LA officials defend police move to map Muslims

Police respect 8220;the civil and human rights of Muslims8221;, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said.

Deputy Chief Michael P Downing said objections are coming from people who 8220;don8217;t really understand what we are doing8221;. 8220;We are not looking at individuals. We are looking at groups and communities,8221; he said. Police want to be viewed as 8220;trusted friends8221;.

There are an estimated 500,000 Muslims in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. The Police Department is trying to identify the location of Muslim enclaves to determine which might be susceptible to 8220;violent, ideologically-based extremism8221;, Downing said. The intent is to 8220;reach out to those communities,8221; including Pakistanis, Iranians and Chechens.

Muslim groups and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California wrote to Downing expressing 8220;grave concerns.8221; It was signed by representatives of Muslim Advocates, an association of Muslim lawyers, the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

8220;Singling out individuals for investigation, surveillance, and data-gathering based on their religion constitutes religious profiling that is just as unlawful, ill-advised and deeply offensive as racial profiling,8221; the letter said.