local officials say that the imam is in stable condition after being stabbed
Ramadan is Coming: The Stable Imam after a Young Man is Staggered at a Muslim Mosque,” said Mayor Emir Sayegh
The imam is in stable condition after he was stabbed during the prayer service at the mosque.
The suspect, who was unknown to congregants prior to Sunday’s incident, was performing prayers and “lunged forward with a knife and stabbed Imam Sayed multiple times – at least twice,” Hamdan said.
After the incident, the suspect attempted to flee from the mosque but congregants “were able to bring him down and apprehend him and hold him” until police arrived and arrested him, he said.
“We urge everyone to allow the incident to happen so that they can go visit the congregation more often and not let it bring them away,” Hamdan said. This is a time of unification and peace, so this incident should not take that away from us. We feel safe at the mosque.
Mayor Sayegh, who went to the hospital on Sunday to visit the imam, said the man was in stable condition despite suffering some serious wounds.
At a press conference on Sunday, Sayegh said there will be a heightened police presence at mosques throughout the city to ensure people’s safety in the remaining days of Ramadan. Sayegh said that you should not be afraid to pray.
“We appreciate the efforts of those here who were able to apprehend the assailant and we also want to reassure the family, the congregation at the mosque, that there will be extra police attention,” the mayor said.
The holiest month in the Islamic calendar year is this one and we want to make sure that the people who are just arriving to pray are taken care of. We want people to know that they can do this in peace even if they are attacked.
The Times of the NJ 76th Stabbing: A Case Study of Anti-Muslim Prejudice in a Public School
In March, the state attorney general’s office took over the department because of a “crisis of confidence” in the city’s law enforcement. The attorney general’s office told CNN the stabbing is being investigated by the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office. CNN has reached out to the prosecutor’s office for further details.
“My heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragic event,” he said. “While it is unclear what motivated the attacker, there is no justification for violence of any kind, especially in a sacred space.”
The incident happened a day after the New Jersey Council on American-Islamic Relations called for a hate crime investigation into an incident at a public school.
The group was told on Friday that the word “Allah” was defaced with an unknown dark substance. The word “Allah” refers to “God” in Arabic.
“In 2022, we’ve recorded the highest number of complaints of anti-Muslim prejudices, at 152,” Maksut said. “Over the years, our records have shown that complaints increase around and during Ramadan, in part because Muslims are more visible and take up more space – physically and metaphorically.”
Before sunrise and after sunset worshipers eat and drink. Worshipers give more to charity, volunteer, and take part in communal meals in other forms of practice.
New Jersey’s Muslim Community: The Massacre and Violence of a Man at the Omar Mosque in Paterson, South Jersey, Oct. 29, 2015
The city is home to one of the largest Muslim communities in the state of New Jersey and that New Jersey has more Muslims per capita than any other state in the nation, according to Maksut.
He said Hamdan and other worshipers performed the second prayer at the mosque later in the day. The person added that the prayers would continue throughout the day.
Police responded to the attack inside Omar Mosque in south Paterson around 5:37 a.m. local time on Sunday. The 32-year-old man was already taken into custody, according to the press release.
The suspect has been accused of attempting to kill someone and of having weapons. He is expected to be in court on Monday.
The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office did not provide details about the possible motive for the assault and told NPR that the investigation is ongoing.
