File Photo: Imam Hussein Sharif. Photo courtesy of Hassan Sharif.
Imam Hussein Sharif was shot multiple times by an unknown assailant in a mosque parking lot after Fajr prayer early on Wednesday morning.
The Muslim Council of Elders firmly rejects such criminal acts that contribute to spreading strife and escalating hate speech, bigotry, and racism, the statement said.
The council called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice and emphasized the need to promote the values of dialogue, tolerance, and coexistence.
The Council extended its sincere condolences to the family of the deceased, the local community in Newark, and the entire Muslim community in the United States, praying that God grants him mercy.
The New Jersey State Attorney General Matt Platkin said on Thursday investigators still do not know the motive behind the shooting.
New Jersey is home to a large population of Egyptian and Palestinian immigrants among other Arab and Muslim immigrant communities.
Sharif worked as a transportation security officer at Newark Liberty International Airport for years alongside his duties at the mosque.
The killing of Sharif could be the latest in a series of incidents against Muslims and Palestinians in the US.
In mid-October, a US man fatally stabbed a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy and wounded his mother in a heinous attack near Chicago because of their Islamic faith and the Israel war on Gaza.
In November, another US citizen shot three American students of Palestinian descent in Burlington, Vermont, two of whom were wearing Palestinian keffiyeh scarves.
Such crimes highlight the alarming spike in hate incidents reported by a US-based Council on American-Islamic Relations in November.
The council said that it received 774 requests for help and reports of bias incidents from Muslims across the US from 7 to 24 October, marking a 182 percent jump compared to the same period of last year, according to media reports.
Short link: