NYPD Training Tested as Recruit Claims Religious Objection to Salute

NEW YORK, NY- On September 11, 2026, the United States will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Alexandria, Virginia, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. People are still dying from 9/11 related illness among those who responded to the Twin Towers in New York City. We, as Americans, vowed never to forget. Sadly, that is precisely what appears to have happened. 

The RAIR Foundation is reporting that a NYPD recruit currently training at the police academy is seeking a religious exemption from saluting the American flag, citing his Islamic beliefs. This neanderthal claims that his Islamic beliefs only allow him to praise Allah. 

A retired NYPD lieutenant, John Macari Jr., citing an anonymous law enforcement source, alleges that the recruit submitted a formal “reasonable accommodation” request seeking to be excused from a mandatory requirement for NYPD uniformed officers. The NYPD policy explicitly states that saluting the American flag is a required civic act and a condition of service for all officers. Saluting the American flag has no religious connotations whatsoever. It isn’t optional. 

The NYPD Administrative Guide requires uniformed officers to salute the U.S. flag as it passes and during the national anthem, viewing it as a fundamental sign of respect for our country. The policy aligns with flag etiquette for all uniformed personnel, who render a military salute while civilians stand at attention with their hands over their hearts.

This incident highlights an increasing refusal for people of Islamic faith to assimilate into American traditions and norms, or in this case, the official policy of the New York City Police Department.

As RAIR wrote:

“This incident is not isolated. It is the latest manifestation of a long-running institutional shift within the NYPD, one that has steadily elevated Islamic visibility, religious accommodation, and identity-based programming inside a department once defined by secular authority and equal standards.” 

As RAIR notes, the NYPD has embraced Islamic culture, hosting “foreign national heritage events, promoted Islamic religious observances, and granted a growing list of Islamic-specific accommodations, all while memorializing 9/11 has become increasingly symbolic rather than substantive.” 

Think of the breakdown in camaraderie, morale, and esprit de corps if certain officers are allowed to follow their religious beliefs on duty, when they are supposed to be following the Constitution, state and local laws, and police department policies. What laws would this diva refuse to enforce because they are in conflict with Sharia law? Moreover, what laws would he try to enforce (domestic violence comes to mind) since beating your wife appears to be allowed under Sharia law? 

The solution for this particular officer is simple. Follow NYPD policies, and if you do not believe you can do so, go out to Minneapolis or Dearborn and become a police officer there, since they are more concerned with being politically correct rather than enforcing the law. 

Given who the new mayor of New York is and that the police commissioner serves at the Commie’s pleasure, don’t be surprised if this accommodation is granted, which will be another nail in the coffin for the great NYPD and America’s Finest. 

Our suggestion to the good NYPD officers–get out while the getting is good and go to departments that don’t kowtow to the radicals.