Cops: Cabbie Stabbed After Fare Asked, 'Are You Muslim?'

(Aug. 25) -- Authorities say a New York City cab driver is recovering after being brutally stabbed by a passenger who first demanded, "Are you Muslim?"

The attacks occurred as New York is in the midst of a contentious debate over plans to build an Islamic community center and mosque a few blocks from the site of the former World Trade Center.

"I think this clearly demonstrates that hate speech often leads to hate crime when you have the constant vilification of Islam and Muslims on talk radio, in newspapers, on cable news and on the Internet," Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told AOL News.

Police said Ahmed Sharif, 43, of the borough of Queens was driving his taxi on Manhattan's East Side Monday night when he was hailed by a pedestrian on the street.

Roughly one block from his destination, the passenger, identified as 21-year-old Michael Enright, of Brewster in upstate New York, allegedly asked Sharif, "Are you Muslim?" When Sharif said yes, Enright pulled out a knife and slashed Sharif in the neck, face and shoulders, police said.

Despite his injuries, Sharif was able to lock the attacker in the back of the cab and call for help. The suspect managed to get out of the vehicle, but police quickly located him and took him into custody.

Sharif was treated at a local hospital and released.

"I have been here more than 25 years," he said, according to a statement released by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA). "I have been driving a taxi more than 15 years. All my four kids were born here. I [have] never [felt] this hopeless and insecure before."

Sharif said he believed the debate over the Islamic center, often dubbed the ground zero mosque, was making public sentiment "very serious."

"All drivers should be more careful," he said.

The suspect was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was admitted for a mental health evaluation. Enright has charged been with attempted murder as a hate crime, assault and criminal possession of a weapon," police spokeswoman Doris Otero said.

According to the New York Post, Enright, who was allegedly drunk at the time of the incident, told police that he works for an Internet media company and that he recently returned from Afghanistan, where he had been filming military exercises. His supposed employer, Intersections International, recently announced its support of the so-called ground zero mosque, The Village Voice reported.

But Intersections International said it did not employ the stabbing suspect.

"The alleged perpetrator is not an employee and has never been an employee of Intersections. There is a person who fits the description of the alleged perpetrator who has worked with us as a volunteer, but until we get further confirmation of the details in this incident, we cannot comment," the company said in a statement posted on its website.

"Our hearts go out to the cab driver, his family and any person who has dealt with such unacceptable violence," it said.

The Post also reported that Enright has had prior arrests for criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct and underage drinking.

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance planned a news conference Thursday to call for an end to "bigotry and anti-Islamic rhetoric in the debate around the Park 51 Islamic Cultural Center."

The NYTWA is also urging Gov. David Paterson to sign the Taxi Driver Protection Act, passed by the Legislature on June 26. The bill would increase penalties for crimes against cab drivers and requires a sign in all taxis that reads: "Warning: Assaulting a Taxi Driver Is Punishable by Up to Twenty-Five Years in Prison."

Meanwhile, Hooper said the Council on American-Islamic Relations is concerned about "hysterical anti-Muslim rhetoric" and the impact on American Muslims and their families.

"You can survive hate crimes ... [but what about] the daily vilification of your faith -- how do your children survive that?" he asked.