String of incidents targeting Muslim women.
AB Wire
In yet another case of a bias attack on a Muslim woman, a uniformed MTA officer – who wears and Islamic head scarf (hijab) – was assaulted Monday morning in New York City by a man who yelled “You’re a terrorist and you shouldn’t be working for the city.”
According to police, the alleged attacker, reportedly shoved the MTA employee down a flight of stairs, injuring her knee and ankle. The NYPD and New York State Division of Human Rights are investigating the attack as a bias incident, said reports.
The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) condemned the latest in a series of recent hate attacks on Muslims in New York.
“Our subways and buses are emblematic of our city’s unparalleled diversity, and we must not permit them to become a venue for hatred and violence,” said CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher. “President-elect Trump has a duty to forcefully denounce this wave of violence against the Muslim community. Mr. Trump’s rhetoric normalized hate, racism and xenophobia, and these attacks are the unavoidable byproduct.”
CAIR-NY Director of Strategic Litigation Albert Fox Cahn said: “We are grateful to see that witnesses had the courage to intervene in the most recent attack. “The only way our city and state will overcome this wave of hatred is if New Yorkers step forward whenever we see our neighbors being threatened. It’s incumbent on all New Yorkers to stand firm in the face of hate.”
This latest attack comes just a day after Christopher Nelson, 36, was arrested and for allegedly assaulting an off-duty Muslim NYPD officer – who also wears and Islamic head scarf (hijab) – and her 16-year-old son.
According to police, Nelson reportedly shoved the officer’s son and shouted, “ISIS (expletive), I will cut your throat, go back to your country!” and “go back to your country.” Nelson has been charged with menacing as a hate crime and aggravated assault in the second degree.
On Friday, CAIR-NY condemned an alleged attack on a Muslim woman transit passenger who reportedly shouted President-elect Donald Trump’s name and Islamophobic slurs during the assault.
The organization also recently condemned an apparently bias-motivated attack on Muslim teenagers in Queens and had called on New York City to take a leadership role in defending Muslim civil rights in the wake of Donald Trump’s election as president of the United States.
CAIR’s national office has noted a spike in incidents targeting American Muslims and other minority groups since the November 8 presidential election. More than 100 anti-Muslim incidents have occurred across the country according to CAIR and almost 1000 incidents targeting different minority groups have been documented by the Southern Poverty Law Center.