CAIR to Ask Yale, Rutgers to Protect Rights of Muslim Students

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Officials with the New Jersey and Connecticut chapters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said today they will request that Yale and Rutgers take concrete steps to protect the constitutional rights of Muslim students following revelations that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) spied on them without warrants, legal jurisdiction or probable cause.

CAIR's request for protection of the students' rights comes following new revelations by The Associated Press (AP) that the NYPD "monitored Muslim college students far more broadly than previously known, at schools far beyond the city limits."

According to AP:

"Police talked with local authorities about professors 300 miles away in Buffalo and even sent an undercover agent on a whitewater rafting trip, where he recorded students' names and noted in police intelligence files how many times they prayed. Detectives trawled Muslim student websites every day and, although professors and students had not been accused of any wrongdoing, their names were recorded in reports prepared for Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly."

NYPD Monitored Muslim Students Across Northeast
http://tinyurl.com/7qo6jes

"University officials may be the last line of defense for Muslim students whose rights were apparently violated by the clearly unconstitutional –- and possibly illegal -- tactics used by the NYPD," said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. "The NYPD continues to act as if it is somehow above the law that governs all other individuals and institutions."

Hooper said representatives of CAIR chapters in New Jersey and Connecticut will contact the appropriate officials at universities in those states beginning Monday morning.

Earlier this month, the New York chapter of CAIR called for hearings in that state's legislature to investigate new revelations that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) initiated a program of spying on Shia mosques without warrants and without any evidence of wrongdoing by worshipers.

Video: CAIR-NY Calls for Oversight of NYPD Over Mosque Spying
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5a6SOd7xWY

NYPD Document: Gather Intel Info at Shiite Mosques
http://tinyurl.com/7lqnmmj  

US-Iran Conflict: The Threat to New York City
http://bit.ly/wYrAUX

A series of recent investigative reports by AP revealed that undercover NYPD officers in a so-called "Demographics Unit" spied on Muslim communities and houses of worship with the assistance of individuals linked to the CIA. NYPD officials initially denied the Demographics Unit existed, despite the AP's publication of an NYPD presentation and other documents that described the mission and makeup of the unit.

AP: NYPD Demographics Unit Presentation
http://wid.ap.org/documents/nypd-demo.pdf

Reports indicate that the NYPD even spied on Muslim leaders who figured prominently in community outreach efforts, and infiltrated Muslim student groups not suspected of committing any crime.

SEE: NYPD Even Spied on the Muslim Leaders Who Were Helping Them
http://tinyurl.com/3lhrfv5

NYPD Spying on Muslim College Students Now
http://tinyurl.com/3nbjxla  

CAIR-NY -- along with the Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition (MACLC) and other minority and civil liberties groups -- recently called for the resignations of NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne due to revelations that they covered up their roles in the production of the anti-Islam propaganda film "The Third Jihad" that was shown to almost 1500 NYPD officers.

Video: CAIR-NY Rep on Al-Jazeera to Discuss NYPD Showing Anti-Islam Film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdQLu0srMyk

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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CONTACT: CAIR-CT Executive Director Mongi Dhaouadi, 860-514-8038, E-Mail: [email protected]; CAIR-NJ Vice-Chair Elijah Muhammad, 862-668-1666; CAIR-NY Civil Rights Manager Cyrus McGoldrick, 212-870-2002, or 203-206-6883, E-Mail: [email protected]

CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: [email protected]; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)