New York Police Label Mosques as Terrorist Organizations

The New York Police Department secretly labeled mosques as “terrorism organizations,” to allow surveillance, reports the Associated Press. “Designating an entire mosque as a terrorism enterprise means that anyone who attends prayer services there is a potential subject of an investigation and fair game for surveillance,” write Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo. “Before the NYPD could target mosques as terrorist groups, it had to persuade a federal judge to rewrite rules governing how police can monitor speech protected by the First Amendment.” The two AP reporters are authors of “Enemies Within: Inside the NYPD’s Secret Spying Unit and bin Laden’s Final Plot Against America,” which details how police placed informants in at least a dozen mosques and kept secret files on members. New York Police deny the charges and claim to follow leads. Muslims in the United States, about 3 million in all, have high levels of education and above-average incomes; the American Civil Liberties Union is suing, suggesting that the police practices could discourage individuals from First Amendment rights to worship, assemble and speak freely. – YaleGlobal