Turns out the man, Serif Zorba (below), who stabbed a New Jersey imam at a Patterson mosque during Ramadan prayers is also a Muslim.
Middle East Eye An imam at a New Jersey mosque was stabbed while leading the fajr (morning) prayer over the weekend, according to local authorities and community members.
The incident took place on Sunday morning at the Omar Mosque in Paterson, New Jersey, around 5:30 am local time. When Imam Sayed Elnakib and the rest of the congregation, which included about 200 people, were kneeling for prayer, a man lunged forward with a knife, stabbed him from behind and then attempted to escape.
The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office identified the man as 32-year-old Serif Zorba. He was arrested and charged with first-degree, attempted murder. Authorities have yet to establish a motivation for the attack and the spokesperson of the mosque, Abdul Hamdan.
According to videos from the mosque, congregants were able to bring Zorba down and hold him until the police arrived. The imam was taken to hospital and is in stable condition
Congregants say Zorba has been seen at the mosque before for worship.
According to
Serif Zorba’s motive is unclear but he was “not a regular member of the mosque’s congregation,” although “he has been seen there before.” The name “Serif” is a variant of “Sharif,” which means “eminent” in Arabic and is used in some areas to refer to people who claim to be descendants of Muhammad.
Thus Islamic advocacy groups such as the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations cannot use this to further their “Islamophobia” narrative. That is no great loss for them, however, as that narrative has already spread far and wide and been internalized by multitudes of unthinking, reflexive Westerners who have no idea how it is actually used or what the intentions are of those who propagate it.
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