On the 5th December, a 45-year-old Muslim woman was on her Monday morning commute towards work at 6:20 am. The Muslim woman was wearing a hijab and works for Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).;
The hijab-wearing woman was seated on the 7 Train towards Grand Central Station when she was approached by a man who pressed against her MTA badge and told her, “You’re a terrorist and you shouldn’t be working for the city”.
The Muslim woman exited the train ad walked towards the stairs at Grand Central Station, the Anti- Muslim man walked behind her.
As she got closer to the stairs, the man pushed her down the stairs which caused her injuries to her ankle and knee, fortunately, a good Samaritan intervened. The Muslim woman was taken to NYU Langone Hospital and treated for her injuries.
The police are investigating the incident and are looking for the attacker. The attacker has been described as a Hispanic man around 5 feet 10 inches tall, wearing a black jacket.
CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher spoke of the incident, “Our subways and buses are emblematic of our city’s unparalleled diversity, and we must not permit them to become a venue for hatred and violence,”. He went on to encourage newly elected President Donald Trump to come outand denounce attacks of hate, “President-elect Trump has a duty to forcefully denounce this wave of violence against the Muslim community. Mr. Trump’s rhetoric normalized hate, racism and xenophobia, and these attacks are the unavoidable byproduct.”