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MEMBERS of New York’s Muslim Community Patrol (MCP) gained international attention earlier this year after its first patrol cars – almost identical to NYPD vehicles – were spotted in Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Image via YouTube

According to this video report, there are currently three Muslim Patrol cars, but there are plans to increase the fleet to 30. An undercover informant who applied to become a patrol member was told by the Director of Operations of the MCP, Mahwish Fathma, above, that the MCP existed in part to implement Islamic law.

We’ll enforce it [Sharia] on Muslims first then on non-Muslims. We’re going to enforce both Sharia law and American law. It would be contradictory to enforce Sharia law without also upholding the laws of the land.

I should point out that the video was posted by a right-wing “family values” organisation – the Christian Action Network which was branded as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center – but more reputable news outlets, including The New York Times, have voiced similar concerns.

The Muslim Patrol originally said its purpose was to serve as a liaison between Muslims and the NYPD. But after the mosque shootings in New Zealand in March, in which a gunman killed 51 Muslims, the MCP began describing itself as a law enforcement organisation, claiming its goal is to:

Protect members of the local community from escalating quality-of-life nuisance crimes.

When the group was launched, the group’s Vice President Noor Rabah dismissed the notion that it was intent on imposing sharia law:

It’s about Muslims taking care of people in our community. But it’s not just Muslims. If we’re driving or we’re patrolling, and we see a guy attacking a woman we don’t ask, ‘what’s your religion? What do you believe in? Who’s your God?’ We’re there for preventative measures … we’re there to help our community.

Image via YouTube

But according to this report “bullying” and “gangster-like” tactics have been reported by locals in areas where the patrols operate, creating a backlash against the self-described “civilian patrol organisation.”

Earlier this month it became embroiled in potentially explosive incident outside the Masjid Taqwa in Brooklyn with members of the Bloods, a notoriously violent gang.

A verbal altercation began when a teenage boy allegedly “disrespected” a Muslim woman outside the Masjid Taqwa mosque on Fulton Street. The boy did not touch the woman, bystanders say, but did speak to her.

A MCP member grabbed the teen by the collar and threw him against the gate of the mosque. While the boy was pressed against the fence, the Muslim Patrol member held him by the neck and lectured him.

The boy complained to his father, who happens to be a senior member of the local Bloods. The father rallied six other Blood members to join him and went to the mosque, where at least one Blood member brandished a weapon.

According to a witness, the father said to the Muslim Patrol officer:

Dude, I’m going to bust in your fucking mouth if you ever put your hands on my child again.

The situation escalated after the Muslim Patrol member called for backup. Soon, several Muslim Patrol cars arrived with sirens screaming and lights flashing.

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