Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYPD Closely Monitors Muslims Who Change Their Names
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 26, 2011
Modified Oct 26, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 26, 2011
Modified Oct 26, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Immigrants who come to America have changed their names to help them assimilate since the nation's beginning. Fashion designer Ralph Lauren was born Ralph Lifshitz. Donald Trump's grandfather changed the family name from Drumpf. John Del Signore was formerly Hamilton Hollingsworth. But when it comes to the NYPD, the process of assimilation is more of a process of elimination in their hunt for terrorists. The AP reports that the department has been closely tracking Muslims who change their names.
It turns out the NYPD monitors everyone in the city who changes his or her name, but they're paying extra special attention to those with Arabic-sounding names or who come from Muslim countries. "Police run comprehensive background checks that include reviewing travel records, criminal histories, business licenses and immigration documents," according to the AP. "All this is recorded in police databases for supervisors, who review the names and select a handful of people for police to visit."
State court officials say they've been sending the NYPD notifications about name changes ever since 2008, and they don't see the harm in it because this information is already public. But the NYPD's rules prohibit "opening investigations based solely on activities protected by the First Amendment," and, as the AP notes, "Federal courts have held that people have a right to change their names and, in the case of religious conversion, that right is protected by the First Amendment." In August, the AP published a bombshell investigative report about how the NYPD's counterterrorism tactics have gone further than what the FBI allows, and they're probably illegal.
The AP also learned that the NYPD has been throwing in American names to the list of those they run extensive checks on, so they won't be accused of racial profiling. But at least two-thirds of the names they've picked for extensive background checks could be read as Arabic-sounding. "In the past, you changed your name in response to stigmatization," says Donna Gabaccia, director of the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota. "And now, you change your name and you are stigmatized. There's just something very sad about this."
Tagged
muslims
name change
nypd
terrorists
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYPD: Officer shot, injured knife-wielding woman during ‘chaotic’ night at Queens home
The woman is in stable condition, police said, but several people were stabbed.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 24, 2026 at 8:35 a.m. ET
3 slates vying to run Jersey City school board as city stares down major tax hikes
The incumbent slate, formerly backed by the teacher's union, lost that influential support over public arguments and controversies.
By
Michael Sol Warren
News
3 slates vying to run Jersey City school board as city stares down major tax hikes
The incumbent slate, formerly backed by the teacher's union, lost that influential support over public arguments and controversies.
By
Michael Sol Warren
5 men charged with trespassing in 2 Manhattan manhole cases
By
Charles Lane
6-year-old girl breaks leg after getting hit by falling bricks in Queens
By
Charles Lane
Mamdani extends ban on permits for new street fairs due to NYPD overtime
By
Carol Chen
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .