NEW YORK (AP) | The suspect in the stabbing of a New York Muslim cabbie once volunteered with an interfaith group that has supported the mosque near ground zero and showed no anti-Muslim prejudice in his Afghanistan war journal - a background contradicting claims the attack was an anti-Muslim hate crime.
Baby-faced college student Michael Enright, according to authorities, used a folding knife to slash the neck and face of a Bangladeshi cabdriver after the driver said he was Muslim.
Mr. Enright was so drunk and incoherent when arrested that he was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, police said.
He was later taken to court and then remained jailed without bail Thursday on hate crime charges.
“Of course it was for my religion - he attacked me after he knew I was a Muslim,” driver Ahmed Sharif said at a news conference after meeting with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg at City Hall.
Mr. Enright was found with two composition-style notebooks on him that contained details of his experiences embedded with U.S. forces in Afghanistan but did not appear to contain any anti-Muslim rants, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press.
He was carrying the journals in a bag along with an empty bottle of scotch, the official told AP on the condition of anonymity.
A taxi drivers labor group quickly used the attack to denounce “bigotry” regarding plans to build an Islamic center and mosque two blocks north of ground zero, while a leading Islamic group claimed a recent increase in anti-Muslim attacks since the controversy began.
The driver, who along with his family met privately with Mr. Bloomberg, told reporters the project did not come up in his conversation with the passenger.
“This attack runs counter to everything that New Yorkers believe no matter what god we pray to,” the mayor said in a statement.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Mr. Enright uttered “Assalamu alaikum,” Arabic for “Peace be upon you” and the commonest greeting in the Muslim world while inside the Yellow Cab Tuesday night in Manhattan. Police said he then told the driver, “Consider this a checkpoint,” and attacked him with his knife.
A judge ordered Mr. Enright, 21, held without bail on charges of attempted murder and assault as hate crimes and weapon possession. The handcuffed defendant, wearing a polo shirt and cargo shorts, did not enter a plea during the brief court appearance.
Defense attorney Jason Martin told the judge his client was an honors student at the School of Visual Arts, had volunteered in Afghanistan and lives with his parents in suburban Brewster, N.Y. He declined to comment outside court.
A representative for the volunteer group where Mr. Enright worked, Intersections International, called the situation “tragic.”
“We’ve been working very hard to build bridges between folks from different religions and cultures,” said the Rev. Robert Chase. “This is really shocking and sad for us.”
The group, founded in 2007, says it’s dedicated to promoting justice, reconciliation and peace among people of different faiths, cultures, ideologies, races and classes. It has supported the building of the ground zero mosque.
A trailer for Mr. Enright’s school film, “Home of the Brave,” was excerpted on the group’s website. Mr. Enright followed his former high school classmate, Cpl. Alex Eckner, and his unit through basic training in Hawaii and their deployment to Afghanistan.
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