NYPD Muslim surveillance report details ‘collateral damage’ of program

A coalition of Muslim groups delivered a new report on the NYPD’s surveillance program to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly’s doorstep on Monday, hoping to put pressure on the department a day before its annual budget hearing.

The report, based on interviews with 57 Muslims in New York, details the life of a religious community under police suspicion. It was prepared by the Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) project.

“They have repeatedly said that as long as you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear,” said Diala Shamas, a fellow at CLEAR who co-authored the report, called “Mapping Muslims.” To the contrary, she said, the study “shows that there are many disturbing impacts and consequences of the irresponsible, costly, harmful, completely ineffective surveillance program.”

Huffington Post, 11 March 2013

See also AALDEF press release, 11 March 2013