Muslims rally, demand Kelly's resignation

Muslims and their allies are stepping up pressure to get Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne to resign and make the NYPD more accountable.

About 200 people showed up for a rally outside One Police Plaza, chanting "Kelly and Browne, out of this town." They were joined by City Council members. Muslim groups hope to create allies among City Council members and other minorities who have complained of unfair treatment by the NYPD, including blacks and Latinos who claim to have been targeted by "Stop and Frisk" programs, in which officers check anyone they think is suspicious.

Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Queens) said that after the NYPD was caught lying about screening the controversial documentary "The Third Jihad" for officers, oversight hearings were necessary. Council members Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Manhattan), Robert Jackson (D-Manhattan) and Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn) also joined the demonstration.

Thirty-three Muslim groups also sent Attorney General Eric Schneiderman a letter, urging him to investigate the NYPD. The groups are also working with the NYU Brennan Center for Justice to research and draft a blueprint for what will eventually become a bill to create an authority to oversee the police department.

On Thursday, The Associated Press revealed an NYPD report from 2006, which recommended putting thousands of Shia Muslims under surveillance as a way to find Iranian terrorists -- most Iranians practice the Shia faith. The document also encouraged focusing on Palestinians.

At a news conference on Thursday, Kelly said that the report was a contingency plan in case of military conflict between the United States and Iran but it contradicted NYPD claims that it did not profile on the basis of religion.

"It's unsettling to know that I don't have any rights here," said Ameesha Manji, 23, a Shia Muslim from East Meadow.