Statement On Behalf Of The Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition

Progress on the Inspector General bill and for Police Accountability
Within a week of the release of a report on impacts of NYPD surveillance of Muslim communities, the tragic shooting of Kimani Gray, and the start of the lawsuit against NYPD’s Stop & Frisk policies, the City Council is one step closer to passage of the Inspector General bill to create oversight of the NYPD

“As a coalition of organizations working in Muslim American communities, we welcome the news from Speaker Quinn’s office of a broad agreement so far on the Inspector General bill, and we look forward to passage of this and other reforms that increase accountability and oversight of the NYPD,” said Linda Sarsour, Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York.
“Our community members have joined press conferences, protests, met with City Council members, and testified at hearings and to the media about their experiences of being surveilled, of being harassed as workers, and of being stopped and frisked as youth. So we understand that in addition to NYPD oversight, we really need passage of the full package of bills that create meaningful NYPD accountability and bring an end to the profiling and the abuses,” said Monami Maulik, Executive Director of DRUM - Desis Rising Up & Moving.
MACLC is a New York-based coalition of citizens, community and faith leaders, organizers, advocates and attorneys. MACLC aims to give voice to absent perspectives on issues of national security, counterterrorism, law enforcement, and civil rights, especially as they impact Muslim communities in post-9/11 New York City. Members of the coalition include: Muslim American Society of New York, Women in Islam, Inc. Muslim Bar Association of New York; Council on American Islamic Relations - New York; DRUM - Desis Rising Up and Moving; Arab American Association of New York; CUNY CLEARl AALDEF – Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Muslim Consultative Network; Association of Muslim American Lawyers; Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Muslim Progressive Traditionalist Alliance.