NEW YORK, Dec 26: Dozens of political activists, labour and religious leaders representing a cross section of society on Tuesday protested Bush administration’s policy requiring mandatory registration of Muslim immigrants and their arrests in Los Angeles.

Some groups decided to picket the Immigration and Naturalization offices in Manhattan every Friday until the new deadline for Saudi and Pakistani immigrants begins on Jan 10.

A press conference organized by Coney Island Project to highlight the plight of Muslim immigrants turned into a public meeting wherein some six leaders spoke and condemned the new order by the US justice Department which requires immigrants to register.

Speakers condemned the persecution of Muslims — immigrants and citizens — by the Bush administration and likened it to the fascism of Nazi Germany.

They strongly condemned the new order that requires immigrants from a list of 21 countries — all of which except North Korea are Muslim or Middle Eastern — to register with the INS by specified deadlines.

Mitch Cohen a leader of Ralph Nader’s Green Party vowed to stand beside and support the Muslim community and said that party members will accompany Muslim immigrants to go for Registration and demand to get registered themselves.

Tracy Gross of Park Slope United Methodist Church said that this is a shameful period of our history and this has happened to other communities in the past.

Bobby Khan of ‘The Coney Island Avenue Project’ said that US is our country, too. “We will defend our rights in collaboration with all people of conscience. Thousands of Pakistanis, Muslims and Arabs have been detained tortured and deported during the past year, but not a single one of them was found to have any connection to terrorism. Requirement of special registration for only Muslims is an outright discrimination and violation of US and international law.”

The speakers included newscaster Amy Goodman of WBAI (Democracy Now), Rabbi Valerie Lieber of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Pastor Zan White of the United Methodist Church, Fahim Butt of APPNA, and Sadiq Choudhary of FAPA.

As the press conference was underway a diverse group of about 200 protesters — including construction workers and taxi drivers — stood in the cold for nearly two hours to listen to the speakers. Business owners in the neighbourhood dropped shutters as a protest.