16 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 21, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
After massacre, a bittersweet renaming for Jamaica Muslim Center
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
March 15 was supposed to be a joyous
date for the members of the Jamaica
Muslim Center, as they were honored
with a street-renaming ceremony — but
the murder of 49 people at mosques in
Christchurch, New Zealand, hours earlier
cast a pall over what should have been
a community celebration.
In light of the horrifi c terrorist attack,
police presence was heavy outside the
JMC (also known as Masjid Al-Mamoor),
located at 85-37 168th St., as hundreds
gathered for Friday aft ernoon prayers
honoring the victims before unveiling
the signage bearing “JMC Way” on 168th
Street from Highland Avenue to Gothic
Drive.
JMC members were joined by local
elected offi cials, residents, and NYPD
Commissioner James O’Neill, as
Councilman Rory Lancman presented the
street sign to Monjur Chowdhury, general
secretary of the Jamaica Muslim Center.
Th e New York City Council passed the
street co-naming resolution, introduced
by Lancman for JMC Way in December
2018.
“Th e Muslim community here in
Queens and the United States is here to
stay,” said Lancman. “Th eir accomplishments
and achievements are going to be
permanently recognized by this street that
everybody who drives down this street
(JMC Way) is going to see the respect
and aff ection that all of New York has
for the Jamaica Muslim Center, its leaders,
congregants and the entire Muslim
community.”
Th e lawmaker acknowledged the horror
in New Zealand earlier in the day —
and made clear that New Yorkers would
support the Muslim community in their
time of grief.
“I grieve with you. I mourn with you,”
he said. “I share in your horror this particular
moment and I assure you that we
will remain friends, brothers, sisters and
fellow New Yorkers forever more.”
One suspect, an Australian national,
has been charged with murder aft er
storming into two mosques Friday morning,
and two others are in custody, CBS
News reported. A video of the attack
— live-streamed on Facebook — shows
the gunman taking aim with assault-style
Photo: Carlotta Mohamed/THE COURIER
rifl es painted with symbols and quotes
used widely by the white supremacist
movement online.
Siddiqur Rahman, president of the
Jamaica Muslim Center, condemned
the New Zealand mosque attack before
expressing gratitude to New York City
offi cials working to keep the community
safe.
“JMC is the way to paradise,” said
Rahman. “We are peace-loving people
and no matter what kind of psychopath
is over there or what kind of terrorist is
there, we are all together, and together
we can eliminate this kind of terrorism in
any religion.”
According to NYPD Chief of
Community Affairs Bureau Nilda
Hofmann, police offi cers were sent to
mosques and other locations across the
city to directly connect and comfort the
Muslim community.
“Our mission and message is clear, that
we are here and will provide protection
and safety,” said Hoff man. “Th e NYPD
is here to work with the community and
that we will reassure people how seriously
we take the obligation to answer questions,
provide information, and let them
know we stand with them … we will not
let fear and violence intimidate us and
trample our values.”
Additionally, O’Neill said that the
NYPD have increased patrols in high visibility
counter-terrorism residences and
locations, and will provide as much assistance
as they can to New Zealand law
enforcement in investigating the massacre
and deterring other threats.
Syed Muzaff ar, chairman of the JMC
Board of Trustees, said JMC Way refl ects
what the religion of Islam teaches, which
is peace and harmony.
“Our community members in this area,
they had a very positive impact and that’s
the beauty of this community now …
there are hardly any crimes and we are
living in peace and harmony with other
non-Muslims, and they have been living
with us in a harmonious way,” said
Muzaff ar.
Th e Jamaica Muslim Center is the second
mosque in the southeast Queens
area to be honored with a street co-naming
ceremony. In September 2018, Bait-
Uz-Zafar Mosque, located at 188-15
McLaughlin Ave. in Hollis, celebrated
the co-naming of 85th Road that says
“Ahmadiyya Way.”
Jackson Heights off ers prayers, lights candles for massacre victims
PHOTOS
BY DEAN MOSES
Hundreds gathered
at Diversity Plaza in
Jackson Heights on
March 16 for a candlelight
vigil for the
victims of the March
15 mosque massacre
in Christchurch, New
Zealand. Numerous
local elected offi cials
participated in the
gathering, including
state Senator
Jessica Ramos,
Assemblywoman
Catalina Cruz and
City Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer.
Representatives of
local religious congregations
led
prayers for the 51
victims of the terrorist
attack, and others
resolved not to
let those promoting
hate and violence to
divide the community.
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
