Arun Venugopal

A few weeks ago, Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch and one of the most outspoken critics of Islamic groups, said the debate among Muslim organizations, their allies and their opponents was to a large degree "a propaganda war in the information battle space."

As the city plans to challenge what it says are low census numbers by showing that many of the thousands of vacancies – namely in Brooklyn and Queens – were in fact occupied homes, some residents in those areas spoke of an impenetrable "housing underworld" that census workers could not reach.

A group of family members who lost loved ones on September 11 criticized plans to have thousands of unidentified victim remains placed underground at the museum at the former World Trade Center site.

The Bloomberg administration announced plans to officially challenge the U.S. Census Bureau's population count for New York City. The challenge comes in response to the bureau's tally of 8.175 million people within the five boroughs — a headcount about 250,000 below what local officials believe to be accurate.

Muslim groups and elected officials are calling on the NYPD to explain why it allegedly screened a controversial documentary known as "The Third Jihad" for trainees.

The last time world affairs found their way into artist Samuel Mark's work, bed bugs were taking over the city. Mark channeled the collective panic of New Yorkers into a series of works that depicted the critters swarming over mattresses, sofas and other discarded furniture. The series earned the street artist instant notoriety and widespread media coverage.

 

Some New Yorkers are taking to the streets to raise money for disaster relief in Japan following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

As officials call for greater scrutiny of the tour bus industry following the deadly Bronx bus crash, a vehicle checkpoint established in the wake of the I-95 wreck that left 15 dead found 100 percent of buses stopped had safety violations

WITH PHOTOS. So far, professional illustrator James Gulliver Hancock, who runs the blog "All the Buildings in New York," has managed a respectable pace: he figures he's drawn ab...

New Schools Chancellor Cathie Black came off a bit nervous at times during a conference with 120 city principals at Fordham University on Wednesday, but there was at least some common ground: the need to be able to fire bad teachers more easily.

Foley Square, Downtown.

A State Supreme Court judge heard arguments Tuesday in a lawsuit meant to block development of Park51, the proposed mosque and Islamic center near Ground Zero. But he often seemed skeptical of arguments made by the plaintiff and suggested he did not want to challenge the authority of city administrators who had cleared the way for the controversial project.

About 120 demonstrators gathered in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, to protest a proposed mosque that opponents argue will dramatically alter the quality of life in the neighborhood. The protest, organized by about 80 supporters of the mosque, was within shouting distance of a counter-protest and drew locals and nationally prominent critics of Islam.

Faiza Patel discusses her new report, "Rethinking Radicalization", on how law enforcement officials try to deter "homegrown" terrorism in the United States. Ahmed Nasser, detective and Muslim community affairs representative for the NYPD, weighs in on radicalization and on yesterday's hearings in Washington D.C. on radicalization within the Muslim American community. And Arun Venugopal, WNYC reporter who covered the hearings, describes what happened in Washington yesterday.

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New York Representative Peter King (R-3rd), chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, is holding controversial hearings today on "The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community's Response." WNYC's Arun Venugopal is in Washington DC for the hearings, and live-blogged the event and answered reader questions.

»» WNYC Hearing Coverage: Arun Venugopal Sets the Stage | Guide to Witness List | Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf on The Takeaway | Protest Slideshow | Muslim Playwright Changes the Script

»» WNYC's Live Event on Homegrown Terror: Video and Audio of Brian Lehrer, Daisy Kahn, Ray Kelly, Arun Venugopal

»» Peter King: Official Page | NY Mag Profile | NY Times Archive

»» WNYC's Arun Venugopal is live-blogging the hearings from Washington DC Thursday morning

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) is set to hold a long-awaited (and for some, long-lamented) hearing on Muslim extremism in the United States Thursday. Specifically, the hearing will focus on what relationship, if any, exists between radical Islamists, American mosques and other domestic Muslim organizations.

Leading up to this week's hearings, a pro-Muslim demonstration was held in New York City on Sunday, where King was vilified for his insistence on such a hearing. However, another demonstration in favor of King's hearing was held at the same time, during which protesters said it was time for an inquiry into the activities of Muslim Americans.

The list of attendees for the Thursday hearing was released to the public on Monday. Here's a look at who is slated to speak.

For years, men like Arish Kumar Sahani have spoken out about the abuses suffered by Hindus in Muslim-majority countries, as well as how Islamic extremism affects Hindus in India. Their concerns didn't often travel outside the Indian-American community, which has fiercely debated the rights of Muslims in a Hindu-majority India.

But the furor over Park 51 and more recent controversy over Congressman Peter King's hearings on Muslim radicalization have provided a mainstream platform for Hindu-American activists, while simultaneously diversifying the ranks of anti-Islamic protesters.

Hundreds of demonstrators stood in the rain in Times Square on Sunday to protest Congressman Peter King's hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims.

An organization linked to Park 51, the controversial Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero, suddenly cancelled a Wednesday night performance of a play featuring September 11 family members.

More than 600,000 people were stopped and questioned as part of the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy in 2010. Police officials have long argued that the stops are critical to maintaini...