August 26, 2010 10:10 AM

Cabbie Ahmed Sharif Stabbed: Michael Enright Asks "Are You Muslim?" and Slashes Driver, Say Cops

By
Edecio Martinez
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Daily Blotter

Cabbie Ahmed Sharif Stabbed: Michael Enright Asks "Are You Muslim?" and Slashes Driver, Say Cops

Cab Driver Ahmed Sharif at New York Hospital after Knife Attack (AP Photo)

NEW YORK (CBS/WCBS) Ahmed Sharif picked up college student Michael Enright on Tuesday night - and police say it nearly cost him his life.

Police said the clean-cut 21-year-old flew into a rage after asking his driver if he was a Muslim.

CBS affiliate WCBS reports the 43-year-old cabbie displayed his stab wounds with sorrow on Wednesday night - a deep gash on his forearm, a defensive wound on his hand, and slashes to his neck and upper lip.

Police say it was the handiwork of a drunk passenger who savaged the immigrant cab driver in what appears to have been an explosion of anti-Muslim violence.

"I'm driving. He asked me where I'm from. I said Bangladesh. Second question he ask me, are you Muslim? I said yes. Then he tells me 'assalamu alaikum,'" Sharif told WCBS.

The attack happened around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday in a busy commercial area in New York City. Sharif said the young man began ridiculing the Muslim holiday of Ramadan and then started a bizarre, belligerent rant.

"This is checkpoint [expletive]," Sharif remembers Enright saying. "I have to put you down. You have to bring Abdullah to this checkpoint, I have to bring him down, too."

Sharif says Enright, an honor student from Putnam County who has spent time overseas in Afghanistan working as a reporter, lunged through the cab partition with a Leatherman knife, and the men struggled as the cab rolled for a block and a half. As the scuffle ensued, Sharif was able to keep Enright locked in the cab until he found a police officer.

Enright was arrested at the scene and charged with attempted murder as a hate crime.

Sharif, despite his injuries, continued to espouse his belief in the American dream.

"I work hard," Sharif told WCBS. "I try to support my family and I believe in this country, if you work hard and you're honest, you're good, you can have anything you want."

Enright was arraigned Wednesday afternoon and was ordered to be held without bail. A grand jury will hear the case on Monday.

Story Contributed by CBS Affiliate WCBS.


Add a Comment
by billiesbeanbag August 27, 2010 12:54 AM EDT
This wasn't necessarily about "anti-muslim" sentiment. Judging by his rant he was having a PTS attack. He seemed to have degressed back to something that happened when he was in Afghanistan. He needs to be in an institution with an iv of something in his arm; not a jail cell.
Reply to this comment
by maccount August 26, 2010 1:05 PM EDT
What a shame it has to come to this! Why are we Americans so hateful? The question we have to ask ourselves is: Where did your parents originated from, where did your parent's parent originated from - you might find that we ALL came from different places, different backgrounds, different beliefs, different races, so we are not all that different are we?

What gives you the right to decide who stays and who goes? What makes you better then the next person. I was born in the U.S. and I love this country, I just don't like the road it's headed, the road of HATRED! We all have different opinions - but it should be expressed / communicated to one another without so much hate and violence in our hearts for one another!

If you were left dying somewhere, does it matter if a person of a different race help save your life right there and then, or would you rather wait and hope that someone of your own race comes along to help save your life!

We are all God's children - no one is better or worse then the next! What I love about this country is that you can protest and get your point across of what you're protesting against! It doesn't have to result to violence and/or murder! We all have families and don't want our love ones, especially our children, to find out that you have been murdered for the simply fact that you were of a different race!
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by Wildwood1966 August 26, 2010 2:47 PM EDT
totally agree - great rant!
by luvtocooke August 26, 2010 10:54 AM EDT
Unfortunately the radical Muslims have given a bad name to all Muslims and that is so unfair. We cannot judge the masses by a few. Our country was founded on the hard work of all immigrants who came here for a better life and the right to religious freedom. I commend you Mr. Sharif for still believing in this country and not allowing the actions of one disturbed American to destroy your dreams for a better life for yourself and your family. God bless you and get well soon.
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