On August 24, New York cab driver Ahmed Sharif was viscously assaulted by a passenger in his cab, who asked him if he was a Muslim before attacking him with a knife. Sharif was hospitalised but survived.
The NYC Coalition to Stop Islamophobia released the statement below on August 25. It is abridged from the website of the Coalition to Stop Islamophobia in America.
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According to investigators from the New York City Police Department, Ahmed H. Sharif, a yellow cab driver, was stabbed by a passenger on Tuesday evening for answering “yes” when asked if he was a Muslim.
This violent attack is particularly disturbing in the context of the toxic atmosphere of Islamophobia produced by opponents of the Park51 community project in Lower Manhattan, insistently but incorrectly referred to by its opponents (and much of the media) as the “Ground Zero mosque”.
Documented cases of hate crimes against Muslims have been on the rise throughout the United States in recent months. The violent and racist rhetoric espoused by protesters at the previous weekend’s rallies near Ground Zero, including a near mob attack on an African American bystander, are a fearful sign of potential violence to come.
Enough is enough.
We call upon all New Yorkers to join us in denouncing the rising tide of Islamophobia in our city and our country, and to assure members of the Muslim community that we will stand with them in resisting this bigotry that has been unleashed.
We call upon the leaders of hate groups such as Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) and their supporters to end their campaign of venomous falsehoods, intimidation and hate speech against the Park51 project and its supporters, as well as against the Muslim community more generally.
SIOA is running venomous advertisements on taxis and buses around the US, including in cities where a majority of taxi drivers are from predominantly Muslim countries of origin.
History has taught us that such inflammatory speech can only lead to violence, especially when the leaders of such groups speak admiringly of avowedly violent hate groups such as the English Defense League.
We call upon SIOA to stop politicising the grief that all New Yorkers will feel this September 11. Bringing a figure like Geert Wilders, who has been prosecuted in his home country of the Netherlands for his violent hate speech, to speak on September 11 is a deliberate provocation on what should be a solemn day of mourning.
We call upon both local and national politicians, as well as media outlets, to stop using the so-called “Mosque controversy” for partisan political ends, and to take a strong and unequivocal stance against Islamophobia.
The hate crime of stabbing a taxi driver because he identifies as Muslim is a clear expression of Islamophobia. All those who have played a role in encouraging the current climate of bigotry against Muslims share some of the responsibility for this attack.
If Islamophobia is allowed to go unchallenged, we will see more violence against our neighbours.