Muslim leaders plan to boycott Bloomberg interfaith breakfast

Source: CNN International

Mayor Michael Bloomberg backed New York police ahead of a boycott of the city's annual interfaith breakfast Friday by a prominent group of Muslim clerics.

On Thursday, he touted law enforcement efforts to thwart future terrorist attacks in New York, telling reporters that "we obey the law" and that authorities "don't target anybody," instead focusing on leads.

The controversy stems from a series of news reports that raised questions about the nature of a Central Intelligence Agency partnership with the New York Police Department, pointing to the alleged surveillance of Muslims living in New York.

The Associated Press reported that following the September 11, 2001, attacks, the CIA helped the NYPD build intelligence programs used to spy on Muslims, and that a CIA officer was involved in intelligence collection in Muslim communities.


Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/30/us/new-york-bloomberg/index.html?hpt=us_c2