In its strongest statement yet, the New Jersey branch of a national Muslim group says it is building a case for litigation in response to the surveillance of Muslims by the New York Police Department.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations of New Jersey said findings from the state attorney general that New York City detectives broke no laws and were not profiling during surveillance at the Omar Mosque in Paterson, at mosques and businesses in Newark, and on college campuses, have spurred the group’s resolve to sue.
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“Our office intends to find legal redress through litigation and ask for an immediate cessation of surveillance, an order of rights to be submitted by the court, and monetary damages for American Muslims affected,” the groups stated in an email Friday.
Khurrum Ali, the group’s civil rights director, said Friday that while a lawsuit is not certain, the organization is scrutinizing case law to determine the grounds on which it could sue. Legal action would be taken in partnership with the New York chapter, he added.
“No case has been formulated yet,” Ali said, “but we’d like to find something to make them stop.”
The organization took action after a May 24 meeting with state Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa, where he told Muslim leaders that New York police broke no laws or didn’t commit ethnic or religious profiling when it monitored and mapped Muslims in New Jersey. The attorney general’s findings followed a three-month fact-finding review.
His remarks echoed what New York City police officials and Mayor Michael Bloomberg have said all along: that their actions were legal and the result of legitimate law enforcement leads.
But Muslim leaders believe they were targeted because of their religion and say reports of monitoring have chilled free expression in their communities.
Chiesa said last week his office will establish a Muslim outreach committee to talk about law enforcement issues and improve relations.
In one step toward outreach, a representative from the Attorney General’s Office was scheduled to attend the Masjid Ibrahim in Newark on Friday afternoon for a service and to answer questions afterward, said the mosque’s Imam Mustafa El-Amin.
