WPIX reports: Mayor Michael Bloomberg met with NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and ten Muslim community leaders Wednesday in an attempt to assuage growing unease following the recent massacre at the Fort Hood Army Base in Texas and avoid any potential backlash against Muslim New Yorkers.

“we have no tolerance whatsoever for hate crimes or for intolerance,” Bloomberg told WPIX after the meeting.

In the aftermath of the Fort Hood shooting many Muslim groups scrambled to distance themselves from the shooter, army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan, whose Muslim last name sparked fear of a backlash within the Islamic community.

“We reiterate the American Muslim community’s condemnation of this cowardly attack. Right now, we call on all Americans to assist those who are responding to this atrocity. We must ensure that the wounded are treated and the families of those who were murdered have an opportunity to mourn,” said Council on American-Islamic Relations National Executive Director, Nihad Awad, in an address on Capitol Hill just hours after the shooting.

Awad also added that, “Unfortunately, based on past experience, we also urge American Muslims, and those who may be perceived to be Muslim, to take appropriate precautions to protect themselves, their families and their religious institutions from possible backlash.”

Although authorities maintain that Hasan acted alone and was not working for the Taliban or Al-Quaeda, witnesses claim that he shouted, “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great” as he began the rampage that would leave 13 dead and 30 wounded.

Also troubling for the Muslim community is the recent revelation that the Taliban is celebrating Hasan as a hero, with the UK’s Telegraph reporting that the Taliban has released the following email statement: “The recent attack on the military base in Texas warns that if the occupation policy of the American rulers continues in this way, without them folding the carpets of occupation and transgression in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is natural then that incidents and attacks similar to Texas will spread to the Pentagon and other American military centres.”

This type of backlash is not new, with multiple incidents being recorded after 9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombing. The Center on American-Islamic Relations released a report in the aftermath of the September 11th that documented 1,717 incidents of violence, threats and bias in just the first six months following the terrorist attacks.

(Source: WPIX TV)