Amina 30-year-old, and Fahad Tirmizi 32-year-old, a Muslim couple from Long Island, this family files $5 million lawsuit by Manhattan federal court after praying in the Empire State Building.
They were Muslim, wearing traditional Muslim dresses, engaged in Muslim prayer.
The problem is in last year July 2, when Fahad and Amina Tirmizi visited the Empire state building with their two kids. While visiting the 86th-floor outdoor, the family wanted to do the evening prayer around 11 pm.
Amina briefly prayed without incident, a security guard quickly confront Fahad and “menacesly poking” him and loudly told him “you was not allowed to pray on the deck”. Another guard joined in the fray and told all the family members that they had to leave and “forcibly escorted” them down to the lobby.
But fahad told “we were not doing anything wrong, we have the permission by the police officer make sure it was a good spot. The officer responded, Go for it, it’s not illegal to pray. And also said we just wanted to enjoy the view like everyone else.”
Case filed on 18-3-2014 against the couple, and Empire State Building Company, Malkin Properties, Empire State Realty, security company Andrews International Inc. and others.
Phillip Hines, a lawyer of that family, said the Empire State Building is one of the great landmarks of this city, but for my client and his family, it is a building of ignorance and injustice. And that family thrown out of the building is just an ignorance and disgracefully in discriminatory conduct.
The couple feel guilty and humiliated in front of each other, their children, according to the lawsuit.
US is a home to the 7-8 million Muslims, Muslims pray five times a day, with each prayer made of a series of postures and movements, each set of which is called a rak‘ah.
Bill Donahue, president of Catholic League, release a statement on Wednesday, “Muslims who pray in public, including in public adjustment, are simply follow their constitutional rights. We wish him, this innocent Muslim couple, well.