Muslim Leaders Demand Justice at Funeral of Slain Newark Imam
The funeral, held at the NIA Masjid & Community Center, drew Muslim leaders from across New Jersey, who praised Sharif as a devoted and compassionate imam who served his community for five years at Masjid Muhammad-Newark.
They also expressed anger and frustration over the lack of progress in the investigation into his killing, which they said was part of a broader pattern of anti-Muslim violence and bigotry in the country.
The authorities have not identified any suspects or motives in the shooting, which occurred outside the Majid Muhammad Mosque around 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday. They have said there was no evidence that Sharif, 46, was targeted because of his faith.
But the Muslim leaders who spoke at a news conference before the funeral said they did not believe that Sharif’s death was a random act of violence. They pointed to a surge in hate crimes and harassment against Muslims since early October, when Hamas launched a surprise attacks on Israeli-occupied territories, prompting a brutal Israeli retaliation.
“A religious group, Muslims, are once again shaken to their core,” said Dina Sayedahmed, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR.
“More than 72 hours have passed since our beloved Imam Hassan Sharif was killed, and in a city as over-policed and heavily surveilled as Newark, there are still no suspects,” she said, nj.com reported.
CAIR New Jersey has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in Sharif’s killing, and the Essex County Sheriff’s Department has offered another $25,000 reward.
“We hope this will help uncover helpful information and help law enforcement find the perpetrator,” Sayedahmed said. “Imam Hassan Sharif was a community leader. If our leaders who enjoy a higher profile are being targeted and killed at a time when anti-Muslim bigotry is on a sharp rise, there’s no telling what types of dangers our community is vulnerable to.”
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Sami Shaban, a spokesman for the New Jersey Muslim Coalition, said Sharif was “a gem and a brother to so many of us” who was taken away “well before anyone could have imagined.”
“Not only are we mourning the profound loss of Imam Hassan, but we are also simultaneously trying to make sense of the bigotry and hate that’s targeting, not just him but many Muslims around the state and around the country,” Shaban said. He urged the public and the authorities to help bring Sharif’s killer to justice.
Imam Daud Haqq, the president of the Imams Council of Newark, said mosques were supposed to be “spaces of safety, like all religious spaces,” but Sharif’s murder “directly violated that space of safety and sanctity.”
“It cannot become the norm that we meet our fate when we gather at our places of worship,” Imam Haqq said. “We ask and pray that he [Allah] would remove the diseases of bigotry, racism, and violence from our city, our community, and our country.”
Sharif also worked as a security officer for the Transportation Security Administration at Newark Liberty International Airport since 2006, and several of his colleagues came to the funeral in a van.
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Crowdfunding efforts to support Sharif’s family and pay for his funeral have also been launched. A Launch Good campaign, a fundraising platform focused on the Muslim community, has raised more than $168,000 toward a $180,000 goal as of Saturday morning.
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, which is leading the investigation, said on Saturday that there were no new developments in the case.
Source: Agencies
