CAIR-NY Condemns White Supremacist’s Murder of African-American Man Near Times Square, Islamophobic Attack on Woman in Queens
(NEW YORK, NY, 3/23/17) — The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), a leading Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned a white supremacist’s allegedly racially-motivated murder of an African-American man near Times Square.
CAIR-NY also condemned another apparently bias-motivated attack earlier this month on a woman in Jamaica, Queens.
In the attack near Times Square, James Harris Jackson stabbed Timothy Caughman multiple times in the chest and back on Tuesday night. Jackson later turned himself in to the NYPD quickly telling them where to find the alleged murder weapon. Jackson reportedly traveled from Baltimore to New York with the intention of killing African-American men, hoping that by committing the crime in New York City, he could secure more media attention.
SEE: Army Vet Accused of Murder Came to NYC to Kill Black Men, Cops Say
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/james-harris-jackson-murder-timothy-caughman_us_58d2c77fe4b0b22b0d1939c3
In the other incident, which took place March 6 in Jamaica, Queens, an unknown woman punched the victim in the neck after shouting anti-Muslim slurs. The NYPD released surveillance video of the incident to seek the public’s help in identifying the alleged attacker.
SEE: Cops Hunt for Half Bald Woman Who Harassed Muslim in Queens
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/cops-hunt-bald-woman-harassed-muslim-queens-article-1.3006279
“We must not lose one more New Yorker to bigotry and violence,” said CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher. “These bias-motivated attacks are an affront to every human being, and we must all work together to ensure the victims receive justice to fullest extent of the law. We continue to see a distressing increase in hate crimes targeting the Muslim community. Far too many hate crime victims continue to suffer in silence. We must make sure that ever attack is reported and that every attacker is apprehended.”
“If the person who allegedly murdered Timothy Caughman were Muslim or Arab, it would be called what it is: ‘an act of terrorism,’” said CAIR-NY Legal Director Albert Cahn. “Too often we politicize our narratives to highlight some crimes and downplay others. This tragic attack, which targeted the heart of our great city, took the life of one of our fellow New Yorkers.”
“Going forward, our city and state must appropriate the resources needed to safeguard all religious and cultural sites against the threat posed by hate crimes,” said Cahn.
Earlier this week, CAIR-NY endorsed the New York City Council’s proposed security grant program that would allocate $25 million to safeguard Muslim and Jewish Community centers, and other non-profit institutions which have faced increased threats and risk of attacks in recent months.
SEE: Press Release: CAIR Supports NY City Council Security Grant Program to Protect Muslim, Jewish and Other Community Institutions
https://www.cair-ny.org/news/2017/3/20/press-release-cair-supports-ny-city-council-security-grant-program-to-protect-muslim-jewish-and-other-community-institutions
Earlier this month, CAIR-NY also condemned the anti-immigrant and racial harassment of a Latino man in Brooklyn, whose attacker subsequently broke his nose.
SEE: CAIR-NY Condemns Desecration of Jewish Cemetery in Rochester, N.Y. and Bias Attack Against Latino Man in Brooklyn, N.Y.
https://www.cair-ny.org/news/2017/3/4/cair-ny-condemns-desecration-of-jewish-cemetery-in-rochester-ny-and-bias-attack-against-latino-man-in-brooklyn-ny
The number of anti-Muslim hate groups in the United States has grown exponentially, almost 300 percent in the past year alone according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
SEE: Anti-Muslim Groups 2010-2016| SPLC
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/anti-muslim
CAIR’s national headquarters in Washington, D.C., has noted an unprecedented spike in hate incidents targeting Muslims and other minority groups since the November 8 election.
Video: CAIR-MN Seeks Criminal Charges for Harassment Targeting Muslim Woman Shopper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCTghyTxInc
Muslim community members are asked to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR-NY at (646) 665-7599, or by filing a report at: https://www.cair-ny.org/incident-report/
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
La misión de CAIR es mejorar la comprensión del Islam, fomentar el diálogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprensión mutua.
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