A Bangladeshi-origin Muslim man has been brutally assaulted in the United States by teenagers who shouted ‘ISIS, ISIS’ and started beating him in front of his 9-year-old niece in an apparent hate crime.
Mujibur Rahman, who was wearing traditional Muslim attire when he was attacked in front of his horrified niece in the Bronx, New York, was walking her home from Bronx school.
Two people believed to be teenagers attacked him on Friday, Rahman told NY1 channel.
"They said ISIS, ISIS and they started to hit me," Rahman was quoted as saying.
Those terrifying moments left him bruised and battered, his eye still swollen from the beating he endured. His niece, physically unhurt, is now afraid to go outside.
"She (my niece) could not sleep at night,” the victim said. "She said she didn’t want to go back to school anymore. She is really in fear."
The New York Police Department Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating and trying to find those responsible.
"This particular man never hurt anyone. He has no connection to ISIS and for him to be attacked this way is something that we have to stop. We cannot tolerate it, no matter what our faiths and our beliefs are," Bronx Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda was quoted as saying.
In recent months, Muslims across the country have been on edge and fearful they will be blamed for the violent terrorist attacks staged by supporters of ISIS, also known as the Islamic State militant group.
Rahman said he is recovering but hoped the people who hurt him are quickly brought to justice.
Image used for representational purposes only
