A few weeks ago, a letter began circulating in the U.K. that said 3 April had been designated Punish a Muslim Day. It laid out a points-based reward system for violence carried out against Muslims, including 50 points to "throw acid in the face of a Muslim" and 1000 points to "burn or bomb a mosque."
As the letter went viral on social media, there were concerns the campaign could spark violence in New York. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams called for it to be countered by a message of tolerance.
"Our message must be just as loud," Adams said. "Not punish a Muslim, let’s embrace a Muslim, let’s embrace a Christian, let’s embrace a person of Jewish faith, let’s embrace the diversity that this city has to offer."
The NYPD's Intelligence Bureau learned of the threat in mid-March after the flyers appeared, Police Department spokesman J. Peter Donald told local news site Patch.
A spokesman for London’s Metropolitan Police told the Evening Standard that though there was no "credible information" that anti-Muslim attacks were being planned, police officers remained alert for potential incidents.
People from six U.K. communities received the letters, which have been investigated by counterterrorism officials. A number of the letters appeared to have been sent from the northern English city of Sheffield, police said.
"Are you a sheep like the vast majority of the population?" the letter reads. "Sheep follow orders and are easily led. They are allowing the white-majority nations of Europe and north America to become overrun by those who would like nothing more than to do us harm and to turn our democracies into sharia-led police states."
As the letter went viral on social media, there were concerns the campaign could spark violence in New York. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams called for it to be countered by a message of tolerance.
"Our message must be just as loud," Adams said. "Not punish a Muslim, let’s embrace a Muslim, let’s embrace a Christian, let’s embrace a person of Jewish faith, let’s embrace the diversity that this city has to offer."
The NYPD's Intelligence Bureau learned of the threat in mid-March after the flyers appeared, Police Department spokesman J. Peter Donald told local news site Patch.
A spokesman for London’s Metropolitan Police told the Evening Standard that though there was no "credible information" that anti-Muslim attacks were being planned, police officers remained alert for potential incidents.
People from six U.K. communities received the letters, which have been investigated by counterterrorism officials. A number of the letters appeared to have been sent from the northern English city of Sheffield, police said.
"Are you a sheep like the vast majority of the population?" the letter reads. "Sheep follow orders and are easily led. They are allowing the white-majority nations of Europe and north America to become overrun by those who would like nothing more than to do us harm and to turn our democracies into sharia-led police states."