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An imam was shot outside a mosque in Newark, New Jersey.
The shooting occurred Wednesday morning near the corner of Camden Street and South Orange Avenue.
First responders rushed the imam to University Hospital, where he was received in critical condition.
The imam, identified as Hassan Sharif, was still in critical condition as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé.
Police were spotted gathering outside the entrance of Masjid Muhammad mosque a few hours later, according to CBS News.
No further details on the suspect or the motive in the shooting have been made available.
Mr Sharif had been attacked several months prior in another incident. He had reportedly been held at gun point at the mosque but managed to wrestle the pistol out of his attacker’s hand. The suspect then fled the scene, but was never caught, according to Wahy-ud Deen Shareef, convener of the Council of Imams in New Jersey, who spoke to the Bergen Record.
CAIR-NJ, the New Jersey arm of the Council for American Islamic Relations, issued a statement calling on the public to come forward with any information regarding the shooting.
“We are deeply concerned about this incident and pray for the speedy recovery of the imam,” the group said in the statement.
It called Mr Sharif “a beacon of leadership in his community”.
“He is now in critical condition and we are praying for his full and speedy recovery. We ask others to do the same,” Dina Sayedahmed, a CAIR spokesperson, said. “As always, and irrespective of this specific incident, we advise all mosques to keep their doors open but remain cautious, especially given the recent spike in anti-Muslim bigotry.”
CAIR reports that incidents of anti-Muslim bigotry have increased by more than 170 per cent since the Hamas terror attack on 7 October that sparked Israel’s ongoing military action in Gaza.
CAIR said it received 2,171 complaints of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hate over the last two months, which represents a 172% increase over same period in 2022.
