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Muslims urge resignation of NY police chief over video
Video shows footage of suicide attacks, says true agenda of Muslim leadership in US is to infiltrate, dominate US.
Video shows footage of suicide attacks, says true agenda of Muslim leadership in US is to infiltrate, dominate US. PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK: US Muslim civil rights groups demanded the resignation of New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly on Wednesday amid a controversy over the repeated screening of an offensive video.
Kelly said he regretted cooperating with the makers of “The Third Jihad: Radical Islam’s Vision for America,” which shows footage of suicide attacks and says “the true agenda of much of Muslim leadership here in America” is to “infiltrate and dominate America.”
Kelly came under fire following reports that the video had been screened many more times than previously acknowledged. When the video first came to light a year ago, police said it had been screened only a few times.
In fact, it was shown to more than 1,400 officers over a period of months, the New York Times reported on Tuesday based on documents obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a prominent Muslim civil liberties organization, said Kelly had disqualified himself to head the country’s largest and most prominent police force.
“As leaders of the nation’s largest police department, Commissioner Kelly and Deputy Commissioner (Paul) Browne’s actions set a tone for relations with law enforcement that impact American Muslims nationwide,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement. “It’s time for change.”
CAIR and other civil liberties groups set a news conference for Thursday at New York City Hall.
The controversy comes as Kelly, who is closely aligned with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, was restoring the police department’s strained relations with the Muslim minority.
“Somebody exercised some terrible judgment,” Bloomberg told reporters on Tuesday, referring to the film. “As soon as they found out about it, they stopped it.”
Strained relations
“The Third Jihad” ran on continuous loop on a TV in a Brooklyn police location that officers used to fill in paperwork during down time, Kelly’s spokesman and deputy, Paul Browne, said. He said the film was not used in training sessions and was never shown at the Police Academy.
In addition, police now admit a spokesman helped arrange an interview the filmmakers did with Kelly that appeared in the film. Previously, police had said Kelly was not involved in the making of the film and that the interview was taken from an archive.
Browne said on Wednesday the commissioner finds the finished product “objectionable” and regrets taking part.
The filmmakers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kelly has navigated difficult times with Muslims, having come into office shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001, which led to an unprecedented security crackdown that drew the ire of civil libertarians.
Kelly and Bloomberg have since won praise for prosecuting hate crimes against Muslims and defending the right to build a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks. But there have been periods of tension, more recently over the department’s role in secret operations at New York area mosques.
Reader Comments (39)
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True face of American radical extremists. The REAL terrorists.
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@ Saad….Don’t live in their country then and stop applying for visa’s and call your family over there back.
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We newyorkers are really proud of our police chief. he is protecting us at all cost. if someone has a problem he can go back to his country.Recommend
@ Timour…We are here because they were there!
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i wonder why we feel so much for the muslims who chose to live there, when they are nto heard and all we curse the americans, but can the same be applied here? can some non pakistani stand up against the practices of a pakistani police officer? and to top it off can a non pakistani , nonmuslim raise the voice agianst a pakistani muslim police head??? no matter what the officer did, the result is that it will never be allowed, it will be squuashed and labelled as anti pakistnai. in america they have given more right to non americans then we have given to our own natives!!!Recommend
Come back to your homelands. Nothing like the non discriminatory, tolerent and professional force.
Its time to give up those US visas. The safe and secure society in Pakistan awaits you.
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NY police commissioner should have shown better judgment – he should have voluntarily resigned when this information became public.
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@zehra:
No the same cann’t be applied here but we don’t boast about equality either nor are we as developed. We cann’t compare a hundred years old developed country who are the only super power of the world with our 60 year old tiny country can we? And the reality is that whatever the US does affects the whole world .. so their policies and attitude matters not ours.
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In Pakistan the textbooks have spite against the minorities, have we asked the education minister to resign, as the books are hurtful. In Pakistan, the practice is everywhere, not only in education, people who speak up are killed. The minorities, have never done harm they are not involved in suicide bombings and blatant killings, but still hatred against them in fostered in books. The bombers on 9/11 were Muslims and in reality, that is the threat that the US / New Yorkers still face. In Pakistan dont we indoctrinate the Army and the people on hatred against India, through the movies on wars. Here we can do it but in the US its wrong, simple bigotry.
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There is a massive anti muslim agenda of the right wing and some pro Israel groups in the US. They are now using the tactics employed by the Nazi government of Germany to spread hatred against the Muslims living in America. The really sad aspect of this story is that the NYPD collaborated in both the creation and the showing of this video.
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Why doesn’t CAIR vocally condemn and denounce radical Muslims (who’ve killed more fellow Muslims than anyone from another faith) by name in the same manner as they are denouncing this cop.
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@Pashtun voice:
“There is a massive anti muslim agenda of the right wing and some pro Israel groups in the US. “
You may characterize your opponents in whatever way it suits you but that anti-Muslim agenda has a very good basis, not only in the US but all over the world!
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Hussain Haqqani’s advocate friend Zuhdi Jasser is featured in the “film”. He was also part of the letter batting for Haqqani. What type of friends does Haqqani hobnob with? Islamophobic “native informants”.
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Has anyone complaining here of US policies seen the movie in question ‘The Third Jihad’ available on Youtube and full of sermons of hatred by prominent maulanas? What do we expect in return, love? Unlikely.
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@Cautious: Could you please inform us how many people resigned voluntarily ater the establishment’s fiasco 2011?Recommend
The anti-Muslim agenda is used by politicians to pander to their voting blocks and it is nothing more and nothing less.
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@Diaspora
Are you saying Turks,Arabs,Persians,Mongols and the lot came to India because Indians were there?
And when did American were in Pakistan?
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To everyone who thinks Muslims “should go back to their county”: What about all the non-immigrant Muslims in the United State a.k.a American Muslims? They have no rights because of their religion? Some real redneck mentality on Express Tribune here…
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Ray Kelly actually had his education in a Mothersah in the FATA. It is not only him, but there are good many Radio and TV channels in the USA who are run by those who went to Mothersah in the FATA.
These US Radio and TV Channels are known to be spewing hate messages against Islam and Muslims all the times.
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We pity on Americans , they are like us have no sense about how their government is exploiting American’s resources to make millionaires and billionaires more strong.
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All of the comments implying that the NYC Commissioner should stay in office because Pakistan encourages xenophobic behavior are missing the point. The USA isn’t Pakistan and lowering it’s standards serves no purpose – perhaps Pakistan should raise theirs.
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@Amna:
To everyone who thinks Muslims “should go back to their county”: What about all the non-immigrant Muslims in the United State a.k.a American Muslims? They have no rights because of their
religion? Some real redneck mentality
Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries do not allow children of expatriates to stay and once their parents’ via has run out send them packing to the country of origin of their parents. Perhaps time to apply this Muslim solution to the Muslim problem in US?Recommend
Amna, one option that Muslims and nonMuslims should support is that both be accorded equal rights in their respective majority countries. So Muslims in the US must not denied the rights that are available to the Christians in Pakistan, and vice versa. That seems like a fair arrangement, given that it is not a simple situation.
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@zehra:
Actually, here a non Pakistani non Muslim can kill three of our citizens brazenly in the open for hundreds of members of the ordinary public to see…his companions can crush others to death with their large suv as they chase through our streets….and absolutely nothing will happen. They get exceptional treatment in our country…so you’re way way off!
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@Umer:
What do you mean “we”?! Just bcs some idiot with a beard said some crazy things it doesnt give others the right to create an atmosphere of hate against ALL Muslims. Thats like showing clips of Reverend Jerry Falwell and concluding that all Christians are trying to blow us up. Or watching the hindu supremacist rants of Bal Thackeray and concluding that all Hindus are supremacists. Your logic sucks and you need to stop the self-hate
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America is responsible for committing 911 (not america but mossad along with the help of neocons, i.e zionist jews).
So this was an excuse to convince americans that muslims did 911 so America with the connivance and scheming of zionist jews went to war with Israel’s neighbours (Iraq and now Iran) and Afghanistan(so they could denuclearize Pakistan).
Result, only Israel benefits. Not America.
Poor Americans dont even know they got raped by Israel.
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@kamran:
Odd that you’re defending people discriminating against you in violation of the laws of their own country. The self hate is very thick in this room
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This is not acceptable. Mr. Cheif, please be specific in naming individuals or do not speak at all.
What is your message to the entire muslim population?
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@Nand
You know the answer – no one resigned – but Pakistan would be a better place if people showed honor and resigned their posts after committing blunders. The NYC Police Commissioner committed an obvious blunder and should resign.
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Cautious
Brother, you may be missing the point here. Your argument that the US operates at a higher moral plane than Pakistan does is not self-evident, and clearly not shared by everyone. Second, instead of asking the US to operate at a level even ‘higher’ than it already does (according to you), your efforts will help mankind more if they focused on ‘lifting’ Pakistan up (if you believe Pakistanis are not as moral a people as Americans are).
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The point that the world is going to ask for greater reciprocity between Muslims and non-Muslims will be made, if not here, to Muslim/Pakistani liberals, then elsewhere. As liberals, you had better get used to it.Recommend
Wow. A Muslim was offended and made a self-righteous scene. That never happens..
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@Liberalache:
Where are ALL Muslims condemning these extremists if extremists are such an isolated bunch?
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@kaalchakra:
What Brother? Dont waste your breath Mr Cautious!
He does want you to guy gas from his country, regardless!
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@Cautious:
Atleast US should “keep” its standards, not to mention recent legislation in the US and aside from that, not sell gas to low standard country like our!
Speaking of which, weren’t you “encouraging” GOP to buy from your people?
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While, I do not agree with the airing and the content of this video. Pakistani’s the self proclaimed voice of some distorted version of Islam do not have the moral authority to object.
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@Saad:
When people from other religions can “adjust” in Saudi, why can’t Muslims do the same when they decide to settle in Western nations? Are Christian, Hindu or Jewish preachers allowed in Saudi at all? Why aren’t people like you speaking up against these radical preachers?Recommend
@Timour Pasha:
we wont apply for visas and live in US if US calls all thier spies and other agents back from pakistan and borders of pak afghan.
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dude its not written on anybody’s face that they are muslims, a muslim can be black, white, redneck, blue eyed, curly hair, islam is beyond borders, races etc. i am sure non of the police officers will harm any muslim intentionally, i am pretty sure if a system so strong that allows people to talk against the police chief can also provide protection to any one unjustly treated by the same police department.
I pray for the peace for all muslims, christians hindus, aethiests, monks budhists and all other religions of the world.
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