KENSINGTON, Brooklyn — The Bangladeshi community gathered Friday to tell New Yorkers they should not be lumped in with the man who tried harm people near the Port Authority Monday with a homemade explosive.
“It was really heartbreaking for people and they became very upset,” Community Board 12 member Mamnun Haq said.
They held a solidarity rally in Kensington, Brooklyn and said Akayed Ullah does not represent them.
“What he did, he did alone, because he was radicalized by messages of hate. Islam is a religion of peace and love, not hate,” Bangladeshi Muslim Center’s Mohammed Hashem said.
The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs handed out fliers that told people how to report discrimination or a hate crime.
“I think definitely they’re nervous. I think especially, when you wake up in the morning and you hear the person who perpetrated this attack was from your community,” Assemblyman Robert Carroll said.
