US Muslims join calls for police reforms in wake of Floyd killing
US Muslims have voiced support for the anti-racism movement across the country triggered by African American George Floyd's death, calling for police reforms to prohibit racial profiling, brutality and discrimination against Black Muslims.
In the wake of Floyd's death in police custody last month, dozens of Muslim organizations in the US expressed solidarity with the anti-racism protesters, demanding an end to police brutality and victimization of Black Muslims.
"The victimization of unarmed Black Muslims has a long and troubling history," Muslim Advocates said in a joint statement on Monday.
"Today, we are committing to take action in support of Black-led organizations on the front lines of this work," the civil rights organization added in its statement.
"We join together to call for reform to our nation’s policing practices" including brutality and the use of extreme force,it said, adding that the “qualified immunity doctrine”, which prevents police from being held legally accountable when they break the law, needed to be eliminated.
It noted "that use of force be reserved as a last resort, only when absolutely necessary."
The statement pointed out the US justice system needed to be reformed in its entirety.
"We recognize that discrimination pervades our entire justice system — from policing to trials to prisons to re-entry barriers for returning citizens — and that these demands only represent a down payment on the reforms that are needed. If this deep-seated discrimination cannot be done away with through reform, then these systems will need to be abolished and re-imagined entirely," it said."As American Muslims, we will draw on our diversity, our strength, and our resilience to demand these reforms because Black lives matter. We cannot, and will not, accept anything less," it concluded. "This is our fight."
Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates, one of the statement's co-conveners, said taking concrete action to end anti-Black police violence was the least demand of the 95 organizations that had co-signed the statement.
"Some would call for much more," Khera insisted.
Floyd's death unleashed protests against police brutality and racial discrimination in the US and many world countries.
US Muslims have been participants in the anti-racism rallies triggered by Floyd's death.
His death has also reinvigorated discussions about the victimization of Black Muslims.
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