From the Front Page Sections, on the International front…
On Aug. 13 in New York, a Muslim cleric and his associate were shot dead by a gunman. They were walking together following afternoon prayers at a mosque in the New York City borough of Queens. Some are blaming Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s normalization of hate speech against Muslims. Imam Maulama Akonjee, 55, and his associate, Thara Uddin, 64 were both shot in the head at close range by a man who approached them from behind in the Ozone Park neighborhood. The motive for the shooting was not immediately known and no evidence has been uncovered that the two men were targeted because of their faith. Both men were wearing religious garb at the time of shooting. The men were taken to hospital where they died. The suspect was seen by witnesses fleeing the scene with a gun in his hand. There has been no arrest yet.
The fifty-five year-old Akonjee and his assistant, Uddin in the broad day light on the thirteenth, were gunned down by an unknown shooter close to the mosque, they were both rushed to the hospital after getting shot in the head, but, they had died. Shortly after the shooting, the locals gathered up by the hundreds, hollered out, “Give us justice!”. The shooting had caused unrest in the neighborhood, and, most of the residents believed, that this was, a hate crime against Muslims.
The fifty-five year-old Akonjee and his assistant, Uddin were just ending the prayer sessions in the mosque, they were still dressed in the robes, the two of them were, two streets away from the mosque, at two in the afternoon local time, they were, attacked by the gunman, wearing dark polo shirt and shorts. Imam was the guiding instructor, leading the prayers.
The gunman is still at large, the police stated, that the gunman had zoomed in on them as targets, but with unclear motives, maybe it was, a robbery gone bad, or that they’d gotten into an altercation of sorts, or it may be related to race and religion. Akonjee had over a thousand dollars in cash on him, and the killer didn’t take it. And because the method to the murders didn’t match any already known modes, the police aren’t ruling anything out, but the police stressed, that they believe that the murders has nothing to do with the two men’s religious affiliations.
Even so, the leader of another mosque in New York stated, “No matter which angle you take, this, is a hate crime. A hate for humans, for Muslims, and all of this was started by those who feared the Muslim population.”
The case happened in the residential area of Ozone Park in Queens, New York, the residents are mostly blue collar workers, and the area slowly became, a gathering community for Muslims from Bengal. Akonjee was from Bengal, lived in the area, and offered his services to the Bengalese in the district. There were, a dozen members of Bengalese Muslims in the area who’d spoke of their unsettlement after the shooting, they’d called Akonjee a peace loving leader, that they’d never heard of him and his assistant being in a bad situation with anybody.
Shortly after the shooting, the local residents gathered up. Several hours later, the residents, the religious leaders, along with members of American Muslims gathered outside of the mosque that Akonjee gave his services in. The sixty-seven year old resident, Yosef said, the reason why he was at the assembly was because the shooting had angered him.
The American Senator, Velazquez said, he was abhorred by the shooting, and tweeted to the community of New Yorkers, to band together, to show disgust toward the behavior.
So, another hate crime, and, it still won’t be, the very LAST of its kind, because there’s that small portion of population of Americans who are, trying to instill hate into everybody else’s minds, and, although this was, an isolated incident, but, there would be more incidents like this, because there are always going to be single people in the population who hate.