2010 New York City cab stabbing

In 2010, Ahmed Sharif, a 43-year old Bangladeshi-born Muslim New York City cab driver, was stabbed and nearly killed in what was described as a religiously-motivated hate crime. New York State's governor David Paterson issued a statement condemning the attack, calling it a "victory for 9/11 terrorists". Sharif said that he still believed in the American Dream despite being the victim of the attack.
The attacker, who was drunk, allegedly asked Sharif if he was a Muslim, shouted "peace be upon you" in Arabic,
shouted "This is a checkpoint. I have to put you down!", and made references to the King of Saudi Arabia before slashing Sharif's neck. Sharif also suffered cuts to his forearms, one hand, and his face. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said that the attack was "counter to everything New Yorkers believe". The attacker was charged with attempted murder, assault as a hate crime and possession of a weapon.
Victim Sharif speculated that the attack may have been linked to the proposed Park51 community center and mosque several blocks from Ground Zero, which he himself said that he had opposed. Politico reported the attacker is "according to his Facebook profile and the website of the left-leaning media organization Intersections International" a volunteer for Intersections which supports the for the Park51 and is funded by a liberal church and noted the inconsistency of an apparent anti-Muslim assault by a man shouting an Islamic greeting "Assalamu Alaikum"Mr. Sharif received more than two dozen stitches at Bellevue Hospital Center and was released. Mr. Enright was given a psychiatric evaluation there.
The Anti-Defamation League issued a press release condemning the attack as well, referring to it as "especially disturbing". Ron Meyer, the League's New York regional director, wrote that "No person should ever be targeted because of their religion or ethnicity, and there is no justification for singling out Muslims." Bhiravi Desai, of the Taxi Drivers' Alliance, expressed concern that "The environment that all the fear-mongering and the ignorance has created, we believe, is directly responsible for this kind of violence." <ref name="telegraph"/>

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