Police have released a sketch of the man suspected of killing of an imam and his friend.
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UPDATE 6:16 p.m. EDT: Police identified the imam as Imam Alala Uddin Akongi, 55, a married father of three.
The organization says that while the motive for the crime is still unknown, nothing can justify the killing of two men walking from their place of worship.
Last year, hate crimes against Muslims and mosques across the country tripled following extremist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, the New York Times reported.
The leader of a New York City mosque and an associate were fatally shot in a brazen daylight attack as they left afternoon prayers Saturday.
More than 100 neighborhood residents, religious leaders, and mosque-goers gathered at the site of the shooting, expressing concern that Saturday’s shooting was a hate crime.
NY police seek killer of Muslim imam, associate shot in street was posted in World of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on August 14, 2016 and was last updated on August 14, 2016.
Community members pray outside the Al-Furqan Jame Mosque in Ozone Park after imam Maulama Akonjee and friend Thara Uddin were killed in the Queens borough of New York City, August 13, 2016.
A NY imam and his assistant were gunned down in broad daylight Saturday after prayers at a nearby mosque, police said. “We are calling for all people, of all faiths, to rally with compassion and with a sense of vigilance so that justice can be served”, Nasher said.
Phillips did not point out what police authorities believe might have been the motive for the shooting, nor what evidence is considered to treat the murder as a hate crime.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was closely monitoring the shooting investigation, a spokesman for the mayor said in a statement, and assured the public “the NYPD will stop at nothing to ensure justice is served”.
Australia’s Muslim population anxious that the incident might ignite a fresh wave of Islamophobia, but instead, the hashtag campaign #IllRideWithYou was created as a show of compassion and support for the community as a whole. She would tell him: “Why are you caring about me?” “But it’s very important to mount a thorough investigation”.
One of the masjid’s worshippers, Shahin Chowdhury, said they had noticed increased animosity towards the mosque recently, with people swearing at it whilst passing.
He called the imam a “wonderful person”.
Akonjee died shortly after the shooting and Uddin was pronounced dead about four hours later, the New York Daily News reported.
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“The community’s heart is totally broken”, said Uddin, who is not related to Thara Uddin. “It’s a great misery. It’s a great loss to the community and it’s a great loss to the society”.
