New York, January 03: New York officials have condemned attacks on a Shia Islamic center and two nearby houses in the city, saying an investigation is being conducted into the incident.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Monday that the assaults “stand in stark contrast to the New York City of today that we’ve built together.”
“Personnel from the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Unit and the 103rd Precinct’s Detective Squad are moving at full steam to investigate and also determine if there are any connections to incidents outside New York City,” Bloomberg added.
Late Sunday, the Imam al-Khoei Foundation building in Queens neighborhood came under attack when a man threw homemade bombs at its main entrance.
Up to 100 people were at the center when the incident happened. However there were no reports of injuries.
Two similar attacks occurred in the same neighborhood on Sunday — one in a convenience store run by Muslims and one at a house used as a temple by Hindu worshipers.
According to the police, all of the targets were within two miles of each other and the attacks are possibly linked.
In the United States, 73 percent of young people aged 18 to 29 say Muslims are the most discriminated against, according to the Washington Times.
Muslim community leaders say their civil rights have been whittled away since 9/11, especially as a result of intrusive police surveillance.
Last week, a group of Muslim leaders boycotted an annual interreligious event held by the New York mayor to protest brutal police tactics.
The group denounced the “very disturbing revelations” in media reports detailing how the city police have been “monitoring and profiling virtually every layer of NYC Muslim public life, often with no suspicion of wrongdoing.”
——Agencies