Injured man to meet mayor and call for end to anti-Islamic rhetoricVideo

[teko]

Stabbed Muslim cabbie to enter Ground Zero mosque spat
Injured man to meet mayor and call for end to anti-Islamic rhetoricVideo
NYC cab driver stabbed for being a Muslim .Advertisement | ad info
. New York Taxi Workers Alliance via AP
This New York Taxi Workers Alliance photo shows taxi driver Ahmed H. Sharif in a hospital in New York. A drunken passenger riding in a New York City taxi cab allegedly attacked the driver after asking him if he was Muslim, police said.msnbc.com staff and news service reports
updated 2 hours 27 minutes ago
Share Print Font: +-NEW YORK — A Muslim cab driver stabbed in an alleged hate attack in New York was due to meet Mayor Michael Bloomberg Thursday.

Cabbie Ahmed H. Sharif, 43, also planned to join representatives from the New York City Taxi Workers Alliance in a press conference to call for an end to bigotry and anti-Islamic rhetoric in the debate over plans to build an Islamic center and mosque two blocks north of ground zero.

Prosecutors charged baby-faced college student Michael Enright Wednesday with using a folding knife to slash the neck and face of the taxi's Bangladeshi driver after the driver said he's Muslim. Police said Enright was drunk at the time.

Enright once volunteered with a group, called Intersections International, that promotes interfaith tolerance and had recently filmed a documentary in Afghanistan — actions distinctly at odds with what authorities say happened inside a city taxi.

A representative of Intersections International, which supports the mosque project, called the attack "tragic."

"We've been working very hard to build bridges between folks from different religions and cultures," the Rev. Robert Chase said. "This is really shocking and sad for us."

Chase said Enright had volunteered for the group for about a year on a project that involved veterans.

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.He did a video project that sent him to Afghanistan for about six weeks this spring to document the life of an average soldier, Chase said. He was embedded with a unit there.

Intersections has come out in support of the mosque project, but Chase said Enright wasn't involved in that.

'I feel very sad'
NBC reporter Katy Tur said on "Countdown with Keith Olberman" that Enright showed no animosity toward Muslims when he contacted her by email to seek publicity about his documentary, which follows a U.S. soldier Enright knew.

Steven Hirsch / AP
Michael Enright, right, confers with his attorney, Jason Martin, during his arraignment in a New York City courtroom on Wednesday."He just wanted to get a point across that soldiers were not getting enough attention back in the U.S.," Tur said, noting his politeness. "He didn't say anything against Muslims or their faith."

Enright filmed the documentary while volunteering for Intersections International.

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance quickly used the attack to denounce "bigotry" over the mosque plans.

Sharif, who's driven a cab for 15 years, was quoted in a news release from the labor group as saying the attack had left him shaken.

"I feel very sad," he said. With the tension over the mosque, he added, "All drivers should be more careful."

Bloomberg, a staunch supporter of the mosque project, said in a statement announcing the planned meeting with Sharif, that the attack "runs counter to everything that New Yorkers believe no matter what god we pray to."

'Right side of history'
Zead Ramadan, of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said on "Countdown with Keith Olberman" that the attack showed how stressed teens were being affected by hate and fear mongering over the Islamic center debate. He praised Bloomberg for being "on the right side of history."

A criminal complaint alleges Enright uttered an Arabic greeting and told the driver, "Consider this a checkpoint," before attacking him Tuesday night inside the yellow cab in Manhattan.

A judge ordered Enright, 21, held without bail on charges of attempted murder and assault as hate crimes and weapon possession. The handcuffed defendant, wearing a polo shirt and cargo shorts, did not enter a plea during the brief court appearance.

[Ashelen]

well my husband brings up the point that this division is exactly what the terrorists want...every single person who protests the mosque because of the muslim aspect of it...they're doing what the terrorists want because they're proving that Americans are close-minded and hateful, which is what they say all the time....

so yeah. the more hatred and intolerance on our part, the more terrorists can use the excuse that we brought it on ourself with our hatred and intolerance...so...it's a vicious cycle that we're feeding into.

[teko]

Unfortunately you might also see it from the other side as well. Muslims against us. I sure hope not, hopefully the media will stop with all the rhetoric and allow things to calm a bit.

[Ashelen]

probably....mob mentality; caught up in the fear tactics. sorry 2 b succint...feeding boomer at the mo' lol.

[adgal]

Sadly I suspect we will see more of this.  If you are already somewhat unstable to begin with, the hatred and rumours flying around out there will just play into that.  Misguided crazies thinking they are "saving their country" or something.  Playing vigilante.  I mean heck, they are all guilty right?

Ash, once again you said exactly how I feel.  To paint an entire religion (whose numbers are in the billions worldwide) with the same paint brush is ignorant and does show a lack of intelligence.  I hope common sense begins to apply...but i do think we are going to see and hear more of this.  

[teko]

Hopefully this will be a single event, (coincidence) and not the beginning of more to come. It does make ya kinda sick, doesnt it?

[Ashelen]

by the way, I'm waiting for the loony conspiracy theories to abound from this one...juuuust wait. from BOTH sides!

[Ashelen]

Good grief...this is the result of ignorance. this is why we have to stop the hate rhetoric, PERIOD. No excuses. if you're guilty of racial prejudice, you're a moron, because it's just impossible to lump every person of a religious or cultural persuasion into one category. that would be like saying all Irish people are drunks. What the hell? what kind of idiot in this modern day and age can be so blind? You have to work pretty dang hard to be ignorant in these days, so in my opinion there should be a punishment for ignorance. Stupidity (the result of low intelligence potential) is one thing..ignorance (choosing to be blind to the world and espousing hatred and intolerance) is a crime against God in my opinion, much LESS fellow man.


This guy was from Bangladesh...BANGLADESH. To my knowledge, there have been no terrorists to date arrested or suspected from freaking Bangladesh (which is culturally similar to India). Too bad the upstart idiot with the knife didn't do his research before he decided to become a vigilante anti-hero. Oh you're a Muslim? let me stab you to death since clearly that means you're a terrorist....NO!

Yeah that makes sense. I hate terrorists so I'm going to become a murderer of an innocent....oh WAIT. that's exactly what terrorists do!
W. T. F?!

This story just turns my stomach.

It's fine and freaking dandy to say you're tolerant and accepting, but when your actions show otherwise....

The first step would be to teach those who say "they started it so it's OKAY to hate in return" to grow up and get real.