The New York Police Department is withering public criticism from Brooklyn College  after a recent Associated Press investigation revealed that the NYPD, in collaboration with the CIA, have infiltrated Muslim student groups.
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Undercover officers were placed in cafes, mosques and student groups frequented by Muslims to listen to discussions and monitor their activities, which some claim is a civil rights violation. The AP discovered NYPD documents that detailed “militant paintball trips” and “fundamentalist speakers” among their chief concerns regarding a Muslim student association at Brooklyn College in 2006.
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This most recent infringement on the rights of these students does little to ease the discrimination of Muslims living in America in a post -9/11 world. A FBI report from 2009 documented over 100 incidents of anti-Islamic hate crimes.
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While the NYPD was quick to defend their infiltration of Muslim student groups, citing unspecific leads that prompted undercover investigation, officials at Brooklyn College condemn their actions.
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“The use of undercover police agents and the cultivation of police informers on campus has a chilling effect on the intellectual freedom necessary for a vibrant academic community,” a resolution put forth by the Faculty Council at Brooklyn College said.Â
