazeera cannel out of fear of attracting la enforcement attention.32

Te stifling of expression is not limited to topics relating to Islamic nations, Arab politics and domesticsureillance policies. Een current eents unrelated to Islam or Muslims but generally related to any

type of protest or racially carged controersy made some members of te community uncomfortable.

Een regular discussions - like Trayon Martin, [people] say dont bring tat up, lets just talk

about hajj [pilgrimage]. Tey onder y tis guy ants to talk about politics, its seen as

suspicious. - Seik Mustapa*, Imam, Brooklyn.

Sureillance as also deterred mobilization related to la enforcement accountability and reform

because people fear tat speaking out against sureillance ould only lead to greater sureillance:

I dont talk about te NYPD on Facebook. well put articles up, but e ill neer comment on

tem, put our on ords. Maximum ell say its sad tat tis is appening. But e ill neerso our anger, tat ere really, really angry. Some people arent afraid, but I am. - Amira*, 22,

Sunday scool teacer.

As one actiist in te Sia community described:

Many of te Sia organizations o ere approaced by actiists to speak up or speak out ere

esitant to do so ... A lot of it seems to be fear, tey dont ant to be targeted for additional

sureil lance. - Ali Naqui, community organizer.

Tis concern as particularly eident among immigrant parents, o, out of concern for teir more

outspoken American Muslim cildrens safety, urged tem to stay aay from protesting te NYPDs

policies, or een from being outspoken on political issues affecting Muslims in America.

I come from a family of actiists. My parents, en I first told tem te Associated Press story is

about to break, my dad told me dont do anyting about it. Tat as te first time my dad eer

told me anyting like tat. Tis as te first time in my on family ere safety trumped at

as te rigt ting to do. - Ali Naqui, community organizer.

32N.Y. Police Dept, Egyptian Locations of Interest Report (July 7, 2006), available atttp://osted.ap.org/specials/

interacties/documents/nypd/nypd-egypt.pdf.


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At [te] Yout Center, a girl said tat te idea of being arrested isnt someting tats far

fetced, tats unbelieable; its someting ery real, ery possible for er. Se tougt it as

really important to lay lo because it ould break er moms eart if se got arrested . . . .

Laying lo means not being politically actie, literally going on it teir eeryday lies. A

lot of people feel like being at tese protests is counterproductie, tat it ould dra more

attention, more of being spied on. -Sireen*, 23, student at hunter College.

My moter alays tells us to be careful about Facebook, and tells us to be careful about rallies,

or questions eter its a good idea for us to go. Sometimes you just ant to go out tere,

you ant to join organizations or certain causes, but you stop yourself. wen your speec is

limited, you cant really do muc: you cant rite on te internet, you cant talk on te pone

because teyre tapped, you cant speak in public. wen your speec is constrained you get

lazy and you just go it te flo and try to surie and lie a normal life, and not do muc in

society. - Amira*, 22, Sunday scool teacer.

An American Muslim organizer e spoke it commented on te nature of organizing in a climate of

fear:

Almost eery rally and public forum Ie attended in te last year begins it some type of

disclaimer or call-out of informants and undercoers o migt be in attendance and recording

te conersation. Most speakers dont een kno if suc a disclaimer protects tem in any ay,

but I feel it to be a necessary announcement so tat te audience participants are conscious of

te enironment in ic e are organizing. - Cyrus McGoldrick, community organizer.

Tus, NYPD sureillance of Muslim neigboroods, actiities, speec and religious practice as not

only cilled and altered Muslims political and religious expression, but as also stifled opposition

to te sureillance itself, creating a space oid of dissent, agitation and muc needed calls for

accountability.

2. A Q Sh: C, M d Hm

Alongside self-censorsip interieees feel te need to repeatedly empasize teir peaceful position

or clarify teir use of terminology en going about teir day-to-day lies or discussing current

eents. wen interieees mention foreign policy or controersial indiiduals, tey explain teir

position in detail. wen tey do discuss nes of sureillance, tey opt for cursory references

srouded in umor. Te primacy of security concerns means tat organizations and indiiduals spend

teir energies finding careful ording and caeats, rater tan on te primary topic of conersation.At an organizational, religious, and communal leel, tis results in missed opportunities for ricer

conersations, for organizing, for deeloping institutions and agendas, and for participation in te

public excange of ideas.

Te reality of sureillance is no alays on our minds, en e organize, en e speak,

en e meet, en e plan. Meetings for political organizing I leae until e can meet in

person, and een en e do ae in-person meetings, e are all ery conscious of at e

say and o, taking time to clarify or make a joke out of prasing tat could be interpreted as

someo contentious. - Cyrus McGoldrick, community organizer.


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I tink tice before eery time I put someting on Facebook. I ae to make sure it doesnt

gie te rong idea to la enforcement. I ould neversay jiad on Facebook, or Osama

Bin Laden. If I ant to say someting about te uprisings oerseas, I try to be as detailed and

precise as I can be, I ont talk about any of te iolence going on tere, ill neer say I dont

like tis person or tat person. - Amira*, 22, Sunday scool teacer.

Tose e interieed also expressed concern it o terms and expressions tey use in teir natie

languages migt be literally translated and misinterpreted by la enforcement. A prominent Queens

business oner explained o a common Arabic prase to denote excitement could be mistranslated

into Englis to coney tat te one is so excited tat e ill explode. Te business oner explained

tat suc prases, commonly used to denote emotion, are seldom used anymore.33

Similarly in Arabic, te term sarookh is used to umorously describe someone o is extremely

good-looking. Te literal translation is missile. One interieee, a young college student, commented

on te use of tis prase: you ae to atc out o you joke around no.34

walking on eggsells in teir on safe spaces, indiiduals are also scared to directly address political

comments tat make tem uncomfortable. Many interieees noted tat a common ay to aoid

suc confrontations as by resorting to umor.

Te silencing is done troug a joke. For example, if someone is talking about politics or

sureillance, people joke o Im going to go ome no! -Amira*, 23, Sunday scool teacer.

Eeryday umor, allegory and metapors are not only key parts of linguistic eritage but also function

to relay emotion, inspire political mobilization and pass don stories itin communities. By putting

speec under te magnifying glass, sureillance impairs not only political speec in te American

Muslim community but also te transmission of language and culture.

3. Student Speech on Campus

Te stifling and self-censorsip of bot routine and political speec ae especially dire consequences

for college students as political actiism, student organizing and academic pursuits are being derailed

during te most formatie years of a young persons life. Students ae found temseles unable

to organize effectiely or een to respond to nes of sureillance. As Section Fie ill describe in

more detail, sureillance presents intimidating callenges for te deelopment of young leaders and

citizens, limiting communities social, political and economic potential for generations to come.

33 Interie it hamza, oner of a business mapped by te Demograpics Unit.34 Interie it Ayman*, 20, Brooklyn College.


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SECTION ThREE: SOwING SUSPICION

1. Eybdy m

I dont want any new friends. If I dont know you and your family, or know that you have a

family that I can check you back to, I dont want to know you.

- Faisal hasmi, actiist, Queens.

You look at your closest friends and ask: are they informants?

- Amira*, 20, Sunday scool teacer.

O

A M . T M

M , , .

Tis notion as proen particularly deastating to any sense of community, trust and openness.

A sign in the Muslim Students Association (MSA) room at Hunter College, New York City encapsulates the climate that reigns

within student groups following news of sprawling NYPD surveillance. Read this pointed to a print-out of a press article by

reporter Len Levitt, among the first to unveil the NYPDs surveillance program.

po

tocredit:FOUZIANAJAR


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I as ery naie at one point. I conerted to Islam. At first I tougt all Muslims ere great

people and you could trust tem all. And ten someone said ey, you sould kno about all

tese tings...(referring to informants) - hassan*, 20, board member of a CUNY MSA.

According to court documents and oter publicly aailable information, informants or undercoers

ae exibited certain tendencies for example, seeming particularly interested in befriending

certain indiiduals, discussing iolent or politically controersial subjects, often in non-sequiturs, or

seeming oerly generous itout aing a clear source of income. But, of course, tere is no sure-fire

ay of identifying an informant or an undercoer.

As a result, our researc soed tat American Muslims are often suspicious of oter Muslims. Many

interieees felt tat routine eents ere no a cause for suspicion. As one businessman ose

business as listed in te leaked intelligence units documents stated:

Eery oter store on tis street could be an informant. You start ondering about eac one:o did tis person get is liquor license so quickly? Or o come te cops arent saying

anyting about tis guy o is ell knon to be selling alcool under te table, or to minors.

Or I kno tat tis person as in jail for some monts, and suddenly I see tem back in te

store, een toug you tink tey ad some carges tat could stick. - hamza*, oner of a

business mapped by te Demograpics Unit.

Nearly all interieees tougt tey kne someone o as an informant or an undercoer officer.

Te reasons proided ere dierse and contradictory, reflecting te idespread internal suspicion

tat sureillance as triggered itin te American Muslim community. Someone ieed as oerly

religious as suspect, ile anoter o frequented te mosque itout seeming particularly

religious as equally suspect. Indiiduals o regularly attended MSA eents ere deemed suspicious,

as ere tose o only came once in a ile.

To interieees recalled incidents ere tey falsely accused someone of being an informant,

leading to potentially deastating reputational consequences for te accused. One of te students

o as on a iteater rafting trip tat as attended by an undercoer officer tougt e could

tell o tat undercoer as troug a process of elimination. wen inited to do so during a press

interie on national teleision, e entured a guess. he as rong. In is interie, e still expressed

remorse: I ae to gie im a call and apologize.35

A second interieee recalled it regret o e as suspicious about a ne member of te mosque

om e noticed suddenly became ery inoled and actie in is mosques administration. he

discussed is concerns it oters at te mosque. Later on, e found out tat te man ad recentlylost is job and ad time on is ands. he described is feelings of guilt en e noticed tat is

arnings ad led oters to be ary of tis man.36

All interieees ad concerns about inter-communal mistrust and bemoaned te ariness tat as

become perasie. Many belieed tat suspicion of teir Muslim peers ent against teir nature,

teir religious beliefs, or teir desire to be actie and supportie members of teir community.

35 Interie it Jaad Rasul, 25, CUNY student.36 Interie it Mamood*, 37, Staten Island.


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Preying on the most vulnerable:the NYPDs aggressive recruitment of informants.

A college student recalled a isit e receied from to NYPD detecties, sortly after e

and is family ad emigrated from Malaysia. Te detecties pressured im to ork for

tem as an informant tey anted im to surf te internet and monitor certain ebsites.

he remembers tem asking im at e tougt ere odd questions: wat do you tink

of te Sia? Do you tink tey are real Muslims? wat ould you do if a ite American

girl came to you and asked for intercourse? After e repeatedly refused to meet it

tem, tey eentually left im alone until seeral monts later, en e enrolled at a

CUNY scool:

Tis time, tey offered me 400 or 500 dollars a mont, tey said all your ork ould

require ould be sitting in front of your computer and look at at people are doing.

... witin four meetings I moed from being a suspect to someone tey anted to

pay. - Jamal*, 23, CUNY student.

Anoter oman recounted o one day en se as sixteen, se got a call from te

principals office at er public scool. Te principal told er tat te NYPD ad asked

er to come in for questioning. Se first tougt tat it as about a young boy se ad

complained about for folloing er. Once tere, se quickly realized tat tey ere more

interested in er online actiities and er friends. A fe eeks later, te same NYPD

officers came to er ome ile er parents ere aay, searced troug er belongings

and er computer, and ultimately offered er ork as an informant. At te time, se as

young, broke, and liing it er parents:

[Te detectie] said te department can proide you it a place, a job if tats

at youre looking for, an apartment, e can gie you your freedom. - Grace*, 23,

Queens resident.

Tese incidents not infrequent in certain communities ae led many to realize tat

oters, possibly teir on peers, may not be as able to resist te pressures of orking as

informants:

Eeryone is being asked to spy, and I kno it myself tey must ae been treatened

or bribed to spy. Nobody ould just do it oluntarily. And tey probably get people

in trouble. I kno tis because tey tried to bribe me. - Grace*, 23, Queens resident.


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Te orst ting you can do is start to doubt oter people and teir intentions. I dont een

tink about tat aspect. we dont ant to distrust eac oter or cause animosity. - Ayman*,

20, Brooklyn College.

Tis NYPD ting as put out to make eeryone scrutinize eerybody. Its created a real suspicious

atmospere, ondering if eeryone is at tey say tey are. - Yousuf Abdul Lateef, Long

Island Resident.

S

, . O

under military rule is similarly marked by te deployment of agent proocateurs, informants,

. I , NYPD

I O P T.37

S NYPD A M ,

despite te acknoledged absence of any concrete indications of criminal conduct.

2. S-Smz: Ex-mm Th Lky B Rd Im.

If theyre likely to be scrutinized, dont hang out with them.- Asma*, 19, CUNY student.

T - - A

M . I , ,

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NYPD ,

, . NYPD

, , . W ,

approaced personally by la enforcement or knos someone o as.38 Despite teir frequency, suc

. M

associating it community members om tey tougt ere likely to be approaced.

Ironically, tose o ae been approaced by te NYPD become objects of suspicion among teir

on peers. Interieees o ad been contacted for questioning by te FBI or by te NYPD ere

orried tat oters in teir community migt find out, resulting in teir being ieed by teir peers

and neigbors it eiter fear or mistrust. One young man om NYPD detecties isited at ome,

questioning im in front of is neigbors, describes is subsequent social marginalization:

Nobody ill trust you it tings tat tey did trust you it before. . . . Trust is gone. My on

neigbor e doesnt say it, obiously no one says it. But I feel like its on teir faces. Tey

kno sometings not rigt because tey ere tere en te NYPD isited us. I assume e

figured out it as just a fising expedition, but I generally feel tat tey dont ant to deal it

us. - Asan Samad, 26, Brooklyn.

37 AP Aug. 23, 2011 Article.38 Te FBI engages in ery similar practices of idescale questioning of Muslim indiiduals. Often, indiiduals o are

approaced cannot differentiate te arious local or federal agencies tat are approacing tem. For background on suc

federal policies, see Sirin Sinnar, Questioning La Enforcement: Te First Amendment and Counterterrorism Interies,

7 BROOKLYN L. REv. 41 (2011).


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Similarly, because indiiduals o are prominent in te American Muslim community, or o are

perceied to be leaders, are often primary candidates for suc interies, tere is also an assumption

tat community leaders are compromised.

I dont trust a lot of our leadersip itin Islamic organizations in Ne York City. I tink many of

tem ae already been contacted by NYPD or te FBI. - Fareeda*, 21, Brooklyn College student

3. Smzd: Mm Am Mm.

They say dont you go to Queens College? Isnt that where all the terrorists are? They saw iton the news that they were spying on us.

- Sameera*, 19, CUNY student.

American Muslims are concerned tat te sureillance programs ae stigmatized tem in te eyes

of non-Muslims. Tey fear tat teir colleagues, neigbors, classmates or customers ill ie tem

it suspicion because la enforcement as branded tem a population of concern tat is prone

to dangerous beaior. Suc public, state-propagated notions can lead to alienation of American

Muslims from teir political allies, teir colleagues, or on campus, and contribute to an oerall public

discourse tat is ostile toards Muslims.

Particular vulnerabilities of immigrant communities

Immigrant and loer income communities ae been particularly targeted, and affected,

by NYPD spying. Toug interieees across te socio-economic spectrum expressed te

cilling effects of sureillance, ne immigrants are especially ulnerable. weter teyare undocumented or green card olders, ne immigrants felt strongly tat constitutional

protections of speec and association ere not applicable to tem. Tey also associated la

enforcement attention it immigration enforcement and orried tat if tey caugt te

attention of te NYPD tey migt be susceptible to deportation or delays in te processing of

teir immigration relief.

[My moter tells me] if anyone comes knocking on te door asking for you, se says te

first ting sell do is tat sell send me to Yemen because se doesnt ant me to go

to prison. Se tells me to just go to scool, finis my education, dont orry about tese

[political] tings, tese ae been appening foreer. Se ants me to stay aay from

trouble. - Sireen*, 23, student at hunter College

Campuses in te public City Uniersity of Ne York system, it iger proportions of

orking-class and immigrant students, ere more likely to be targets for infiltration by NYPD

informants tan priate scools and Iy League colleges, ic appear to ae been targeted

mostly it cyber-monitoring. Of our interieees, as ell as our clients, tose o are

recruited to ork as informants or o ae been questioned about teir political beliefs

are all first generation immigrants ose immigration statuses - or tose of teir family

members - ere frequently used by teir interrogators as an additional form of pressure.


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Enabling hate crimes. Recent years ae seen a ig number of ate crimes against Muslims inNe York City,39 mirroring a national trend.40 Some racial justice organizations ae connected

tis to te fact tat discriminatory la enforcement policies, like te NYPD sureillance

program, perpetuate notions of Muslim dangerousness. Te perception is reinforced en

public officials oice unconditional support for te program.41 In tis ay, te NYPD and public

officials contribute to te creation of a permissie enironment ere not only bias but also

ostile acts against Muslims are deemed acceptable. Tat enironment migt also signal to

some een if inaccurately tat ate crimes against tis population ould not be aggressiely

inestigated or prosecuted.42

wen our on goernment, our on police, our on institutions, and our on media

continue to engage in racial profiling or painting our communities as suspect, e cannot

expect te results to be any different tan tese tragic cases of racial iolence. - Saina

Pareen, Leader, Desis Rising Up and Moing (DRUM).

Impeding interfaith collaborations. Mosques and Muslim community organizations aeinested significant resources in reacing out to oter fait-based communities, particularly

after te September 11, 2001 attacks, in order to forge alliances. Seeral interieees raised

concerns about teir institutions strained relationsips it teir former interfait netorks

[Te reelation tat te NYPD ad sent an undercoer informant into our mosque]

resulted in our alienation from oter communities. Not only because e no kno tat

e ad an informant, but also because eerybody else kne, including non-Muslims.

Te NYPD ent to te press and said tat teye been sureilling a mosque in our

community. Tis mosque tey ere sureilling ad positioned itself as te interfait

mosque, opened its door to folks. Next ting e kne our allies dropped off. Tere assupposed to be a meeting it an interfait group and tey said teyd rater not ae

it at our mosque. - Linda Sarsour, community organizer.

Stigma in the workplace. Seeral young, educated professionals e spoke it expressedconcern tat te public discourse about radicalization itin Muslim communities, furter

propagated by te NYPDs sureillance program, ould affect teir colleagues impressions of

tem. Tey ere concerned tat teir colleagues, itout more background and engagement

in te issues, migt eiter be suspicious of Muslims, or become ary of associating tem

for fear of controersy. One interieee noted tat se ides er religious identity in te

orkplace,43 ile anoter ondered eter se sould ater don er Muslimsness on

39 Some recent examples tat ae been reported in te press include: Daid Ariosto, Woman Accused of Murder as a Hate

Crime in NYC Subway Push Death. CNN (Dec. 30, 2012); Rocco Parascondola, Queens man, 70, Beaten by Pair After Being

Asked if He Was Hin du or Muslim, NY DAILY NEwS (No. 30, 2012); vera Cinese, Muslim hate Crime victim wo was

Stabbed Six Times in Te Back Says e harbors no Ill will Against Attacker, NY Daily News (No. 19, 2012); N.R. Kleinfield,

Rider Asks if Cabbie Is Muslim, Then Stabs Him, N.Y. Times (Aug. 25, 2010).40 Mark Potok, FBI Reports Dramatic Spice in Anti-Muslim Hate Violence,Huffington Post (No. 14, 2011), available at

ttp://.uffingtonpost.com/mark-potok/fbi-reports-dramatic-spik_b_1092996.tml.41 Rebecca henley, Jax Hgts ral lies for subway hate c rime victim (Jan 12, 2012) available atttp://.timesledger.com/

stories/2013/2/racialiolence_at_2013_01_10_q.tml.42 Te NYPD as in fact issued strong statements of condemnation of suc acts, and appreended seeral of te offenders.43 Samar*, 32, Corporate Layer.


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STIGMA

Te United States Supreme Court as noted tat goernment policies tat discriminate

against a group can result in armful social and political consequences to tat group. Tis

is called stigma. In Brown v. Board of Education,A

te Supreme Court inalidated racialsegregation in public scools. Te Court noted tat state-sanctioneddiscrimination as a

more armful impact tan priate discrimination. By singling out Muslims as potentially

dangerous, as meriting close la enforcement attention, and by not applying te same

standards as for oter Ne Yorkers, te NYPD communicates, and perpetuates, negatie

stereotypes about all American Muslims. As a result, American Muslims are less able to

participate fully in society, as equals.

Many of te experiences relayed by our interieees so eidence of te stigmatization

of American Muslims. weter it inoles an indiiduals or institutions damaged

relationsips it la enforcement and oter public entities, or a esitation to engage in

public conersations about current eents, be it in a classroom setting or engaging in ciic

adocacy, te fear of being publicly associated it religious Muslims and te self-censorsip

tat results all point to reduced opportunities for social and political participation tat are

essential in a democratic society.

A 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

er resume.44

To oter interieees, bot young attorneys orking at corporate la firms,felt tat tey could not engage in pro bono ork on issues relating to Muslim ciil rigts and

Muslim immigrants generally because te firm does not ant to get entangled (een indirectly)

in tese controersial issues.

Stigma on campus. Muslim students expressed concerns about being ostracized by teir peers,Muslim and non-Muslim alike. One of te major components of te mission of any Muslim

Student Association is to engage non-Muslims on teir campus, and to increase te Muslim

communitys isibility.45 Students orried tat ide press coerage announcing tat te NYPD

ad infiltrated Muslim student groups it te ope of finding radicals or criminals ould

damage teir outreac efforts.46 Seeral interieees noted feeling tat many on campus did

not ant to associate it te MSA, or its actie members.47

A professor at Baruc Collegedescribed o some Muslim students told er in a class discussion tat joining te MSA could

lead to being considered extremist and to la enforcement scrutiny.48

44 Interie it Samia*, 21, CUNY student.45 Interies it Nieen*, 22, CUNY alumna; Inas*, 20, CUNY student; Jamal*, 23, CUNY student and Jaad Rasul, 25, CUNY

student.46 Interie it Jamal*, 23, CUNY student.47 Interies it Inas*, 20, CUNY student and Samia*, 21, CUNY student.48 Interie it Carla Bellamy, Professor, Baruc College.


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SECTION FOUR: SEvERING TRUST IN LAw ENFORCEMENT

I dont trust them at all, nor do I believe they are protecting us. They are stripping us of our

rights and violating our privacy. I dont know how non-Muslims feel safe either because if they

do it to us, they can do it to anybody.

- Inas*, 20, CUNY student.

If police really wanted to do something for protection, there are so many obvious opportunities:

drugs are all over this neighborhood, the fights, other crimes. But instead, theyre writing down

whether Im screening Al-Jazeera in my restaurant! Thats a waste of resources.

- hamza, oner of a business mapped by te Demograpics Unit.

One teme tat emerged across interies is an entrenced, deep mistrust of te NYPD. Indiiduals

did not ie te NYPD as a protectie force, or as a resource for tose in need of assistance rater, te

police are increasingly regarded as treatening and untrustorty. As a result, Muslim organizations,mosques and community leaders ae reealuated teir relationsips it te NYPD.

1. An anti-Muslim culture at the NYPD

A lot of the [NYPD] documents deliberately aack Islam, the ideology of Islam. I used to never

want to believe that youre being targeted because youre Muslim. I was one of those people that

was ne with talking to law enforcement because I knew I wasnt doing anything wrong. But now

its not about what youre doing wrong, its about what their goal is. If theyre being trained and

taught to be suspicious of Islam, then thats scary. And thats changed my approach to them.

- Taanie Abousi, layer.

Anoter recurring teme as appreension about NYPDs anti-Muslim culture bot itin te

Intelligence Diision and outside of it. Een before te Associated Press reports sed ligt on

sureillance, documents and statements made by te NYP

Mapping Muslims: NYPD Spying and Its Impact on American Muslims

Documents

Transcript of Mapping Muslims: NYPD Spying and Its Impact on American Muslims