“ISIS!” as they beat him, police said Saturday. “Really in fear.” The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating and trying to find those responsible.
Advertisement
“They said ISIS, ISIS and they started to hit me”, Rahman was quoted as saying. Rahman ended up in the hospital with a possible broken rib, cuts, swelling and bruises on his head, face and arm. Rahman tells Eyewitness News he will never forget the attack, and neither will his niece – she witnessed the beating that left her uncle badly injured, and at one point unconscious on the sidealk.
The 43-year-old, who was with a nine-year-old girl, was targeted as he walked in the Bronx district of the city on Friday evening, police said.
“I believe as a Muslim they hate us, they hate me, and that’s why”, he told CBS, through a translator.
“Blood was everywhere – nonstop”, added the victim’s brother, Mohammed.
The suspects did not take anything from Rahman, who was dressed in a shalwar kameez.
American Muslims strongly condemned the incident within hours, but this did not stop the United States mainstream media from going on a rampage against Islam.
Advertisement
On Sunday, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) urged federal agents to investigate the case as a hate crime. “We wish the victim of this attack a speedy recovery, and our thoughts are with him and his family during this hard time”, said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
