The NYPD denied for more than a year that it showed its new recruits a controversial documentary about Islam, but today, The New York Times reports that nearly 1,500 officers were exposed to the film.
“The Third Jihad” is narrated by Zuhdi Jasser, a Muslim man who expressed outrage that, he says, few American Muslims were speaking out and condemning the 9/11 attacks.
“This is the true agenda of much of Islam in America,” Jasser says in the film. “A strategy to infiltrate and dominate America. We all know about terrorism … This is the war you don’t know about.”
When news first broke last year that the NYPD was showing the film, top police officials said it was only shown “a couple of times.”
But “The Third Jihad” was actually played on continuous loop over a period of between three months and one year, the Times reports today, according to internal police documents. The film was shown during “during the sign-in, medical and administrative orientation process” for new officers, according to the Times.
Muslim groups in New York are outraged at what they call a “propaganda” video. The Council on American-Islamic relations today asked for a review of all NYPD training on Islam and for Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly to meet with Muslim community leaders. An interview with Kelly is included in the film, as well as interviews with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman.
Today’s news comes after the NYU Law School’s Brennan Center for Justice filed a Freedom of Information Law request for information about the film, and the NYPD was forced to release confidential internal documents. In all, 1,489 police officers — 68 lieutenants, 159 sergeants, 31 detectives and 1,231 patrol officers — have seen “The Third Jihad,” according to the Times.
This comes after top police officers admitted they worked with the CIA to spy on Muslim groups, including monitoring Islamic bookstores and mosques.
Watch a 10-minute clip of “The Third Jihad” below:
