In Effort to Spot Terrorists, NYPD Shadows Muslims Who Change Names

Share:
A New York Police Department security camera is mounted on a utility pole August 9, 2007 in New York. The NYPD is increasing the use of surveillance cameras to monitor suspicious activity in an effort to reduce crime and terrorism.

A New York Police Department security camera is mounted on a utility pole August 9, 2007 in New York. The NYPD is increasing the use of surveillance cameras to monitor suspicious activity in an effort to reduce crime and terrorism. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

October 27, 2011

This is the latest revelation from the AP’s months-long investigation into the New York Police Department’s surveillance of Muslims after 9/11. And while the NYPD keeps an eye out for anyone who changes their name, they pay special attention to “those whose names sound Arabic or might be from Muslim countries,” running “comprehensive background checks that include reviewing travel records, criminal histories, business licenses and immigration documents.”

One of the goals of the program, says the AP, is to detect folks like Pakistani-American Daood Gilani — otherwise known as David Coleman Headley, one of the masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Headley applied for a name change in 2005; it became official almost six months later (“Headley” is his mother’s maiden name). As a former CIA officer told us, his name change helped Headley become the “perfect” terrorist: He had a U.S. passport, an American-sounding name and he looked like a non-Muslim westerner.

Two out of three people investigated by the NYPD “had changed their names to or from something that could be read as Arabic-sounding,” according to the AP’s investigation.

The Headley case, however, is more complicated than a simple name change — stay tuned for our Nov. 22 film, A Perfect Terrorist, a collaboration with ProPublica that investigates the mysterious circumstances behind Headley’s rise from heroin dealer and U.S. government informant to his associations with Lashkar-i-Taiba and Pakistan’s powerful intelligence service, the ISI.

Photo: A New York Police Department security camera mounted on a utility pole in New York. (AP/Mark Lennihan)


More Stories

9/11, More Than 20 Years Later: 20 Essential Documentaries to Watch
These films, selected from more than two decades of extensive FRONTLINE reporting, probe that fateful day and its lasting impacts on America and the world.
September 5, 2025
Watch FRONTLINE’s 5 Most-Streamed Documentaries of 2025 (So Far)
Looking for some documentaries to watch as summer continues? We’ve got you covered.
August 6, 2025
Tonight's New Documentary, This Month, and the Future
A note from FRONTLINE Editor-in-Chief and Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath.
July 29, 2025
The Iran-Israel Conflict and the U.S. Role: 11 Documentaries to Watch
Decades of tensions between Israel and Iran erupted into war in June. These FRONTLINE films offer context and background on the conflict, both countries’ leaders and ambitions, the role of the U.S., and the ongoing impact across the Middle East.
July 29, 2025