Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Attends and Delivers Remarks at Funeral Prayer Service for Maulama Akonjee and Thara Uddin

August 15, 2016

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Assalamu'alaikum.

Audience: [Inaudible]

Mayor: Thank you very much, Mr. Kukon, and thank you to all who are here today.

I want you to know all of New York City is with you. I want you know to know that we are all mourning with you.

I’m here to offer you my condolences on behalf of all 8.5 million New Yorkers to the families who have lost these good men, to their mosque, to their neighborhood, to the larger Muslim community.

This is a time of pain, and this is a pain we all feel. It doesn’t matter what faith you come from, it doesn’t matter where you live in this city, as one, we feel this pain. When we see two innocent men, two good men, two men of the cloth killed in such a violent manner it pulls at all our hearts, all our souls, and we too are focused on justice.

For all those here who want justice – we want justice too with you, and we will get justice for this community.

[Applause]

In Islam, the loss of a person is regarded not just as a loss for their family but for the entire community. That’s something we, as New Yorkers, understand – again across all faiths, across all neighborhoods, when a loss is felt so deeply, when it affects us all.

We don’t know what happened yet, but we will know. And we know for sure that two good men, two admirable man, two men who are looked up to in this community – who taught, who uplifted, who guided have been lost and we feel the emptiness and the sense of pain now so present in his community.

I want you to know that they will be remembered, not just by the members of the mosque, not just by their families, but by all New Yorkers. Maulana Akonjee and Thara Uddin served this city as well. They were examples of goodness and righteousness. They were examples of peace and understanding. We will take their example and build upon it.

We mourn with you. It was one of those moments of pain, but even in the pain we can recognize that we can all come together. All New Yorkers need the answers. All New Yorkers need to see justice served here. All New Yorkers need to join in easing the pain of this family and this community. And that is part of what defines us as New York City – a city of all peoples. And I want to say very clearly – New York City is a better place and a stronger place because of our Muslim communities.

[Applause]

And we know there are voices all over this country who are spewing hate, trying to create division, trying to turn one American against another. I look around at all my brothers and sisters here, I see proud Americans. I see proud New Yorkers. And I will never let us be torn apart, and we will not let each other be torn apart. We’re not going to listen to those voices that try to divide us, and we’re not going to let them continue to encourage acts of hatred. We will stand up to them each and every time. We will make sure that whoever did this is brought to justice – I can guarantee you that.

[Applause]

Since this horrible tragedy, the NYPD has been expending every resource and will continue to. I want you to know that not only will we find this killer and find the cause and tell the people –

[Applause]

But you will see – you will see in the Muslim communities of our city, the NYPD there in support of the community. You will see today and in the days thereafter, extra NYPD presence protecting our mosques and protecting the people of our Muslim communities.

[Applause]

And that is how we affirm to all New Yorkers, but also to people all over the world that the values of this city are consistent, and an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us, and we stand shoulder to shoulder.

We – even in a time of pain – New Yorkers are strong and resilient and we seek unity. In the word of the Quran, “To God we all belong and to God is our return.”

Even in a time of grief let us reaffirm our common humanity, the strong bonds between us, and our commitment to peace. God bless you all, Assalamu'alaikum.