Nadine Osman
On December 16, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie pledged to protect residents who have been subjected to Islamophobic incidents. Speaking to worshippers at an Islamic centre, Governor Phil Murphy said, “We will not stand for anti-Muslim behaviour.”
He said this during a speech at the Islamic Center of Old Bridge. “We will not stand for any intimidation of your right to worship. And we will, whether it’s through the hard edge of law enforcement, using my bully pulpit or social media, or, more importantly, where I choose to stand and speak.”
“We have the back of the Muslim community in this state—period, full stop,” the Democratic governor added.
His appearance came after a series of anti-Muslim incidents in November in Middlesex County, where Old Bridge is located
The Muslim Centre of Middlesex County in Piscataway, Masjid al-Wali in Edison, the New Brunswick Islamic Center in North Brunswick, and the Muslim Community of New Jersey Masjid in Fords were targeted on November 26 when a truck displaying a digital billboard with anti-Muslim messages and photos from the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai drove through the premises.
A spokeswoman for the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the incidents were “deliberate and well-coordinated.”
“By targeting Islamic centres and repeatedly circling their premises, the perpetrator expects New Jersey’s Muslim community to answer for, or even feel shame over, an event that occurred entirely independent of them,” Dina Sayedahmed said.
“To demand that Muslims in New Jersey answer for Muslims oceans away is not only unreasonable but also dangerous.”
Three per cent of New Jersey’s 9.3 million residents are Muslims, making it the state with the largest Muslim population by percentage in the US.
Murphy said the Muslim community “sits at the very centre of our state.”
