Source: The New York Times
On Sunday afternoon, Nurul Khan changed clothes after working around his house on a sweltering day and set off on a short walk, just around the corner, to his mosque to pray. It is a stroll he takes five times a day, he said, starting each morning before the sun has risen.
He has gotten to know some of his neighbors living along the route, families in the brick and clapboard homes of Ozone Park, Queens. Many of them are Muslim, he said, and had come from Bangladesh, as he did. But he pointed out homes belonging to Catholics, and just next door to the mosque, he said, was a Hindu family.
“Everybody, we get along,” Mr. Khan said. But as he watched his young nephews running ahead of him, he could not help fearing for their safety and his own. “Now,” he added, “everybody is scared.”
A day earlier, the imam and his assistant at Mr. Khan’s mosque, Al-Furqan Jame Masjid, were gunned down, just a few blocks away, after afternoon prayers. The men, who were dressed in religious garb, were fatally shot by an assailant who approached them from behind, the police said.
The imam, Alauddin Akonjee, 55, was carrying more than $1,000 with him, the authorities said, but the money was not taken.
Late Sunday night, officers from the Police Department’s Warrant Squad took into custody and were questioning a person of interest in the case. No further details were available.
The killings have been deeply unsettling for this working-class neighborhood, home to immigrants from around the world. The crime has left many worshippers grieving but also fearful, because they live nearby and walk the sidewalks to attend services. “This is a shock to us,” Mr. Khan said, placing his hand over his heart.
On Sunday, the police released a sketch of the suspected attacker showing a man with a beard, dark hair and glasses. The image appears on posters attached to street signs and poles around the neighborhood and has been put up on the front door of the mosque. No arrests had been made as of Sunday night.
Investigators have video of the shooting itself that shows the gunman calmly approaching Mr. Akonjee and his assistant, Thara Miah, 64, from behind and shooting each of them in the head from roughly eight to 10 feet away, a law enforcement official said. “He turns and walks away deliberately, not in a great rush,” the official said, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing. “It appears he has some degree of training or proficiency.”
Police officials said on Sunday that the motivation for the attack remained unclear. Even so, many in the neighborhood were not waiting for an official declaration, saying unequivocally that the killings were a reflection of a particularly hostile moment for Muslims in the United States.
Categories: America, Hate Crime, Islamophobia, Mosque, The Muslim Times, USA
MY SUGGESTION TO THE BEARDED MEN AND THE HIJABI WOMEN
PLEASE FOLLOW KING ABDULLAH. HE DO NOT HAS LONG BEARD, AND HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTERS ALSO DO NOT WEAR HIJAB.
Allah will forgive you if you do not have beard and women do not wear hijjab in public place.
Beard and Hijab are not Islamic teaching, but ancient Arab tradition who live at the time of Prophet Muhammad (saw) 1400 years ago, the stone age.
As we know that every religion, and every communities are found some evil people, Evil people hate those who do not share their belief.
So be smarter anf wiser, do not be arrogant !!
Those Muslims who has long beard and live in United States or Europe are stupid and arrogant.
As we know that most Muslim terrorist wear burqa and beard for men like ISIS, Jihadith etc.
If Imams do not need to have long beard, what you need is good knowledge of Islam.