Taxi Cab Stabbing

[Jiro]

Acquaintances 'shocked' at film student's arrest in stabbing of Muslim

A film student suspected of stabbing a New York cab driver after learning the driver was Muslim was described Thursday as someone who worked to build bridges across religious and ethnic boundaries.

But Sharif said he was targeted because of his faith. "Of course, it was because of my religion," he said, noting that the passenger "made some jokes about Ramadan," the Muslim holy month of fasting, and attacked him after asking him if he was Muslim.

The suspect "started out friendly, asking Mr. Sharif about where he was from, how long he had been in America, if he was Muslim and if he was observing fast during Ramadan," Desai said.

Then, after a few minutes of silence, Desai said Enright started cursing at Sharif and shouted "Assalamu Alaikum, consider this a checkpoint," before slashing him.

"Assalamu Alaikum" is an Arabic greeting that means "peace be upon you."
The taxi workers alliance said Sharif, 43, a practicing Muslim originally from Bangladesh, was slashed across the neck, face, shoulder and hand.

 

[Jiro]

Who Is Michael Enright?

Mr. Enright is also a volunteer with Intersections International, an initiative of the Collegiate Churches of New York that promotes justice and faith across religions and cultures. The organization, which covered part of Mr. Enright's travel expenses to Afghanistan, has been a staunch supporter of the Islamic center near ground zero. Mr. Enright volunteered with the group's veteran-civilian dialogue project.

The violence that erupted during the cab ride came amid a heated and persisting national debate over whether to situate a Muslim community center and mosque two blocks north of ground zero. Upon learning of the attack on the cabdriver, some Muslim groups called for political and religious leaders to quiet tensions.

Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement: "As other American minorities have experienced, hate speech often leads to hate crimes. Sadly, we've seen how the deliberate public vilification of Islam can lead some individuals to violence against innocent people."

a physical hate? sickening...