Muslim prayer leader attacked at mosque, told to ‘go somewhere’ else, NJ cops say

A New Jersey man is charged with bias intimidation after he was accused of assaulting a prayer leader at a mosque in December, according to local media reports.

Edward Wright, 57, was arrested on Feb. 22 in connection with the Dec. 23 incident, NorthJersey.com reported. Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik told the outlet that Wright entered the Islamic Congregation of North Jersey, or Masjid Abu Bakr, and “shoved and struck” the prayer leader while yelling at him.

The Passaic County Sheriff’s Office has not yet responded to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

In a video of the incident posted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ New Jersey chapter, Wright can be seen inside the mosque, telling others that “everybody’s not Muslim here” and saying repeatedly that he doesn’t “want to hear that [expletive],” referring to the mosque’s calls to prayer that can be heard from outside.

Wright can also be heard saying “go somewhere, in their community” as he leaves the mosque, pushing the door closed behind him. The person recording the video follows him to the doorway and can be heard saying that he’ll call his boss.

Wright responds by telling him to call his boss and saying he’ll talk to him, repeating again that “everybody not Muslim here.”

Wright was also accused of striking the man from the back, hitting his shoulder and knocking a microphone out of his hand, New Jersey 101.5 reported.

The man who was attacked was a muezzin, or “an assistant to the imam who issues the call to prayer,” mosque board member Burhan Uddin told NorthJersey.com.

Wright was charged with simple assault and bias intimidation, the Paterson Times reported. He faces up to 180 days in jail for simple assault and 18 months in state prison for bias intimidation, according to the outlet.

In 2020, the Paterson city council amended their existing noise regulations to allow for calls to prayer via loudspeaker, church bells or other “reasonable means of announcing religious meetings” between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., New Jersey 101.5 reported.

This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 12:37 PM with the headline "Muslim prayer leader attacked at mosque, told to ‘go somewhere’ else, NJ cops say."