Muslim Surgeon stabbed in the neck outside the mosque
Categories: Latest News
Tuesday October 03 2017
Manchester Evening News reports that on Sunday the 24th of September, Doctor Nasser Kurdy was stabbed in the back of his neck outside the Altrincham and Hale Islamic Association at around 17:50.
Nasser Kurdy, who is a 58-year-old orthopedic surgeon, was stabbed on his way to the mosque, where he is the vice chairman and occasionally leads prayers. Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson describes him as a “much-loved” member of the community and urges any witnesses to come forward regarding this “nasty and unprovoked attack”. The police are treating this incident as a hate crime.
Dr. Kurdy works at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester, where he treated injured victims from the Manchester Arena bombing. In addition, he has openly stated that he forgives his attacker and currently supports the #WeStandTogether campaign.
Within an hour of the attack, two arrests were made. Ian Anthony Rook, age 28, appeared in front of the Manchester Magistrates’ Court on the 26th of September charged with unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of a lethal weapon, a knife. He is due back in court on the 23rd of October.
The second man has been released and no further action will be taken.
This is not an isolated incident. The Greater Manchester Police has revealed that Islamophobic related incidents rose by 505% since the Manchester arena bombing on the 22nd of May. Official figures have shown that there were “224 reports of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the month after the attack compared with 37 in the same period in 2016”.
If you have suffered or witnessed a hate crime, you can read the Council’s information on how to report it here.
MEND has an Islamophobia Response Unit where you can get advice and help. For more information click here.