CNN
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An imam is in stable condition after being stabbed during a Sunday morning prayer service at a mosque in Paterson, New Jersey, according to local officials.
Mayor Andre Sayegh said he visited Imam Sayed Elnakib in the hospital soon after the incident. He said Elnakib was stabbed around 5.30 a.m. Sunday during prayers at the Omar Mosque in South Paterson. The mayor said the imam is in stable condition at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center.
CNN has contacted the medical center and did not receive an immediate response.
Sayegh said Elnakib was “in better spirits than before” Sunday afternoon and is being treated for a punctured lung. The mayor said a suspect was detained, but their motive is not clear.
The stabbing occurred during Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar. In 2023, it runs from March 22 to April 20.
The Paterson Police Department was taken over by the state attorney general’s office in late March, due to a “crisis of confidence” in the city’s law enforcement, the office said at the time.
The attorney general’s office told CNN the stabbing is being investigated by the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office. CNN has reached out to the prosecutor’s office for further details.
Councilman Al Abdel-aziz, who represents the area where the attack happened, said in a Facebook update that he was “deeply saddened” by the stabbing.
“My heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragic event,” he said. “While it is unclear what motivated the attacker, there is no justification for violence of any kind, especially in a sacred space.”
“I am relieved to hear that Imam Sayed Elnakib is in stable condition, and wish him a full and speedy recovery,” the councilman added. “Please know that my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family during this difficult time. As a community, it is important that we come together to support one another and denounce all forms of hate and violence.”
A day earlier, the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called for a hate crime investigation after a separate incident in Paterson. The chapter said a sign at the Dr. Hani Awadallah public school in Paterson was defaced.
In a statement Saturday, the chapter’s executive director. Selaedin Maksut, said, “While the circumstances surrounding the incident remain unknown, the smearing of the word ‘Allah’ in Dr. Awadallah’s name is apparently intentional, with the remainder of the sign left untouched, making an immediate hate crime investigation into this incident necessary.”
“In 2022, we’ve recorded the highest number of complaints of anti-Muslim prejudices, at 152,” Maksut said. “Over the years, our records have shown that complaints increase around and during Ramadan, in part because Muslims are more visible and take up more space – physically and metaphorically.”
During the month of Ramadan, worshipers eat and hydrate before sunrise and fast until sunset. Worshipers also engage in other forms of practice including increased prayer, giving more to charity, volunteering and participating in communal meals.
Paterson is a city with a population of more than 150,000, according to the US Census Bureau, about 15 miles north of Newark.
The city is home to one of the largest Muslim communities in the state of New Jersey and that New Jersey has more Muslims per capita than any other state in the nation, according to Maksut.
