Wednesday, August 25, 2010

How many Muslims do we have to kill...

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Before we can let go of 9/11? Apparently, several hundred thousand are NOT enough, as a cab driver in NYC was just brutally attacked last night for being a Muslim. I am so angry I cannot express myself. I'll end up taking it out on my yard and will probably raze every tree and bush to get it out of my system.

Are you fucking happy, you fear-spreading, hate-mongering individuals (I won't even say Republicans, because Democrats are guilty too) for creating such an atmosphere of hate and fear over a single mosque that now people are being attacked? I am ashamed of all of you that did not stand up for the truth, for freedom of religion, for those who refused to acknowledge that this whole issue was spun up to fuel electoral wars. Are you proud of your victories, now? I'm talking to you too, Obama, Mr. If-I-Don't-Say-Anything-It-Will-All-Blow-Over. Well, it hasn't. Another innocent man is hurt and could easily have been killed. How long until someone is?!

'Are You Muslim?' Question Leads to Cabbie Stabbing, Hate Crime Charge
Driver Answered Yes, Passenger Pulled Knife, Says NYPD

By AARON KATERSKY, MARK CRUDELE and RICHARD ESPOSITO
Aug. 25, 2010

New York City cab driver was attacked Tuesday evening just after 6 p.m. by a passenger who asked him if he was Muslim, says the NYPD.

According to police, passenger Michael Enright, a 21-year-old from Brewster, New York, hailed a taxi at 24th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan driven by Ahmed Sharif, a resident of Queens.

As the cab headed north on Third Avenue, Enright allegedly asked Sharif, who is of South Asian origin, "Are you Muslim?" When Sharif confirmed that he was Muslim, police say, Enright stabbed him multiple times with a Leatherman knife.

According to a statement from the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which represents drives, Enright allegedly screamed "Assalamu Alaikum," a common Islamic greeting meaning "Peace be upon you," before slashing Sharif across the face, neck and shoulders. Sharif also sustained defensive wounds to the arm and hand.

Police said Sharif, 43, was able to pull the car over and temporarily lock Enright, who had been drinking, in the back seat before summoning help. Enright was lying in the street blocking traffic when apprehended by an off-duty police officer.

Both Sharif and Enright were taken to Bellevue Hospital, Enright for psychiatric evaluation. Enright was classified as an EDP, an emotionally-disturbed person, at the hospital.

"I feel very sad," said Sharif, according to the Taxi Workers Alliance. "I have been here more than 25 years. I have been driving a taxi more than 15 years. All my four kids were born here. I never felt this hopeless and insecure before."

"Right now, the public sentiment is very serious," said Sharif, in what seemed to be a reference to loud public debate over the proposed construction of an Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan . "All drivers should be more careful."

No link to the "Ground Zero Mosque" controversy has yet been established, however. "We have no reason to believe this is anything but an isolated incident," said an NYPD spokesperson.

Enright is a filmmaker who had recently traveled to Afghanistan with an organization called Intersections, a New York-based group that promotes itself as promoting justice and peace across lines of faith. Enright told police he had returned from Afghanistan in May.

He is charged with attempted murder as a hate crime, as well as assault, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon. He is expected to be arraigned this afternoon."


This victim survived. I only hope the next one fares as well.

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