'Punish A Muslim Day' Threat Puts NYPD On Guard At Mosques

NEW YORK, NY — A call for violence against Muslims originating in the United Kingdom led the NYPD to boost patrols near mosques on Tuesday. The Police Department said it paid special attention to houses of worship and Muslim houses of worship, community organizations and Islamic centers in case of any threats after a racist flyer circulated across the pond dubbed April 3 "Punish A Muslim Day."

Letters calling for attacks on Muslims that day ranging from verbal abuse to bombings were mailed last month to several people in the U.K., including at least four Muslim members of British Parliament, The Guardian reported.

The NYPD's Intelligence Bureau learned of the threat in mid-March after the flyers appeared, Police Department spokesman J. Peter Donald said. A team comprising officers from several NYPD units coordinated to provide extra protection for Muslim community facilities on Tuesday, he said.

"While we have not seen any evidence of this threat gaining traction here, it has generated understandable concern," Donald said.

The flyers reportedly offered "rewards" in the form of "points" for anyone who carries out attacks on Muslims on Tuesday. They contained a racist screed that bemoans "white majority nations" becoming "over-run" by Muslims.

While the threat apparently has not led to any attacks in New York, officials condemned the flyers and the concept of "Punish A Muslim Day" as hateful and divisive.

"'Punish a Muslim Day' is a hateful attempt to divide us — and it will not succeed," City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in a statement Monday. "We stand united with our brothers and sisters in the Muslim community, and firm in the knowledge that an attack on one is an attack on all."

The letters are similar in several ways to threatening messages sent in 2016 and 2017 to mosques in the U.K. and the United States — including one in Brooklyn, The Guardian reported. The Brooklyn mosque received a letter that was signed "Muslim Slayer" in March 2017, according to NBC 4 New York.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the day of the week on which police boosted patrols near Muslim houses of worship and other facilities. It is Tuesday, April 3.

(Lead image: An NYPD car sits outside the Islamic Culture Center of New York on Jan. 30, 2017. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)