Bloomberg Reaches Out to Muslim Community In Wake Of Fort Hood

November 11, 2009

Author: Jeremy Tanner

Source: WPIX-TV

http://www.wpix.com/news/local/wpix-bloomberg-meets-muslims,0,4136113.story

Mayor Michael Bloomberg met with the police chief and ten Muslim community leaders Wednesday in an attempt to assuage growing unease following the recent massacre at the Fort Hood Army Base in Texas and avoid any potential backlash against Muslim New Yorkers.

"[W]e have no tolerance whatsoever for hate crimes or for intolerance," Bloomberg told WPIX after the meeting.

In the aftermath of the Fort Hood shooting many Muslim groups scrambled to distance themselves from the shooter, army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan, whose Muslim last name sparked fear of a backlash within the Islamic community.

"We reiterate the American Muslim community's condemnation of this cowardly attack. Right now, we call on all Americans to assist those who are responding to this atrocity. We must ensure that the wounded are treated and the families of those who were murdered have an opportunity to mourn," said Council on American-Islamic Relations National Executive Director, Nihad Awad, in an address on Capitol Hill just hours after the shooting.