Press Release: CAIR-NY Recommends Safety Precautions After Muslim Family Attacked by Ex-Marine

In second such attack, assailant yells ‘What are you doing in my neighborhood? Get out, Arab’

(NEW YORK, N.Y., 9/14/14) -- The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today urged that state’s Muslim community to exercise caution in public spaces after a series of recent bias-motivated incidents.

In the latest incident, a Muslim family was allegedly attacked by a former Marine who shouted, “What are you doing in my neighborhood? Get out, Arab,” at a Muslim mother in Islamic attire before striking her husband and trying to grab their son.

SEE: Ex-Marine Busted in Hate Assault of Pakistani Family (NY Daily News)

CAIR-NY recently called for hate crime charges to be filed against a man who allegedly attacked a Muslim activist and her colleague while shouting anti-Muslim slurs.

SEE: CAIR-NY Seeks Hate Crime Charges for Attack on Muslim Activist, Colleague

“We urge members of the New York Muslim community to take reasonable safety precautions while in publicspaces and to report any bias-motivated incidents to local police and to CAIR," said CAIR-NY Director of Operations Sadyia Khalique. "Community members should not overreact to these incidents, but should be aware that there is heightened potential for a tiny minority of individuals to act violently in reaction to growing anti-Muslim rhetoric in our society."

In August, CAIR-NY attended a news conference organized by the Sikh community in reaction to an attack in Queens during which a Sikh man was run over in an apparent bias-motivated attack.

In July, CAIR-NY held a news conference at the Islamic Center of Bay Ridge in Brooklyn in reaction to hate incidents, including one in which individuals holding Israeli flags out of a car window screamed at and antagonized worshippers in front of the mosque as worshippers gathered for morning prayers.

SEE: For Muslim New Yorkers, a Long Path From Surveillance to Civil Rights

CAIR-NY is a chapter of America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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CONTACT: CAIR-NY Director of Operations Sadyia Khalique, 212-870-2002,, skhalique@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com