New York mosque receives shooting threat ahead of Friday prayers

NEW YORK, United States (MNTV) — The Sunnyside Muslim Center received a voicemail threatening a shooting at the mosque, prompting the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ New York chapter to demand a hate crime investigation and additional protection for worshippers ahead of Jummah prayers.

According to mosque officials, the caller identified himself, gave his home address, and said he intended to target Muslims inside the building — timing the attack for Friday, when the congregation is largest.

The threat was reported to the NYPD’s 108th Precinct, which has opened an investigation.

CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher said the threat was aimed at Muslims because of their faith and at a house of worship because of who prays there, and called for immediate protection for the congregation and legal consequences for whoever made the call.

Imam Yousuf Chowdhury of the Sunnyside Muslim Center described it as an attack on the whole community and welcomed the police response, while stressing the need for continued cooperation between the mosque and law enforcement.

The threat is not isolated. CAIR has responded to a string of threats against mosques and Muslim institutions in recent weeks, a pattern that turns the simple act of attending Friday prayers into a calculation about safety.

Protecting a mosque is not only a policing question; it determines whether a community can practice its faith freely at all.

The case will test how seriously law enforcement treats threats against Muslim worshippers — and whether protection arrives before violence does, rather than after.