Washington D.C. (May 10, 2010) – The US Media has simply ignored the heroic deed of a Muslim vendor who was the first to spot the smoke coming from the car loaded with deadly explosives.
MAS Freedom reports that, according to the UK Times, Aliou Niasse, a street vendor selling framed photographs of New York, said that he was the first to spot the car containing the bomb, which pulled up right in front of his cart on the corner of 45th street and Broadway next to the Marriott hotel.
“I didn’t see the car pull up or notice the driver because I was busy with customers. But when I looked up I saw that smoke appeared to be coming from the car. This would have been around 6.30pm.”
“I thought I should call 911, but my English is not very good and I had no credit left on my phone, so I walked over to Lance, who has the T-shirt stall next to mine, and told him. He said we shouldn’t call 911. Immediately he alerted a police officer nearby,” said Mr. Niasse, who is originally from Senegal and who has been a vendor in Times Square for about eight years.
In a May 4th Washington, DC press conference by Muslim leaders, MAS Freedom’s Executive Director, Mahdi Bray mentioned in his press statement that, “Lives have been saved by the attentive and responsible act of a Muslim vendor.” Yet the US media has shown little or no interest in the heroic act of Mr. Niasse and a fellow New York, street vendor.
MAS Freedom encourages the American Muslim community and all individuals of conscious to contact their local and national media outlets and inquire why this Muslim hero has not been acknowledged by the media.
MAS Freedom is a civic and human rights advocacy of the Muslim American Society, the largest Muslim, grassroots, charitable, religious, social, cultural, civic and educational organization in America – with 55 chapters in 35 states.
