NJ Muslims, officials to discuss NYPD program
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Feb. 24, 2012: Students watch statements by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg during a round table discussion at the Islamic Center at New York University.
TRENTON, N.J.-- Muslim leaders and state and federal officials are set to discuss New Jersey's response to the NYPD's secret surveillance program.
Several in the Muslim community who were invited to a meeting on Saturday in Trenton say they hope the state attorney general will announce a formal investigation into the matter.
Aref Assaf, the head of the Paterson-based American Arab Forum says he hopes the meeting will go beyond merely discussing relationships between Muslim residents and law enforcement in New Jersey, which traditionally have been positive.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He and other Muslim leaders are demanding a formal investigation into the NYPD's activities in New Jersey.
Gov. Chris Christie and Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, where the NYPD conducted operations, have spoken out against the program.
NYPD officials have defended it as lawful.