Muslims applaud “recognition” of Eid holidays in NYC but 24/7 surveillance continues

Crescent International

Rabi' al-Thani 08, 1435 2014-02-08

Daily News Analysis

by Crescent International

Muslims in the US seem to clutch any straws that would make them feel as if they are welcome in the US. The latest episode is the announcement by New York City mayor, Bill de Blasio that he would fulfill his campaign promise to recognize Muslim holidays in the public school calendar. The illegal surveillance of Muslims and infiltration of mosques by NYPD agents provocateurs, however, will continue.

New York, Crescent-online
Saturday, February 08, 2014, 20:17 EST

The newly elected Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio’s announcement on February 3 that he will proceed with his promise to observe Muslim holidays in the public school calendar, has been warmly greeted by such Muslim organizations as the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Is the applause justified? Is this not a gesture at par with the Eid postage stamps issued by the US Postal Service and the White House iftars to which Uncle Tom Muslims were invited for photo-ops to prove America “respects” their religion?

CAIR is quick to applaud all such gestures and equally quick to condemn any acts in which Muslims are accused of indulging in terrorist acts (a la Time Square bombing attempt), but has remained conspicuously silent when America indulges in war crimes against innocent Muslims abroad.

Killing by US soldiers or civilians inside their homes in Afghanistan or the murder by drones of innocent civilians in Pakistan has seldom if ever evoked any concern from CAIR. It would, however, be expecting too much from an organization whose aim is to seek acceptance in the political system of the US.

In the post-911 environment of anti-Muslim hysteria where every Muslim is viewed as a terrorist, a potential terrorist or an accomplice to terrorism, Mayor de Blasio’s gesture may come as welcome relief. Should Muslims celebrate their Eid holidays as well as the fact that the mayor has so “graciously recognized” their religious days in the public school calendar?

Since the disastrous events of 911, Muslims in the US have suffered greatly as a result of overzealous policing, spying and Islamophobia, largely driven by Zionist groups and their fascist allies in the US.

While many questions linger about the official version of 911, the fact is not one American Muslim has been accused of involvement in those attacks. So what justification is there for targeting Muslims and subjecting them to a systematic campaign of racial and religious profiling and Demographic Mapping?

In the immediate aftermath of 911, thousands of Muslims were rounded up and thrown in jails across the country. Almost everyone was beaten up, tortured and abused. Some died under torture. Others were forced to flee the country or face decades in US dungeons where every crime is perpetrated in the name of maintaining law and order.

Sadistic prison guards answerable to no one took special pleasure in exacting “revenge” from Muslims for the attacks of 911.

The blanket surveillance of Muslims in the US, especially in New York City where the police has been granted vast powers to keep track of Muslims has created an environment of fear. Mosques are under surveillance with openly marked FBI cars as well as police cars parked outside taking note of every number plate.

Some Muslims have stopped attending Friday prayers (the main weekly prayer) for fear of being placed under surveillance. Cynics might say that New York mayor’s granting of Eid holidays to Muslim students is an attempt to ferret out the more observant Muslims because by attending the morning Eid prayers, they will all come under the FBI/NYPD surveillance radar.

Two reporters for the Associated Press, Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo, exposed the NYPD’s blanket surveillance of Muslims at home, work or visiting the mosque to pray. The NYPD’s Demographic unit has systematically infiltrated mosques and student groups as well as planted agents provocateurs inside mosques to entrap Muslims into committing terrorist acts.

The occasion sensational arrests of alleged Muslim terrorists have in every single instance been the work of FBI and/or police agents provocateurs. Not surprisingly, the NYPD has foiled not a single terrorist act—none were planned—yet the Muslims’ civil liberties have been systematically trampled upon.

The NYPD continues its surveillance of Muslims despite the outcry in some segments of the media including the New York Times against the program not because it is unjust. It is seen as a waste of resources when not a single Muslim has been found to be involved in any illegal activities throughout these years.

Mayor de Blasio has refused to end the egregious violation of the Muslims’ fundamental rights by NYPD’s discriminatory intelligence gathering and racial/religious profiling. This criminalizes the 700,000 Muslims in New York City for doing no more than practicing their religion.

Before Muslim organizations go into applause mode, they should demand the NYC mayor end the practice by his police department that treats Muslims as criminals and potential terrorists. Applauding petty gestures will only embolden officials to trample on the Muslims civil rights.

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