This powerful news segment featured on The Deen Show tells the story of Hassan Askari, a Bangladeshi-American Sunni Muslim who risked his own safety to defend a group of Jewish men being attacked on a New York City subway train. When Walter and his friends wished fellow passengers “Happy Hanukkah,” a group of assailants launched a vicious anti-Semitic attack — beating them and shouting slurs. While everyone else on the train ran to the back or looked away, Hassan was the only person who stepped in to help.
A Muslim Saves Jewish Lives
The attack took place late on a Friday night on the Q train in Manhattan. When Walter and his friends were identified as Jewish and beaten by a group of attackers, Hassan Askari — a Muslim who had never met them before — jumped in to protect them, taking punches and injuries himself. Walter later stated publicly that he and his friends might have been beaten to death if Hassan had not intervened. The irony was not lost on anyone: the person the media so often paints as “the enemy” was the only one who acted with courage and compassion.
“A Muslim American saved us when our own people were on the train and did not do anything. Someone who in the media often gets painted as the enemy of Israel and the Jews — this Bangladeshi Sunni Muslim — jumped in to help us. We might have been beaten to death if he had not been there.”
Islam in Action
- Hassan explained that his parents raised him to help his fellow man — a core Islamic value
- Islam teaches kindness, courtesy, and protection of the vulnerable regardless of their faith or background
- Hassan did not view his actions as heroic — he said what he did should be the norm for anyone
- This story challenges the false narrative that Muslims and Jews are inherently enemies
“My parents always brought me up to help my fellow man. There is no question about whether I did anything special. What I did should be the norm for anyone. Islam teaches you to be helpful to your fellow man, to be kind and courteous.”
Hassan Askari’s selfless act on that subway train is a living example of what Islam teaches in practice. It is a story that should reach every corner of the world — a reminder that the real Islam is not what headlines portray, but what people like Hassan demonstrate through their actions every single day.
