Thu, 26 Aug 2010 07:20:33 GMT
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New York Taxi driver Ahmed Sharif was treated and released in a local hospital after being stabbed by an assailant for being Muslim. |
A New York taxi driver has been stabbed by his passenger for being Muslim, amid controversial debate over plans to build an Islamic center near the site of the former World Trade Center.
The Muslim cab driver was brutally stabbed by the assailant after responding to his question, "Are you Muslim?"
"I think this clearly demonstrates that hate speech often leads to hate crime when you have the constant vilification of Islam and Muslims on talk radio, in newspapers, on cable news and on the Internet," said Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
The driver, Ahmed Sharif, 43, was driving his taxi on Manhattan's East Side Monday night when he was hailed by the assailant, identified as 21-year-old Michael Enright of upstate New York.
Enright, according to police, asked Sharif, "Are you Muslim?" When Sharif said yes, he pulled out a knife and slashed Sharif in the neck, face and shoulders.
Sharif, who was treated at a local hospital and released, said he believed the debate over the Islamic center, often dubbed the ground zero mosque, was making public sentiment "very serious."
The New York Taxi Workers Alliance planned a news conference Thursday to call for an end to "bigotry and anti-Islamic rhetoric in the debate around the Park 51 Islamic Cultural Center."
Meanwhile, Hooper said his organization is concerned about "hysterical anti-Muslim rhetoric" and the impact on American Muslims and their families.
"You can survive hate crimes ... [but what about] the daily vilification of your faith -- how do your children survive that?" he asked.
In a related development, CARE reported Wednesday that a mosque in California was recently vandalized with a brick and hate signs referring to controversy over a planned Islamic community center in New York City.
According to a CARE statement, vandals targeting a Madera, California Islamic center left signs reading, 'No temple for the God of terrorism at Ground Zero' and 'Wake up America, the Enemy is here.' The signs were signed by ANB or American Nationalist Brotherhood.
"The hate campaign targeting American Muslims and Islam must be addressed and repudiated by responsible state and national leaders," said Zahra Billoo, director of programs and outreach of CARE's San Fr
The Muslim cab driver was brutally stabbed by the assailant after responding to his question, "Are you Muslim?"
"I think this clearly demonstrates that hate speech often leads to hate crime when you have the constant vilification of Islam and Muslims on talk radio, in newspapers, on cable news and on the Internet," said Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
The driver, Ahmed Sharif, 43, was driving his taxi on Manhattan's East Side Monday night when he was hailed by the assailant, identified as 21-year-old Michael Enright of upstate New York.
Enright, according to police, asked Sharif, "Are you Muslim?" When Sharif said yes, he pulled out a knife and slashed Sharif in the neck, face and shoulders.
Sharif, who was treated at a local hospital and released, said he believed the debate over the Islamic center, often dubbed the ground zero mosque, was making public sentiment "very serious."
The New York Taxi Workers Alliance planned a news conference Thursday to call for an end to "bigotry and anti-Islamic rhetoric in the debate around the Park 51 Islamic Cultural Center."
Meanwhile, Hooper said his organization is concerned about "hysterical anti-Muslim rhetoric" and the impact on American Muslims and their families.
"You can survive hate crimes ... [but what about] the daily vilification of your faith -- how do your children survive that?" he asked.
In a related development, CARE reported Wednesday that a mosque in California was recently vandalized with a brick and hate signs referring to controversy over a planned Islamic community center in New York City.
According to a CARE statement, vandals targeting a Madera, California Islamic center left signs reading, 'No temple for the God of terrorism at Ground Zero' and 'Wake up America, the Enemy is here.' The signs were signed by ANB or American Nationalist Brotherhood.
"The hate campaign targeting American Muslims and Islam must be addressed and repudiated by responsible state and national leaders," said Zahra Billoo, director of programs and outreach of CARE's San Fr
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