Hands off my rights, NYPD

Separation of church and state is a hot button topic for various reasons, but separation of mosque and city is a new area of expertise where the New York City Police Department has a lot of explaining to do. A recent Time article divulged that NYPD has been participating in Terrorist Enterprise Investigations (TEI) in mosques and Islamic organizations throughout the city since 9/11.

Anyone who was upset about Snowden’s leak a few months ago, regarding the federal government spying on Americans, will be appalled to hear just how invasive the NYPD was in their TEIs. Numerous mosques and organizations were under surveillance for years without any evidence of terrorist or malicious activities. However due to a law in New York City that protects the right for one party to record another without its consent, NYPD was able to record prayers, sermons, meetings, and private conversations for years without any cause.

This is a severe violation of the rights that any American has to freedom of religion and speech. To blatantly profile an entire religious group by making all Muslims out to be terrorists who constantly need surveillance is disgusting and wildly ignorant.

Did we see an army of undercover officers invade the Catholic churches of NYC after it was exposed that a global child abuse scandal was occurring in the church? No we did not. The NYPD did not equate every Catholic male with being a child molester. Yet, this is what they are doing with Muslims and terrorists. There is no distinction between a belief system and a cult.

What is even more disturbing is that even the federal government thought that lines were being crossed in the TEIs. On multiple occasions, the FBI was investigating the same group or individual. However after failing to link them with any evidence of terrorist activities, they closed the cases. Instead of taking this approach, the NYPD stalked a young man’s wedding because he helped plan “camping trips and paintball trips” and was a leader in his community’s youth.

So not only is NYPD violating your right to pray without being recorded, but they are violating your right to participate in a joyous occasion of two young people being married without your name being blacklisted as one of the attendees. Notice I’ve said “your”. That because if you think for one moment this is limited to simply just Muslims, you’re living in a fantasy world. It is purely unethical. If this were any other group, all social media outlets would be on fire and Miley Cyrus would have a run for her money in tweets per minute.

Is this because we still have not healed from the attack to the homeland? 2,996 people lost their lives that day, and it was a tragedy that affected all Americans including Muslims. But society must move forward and acknowledge that the extreme racial profiling that has occurred from the NYPD is not the answer to prevent any future attacks.

When acceptance of a religion, culture, and lifestyle becomes priority to blaming that religion, culture, and lifestyle, it becomes much easier to view one another as rights bearing Americans and human beings.

-Muhammad