MEDIA ADVISORY --

CAIR: NY Muslims to Rally, Pray for End to NYPD/CIA Spying

(NEW YORK, NY, 11/17/11) -- On Friday, November 18, a coalition of more than 50 religious, social justice and community organizations will rally and hold Friday (Jummah) prayers from 12-4p.m. in Foley Square to protest the religious and ethnic profiling of Muslim communities by the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other law enforcement agencies.

SEE: NYPD Spying on Muslims Likened to Spying on Free Speech Advocates

WHAT: Rally & Friday Prayer to Stop NYPD/CIA Spying on Muslim Communities
WHEN: Friday, November 18, Noon - 4 p.m.
WHERE: Foley Square, Worth St. between Lafayette & Centre St.
CONTACT: CAIR-NY Civil Rights Manager Cyrus McGoldrick, call/text: 203-206-6883, 212-870-2002, E-Mail: cmcgoldrick@cair.com; DRUM Legal & Policy Director Fahd Ahmed, call:940-391-2660, E-mail: fahd@drumnyc.org; AAANY Executive Director Linda Sarsour, call:917-306-3323, e-mail: linda@arabamericanny.org

The rally and prayer seeks:

1) An immediate end to all racial, ethnic and religious profiling.
2) The dismantlement and disclosure of all surveillance operations.
3) An independent commission to investigate all NYPD, CIA and FBI operations against the Muslim community.
4) The immediate protection of the right to freedom of worship, free speech, and free association.
5) The equal protection under the law of Muslims and all people of New York.

Speakers will include elected officials, community and religious leaders, CUNY college students and affected New Yorkers, and musical and poetic performers.

SEE: Facebook Event for Rally & Friday Prayer

An ongoing investigation by the Associated Press revealed that undercover NYPD officers in a so-called "Demographics Unit" targeted 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 that described the mission and makeup of the unit.

AP: NYPD Demographics Unit Presentation

Recent 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
SEE: NYPD Spying on Muslim College Students Now

Rally & Friday Prayer sponsored by:

Majlis Ash-Shura of Metropolitan New York, Arab Muslim American Federation, Council on American Islamic Relations -- New York (CAIR-NY), Muslim American Society (MAS-NY), Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), Al-Awda NY: Palestine Right to Return Coalition, Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood, Social Justice Task Force of Muslim Alliance in North America, ICNA New York, Muslim Bar Association of New York (MuBANY), Muslim Defense Committee - National Lawyers Guild - NYC, Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition (MACLC), Muslim Consultative Network (MCN)

Endorsed by:

International Action Center, Direct Action Working Group and Immigrant Working Group of Occupy Wall Street, United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC), May 1 Workers & Immigrant Rights Coalition, BAYAN USA, Pakistan USA Freedom Forum, Project SALAM, Honduras USA Resistencia, SI Solidarity Iran, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, CLEAR @ CUNY Law, Veterans for Peace - Chapter 34 NYC, NY Committee to Stop FBI Repression, Pakistan Solidarity Network, Brooklyn For Peace, Jews Against Islamophobia, Jews Say No!, Brooklyn Congregations United, Jewish Voices for Peace NY, Women Against Islamophobia & Racism, First Unitarian Universalist Church, Church St. Paul and St. Andrew, All Souls Church, Labor for Palestine and New York City Labor Against the War, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, New York Taxi Workers Alliance, South Asia Solidarity Initiative, Turning Point for Women & Families, International League of Peoples Struggle LOC, Malcolm X Museum, and others.

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.

-- END --