Muslim woman set on fire in New York

NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is trying to determine whether it was a hate crime motivated by the victim’s...

A Muslim woman was set on fire outside an upscale boutique in Manhattan in what appears to be the latest in a series of Islamophobic attacks in the United States.

“The victim noticed the sleeve of her blouse was charred and smouldering and was not badly hurt in the Saturday night attack, just hours before the ceremony marking the 15-year anniversary of 9/11,” the New York Daily News quoted police sources as saying on Monday.

The New York Police Department (NYPD)’s Hate Crimes Task Force is trying to determine whether the incident was a hate crime motivated by her religion. “She saw (the suspect) pull a lighter away and walk away,” a source said. “He doesn’t say anything.”



According to the New York Post, 35-year-old Nemariq Alhinai was walking in front of Valentino’s department store at 9:00pm when she felt a warm sensation on her left arm. She patted out the flames and then saw an unknown man standing next to her with a lighter in hand. The man walked away on East 54th Street.

The attack came just two days after a Brooklyn woman launched a sickening attack on two Muslim women pushing their babies in strollers — punching them in the face and trying to pull off their hijabs. Emirjeta Xhelili, 32, hurled Islamophobic insults as she pounced on the two victims on Thursday, authorities said. “Get the f**k out of here. Get the f**k out of America, bitc**s,” Xhelili reportedly yelled at the pair, according to court documents.

As she punched the Muslim women in the face and kicked them in their legs, she tried to rip the hijab off their heads, police said. “This is America — you shouldn’t be different from us,” she yelled. Fortunately, the victims were not badly hurt. She also attacked their children, pushing one stroller to the ground and rattling the other while two infants sat inside, according to court documents. The 11-month-old and the 15-month-old, along with their mothers, were not seriously injured.



Police arrested Xhelili shortly after the incident when the victims pointed her out a few blocks away. She continued to taunt them in front of the authorities while in custody, “You guys don’t belong here.”

In response to the heinous crime, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic relations urged local mosques and Islamic institutions to increase security, saying the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks may be used as “an excuse to attack American Muslims.”