CAIR-New York urges hate-crime probe of Queens assault
Muslim group condemned alleged anti-Asian attack, calling for solidarity across targeted communities
NEW YORK (MNTV) — The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) has condemned an alleged anti-Asian assault in Long Island City, Queens, and urged police to investigate it as a hate crime, in a call for solidarity across communities facing bias-motivated violence.
Police are seeking a suspect accused of directing anti-Asian slurs at a couple along the Long Island City waterfront before physically attacking them. CAIR-NY director Afaf Nasher expressed solidarity with Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, saying racist violence “cannot be normalized or ignored.”
“We stand in resolute solidarity with our AAPI neighbors following this apparently bias-motivated assault,” she said. “Bigotry, anti-Asian rhetoric, and bias-fueled violence have no place on our streets or in our communities.”
Nasher urged a thorough investigation into whether the attack meets the legal definition of a hate crime, and called for stronger solidarity among groups facing discrimination — arguing that racial, religious, and ethnic divisions are exploited when bigotry goes unchallenged.
The Muslim community, she said, stands alongside those confronting antisemitism, anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and white supremacy.
CAIR-NY said accountability and cross-community solidarity are essential so that targeted communities are not left to face such threats alone.
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