New York, NY, June 6, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed concern over the brutal assault of a Muslim man outside a mosque in Queens, which is being investigated by NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force as a possible bias crime.

According to reports, on June 1, Mohamed Rasheed Khan was riding his bike outside of the Center for Islamic Studies in the Jamaica neighborhood in Queens when he was attacked by three individuals. Khan was violently beaten and remains hospitalized with serious injuries.

“We are horrified by the severity and nature of this this assault,” said Evan R. Bernstein, ADL New York Regional Director. “The circumstances and the severe brutality of the attack warrants the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force’s investigation to determine if this incident was motivated by anti-Muslim animus.

“When a victim is chosen because of his or her religion, the impact resonates throughout the community of which the victim affiliates, making its members feel quite vulnerable,” Mr. Bernstein said. “New Yorkers of any religion, race or ethnicity must feel safe in their own neighborhoods and in their respective houses of worship. We stand with the Muslim community in the wake of this terrible crime.”

Working with more than three dozen national civil rights, civic, religious, and cultural organization partners, ADL has initiated the #50StatesAgainstHate campaign, which is designed to improve hate crime training and response across the country.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.  Follow us on Twitter: @ADL_NY