The New York City taxi driver stabbed by a drunken passenger in an anti-Muslim attack has spoken out for the first time since the attack earlier this week. The victim, Ahmed Sharif, was slashed across his face, neck and hands after the suspect, Michael Enright, asked him several questions about his religion, including whether he’s a Muslim and observing Ramadan. Speaking Thursday at City Hall, Sharif described the moment his neck was slashed.

Ahmed Sharif: “The knife was in front of my throat. When I go little bit back, this came right over there. If this one, if can put it here [pointing to his throat], I’m not supposed to be talk right now, I’m dead. So when the attack come from the back, it was a shock. Still I’m scared. I mean, still I have a view of the knife when I close my eye.”

The attack on Sharif came amidst the ongoing hysteria over a proposed Islamic cultural center near New York’s Ground Zero. Enright faces multiple charges including felony attempted murder as a hate crime. He’s being held without bail. Aliya Latif of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said Enright should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Aliya Latif: “Indeed crimes motivated by racial and religious hatred implicate entire communities and, as such, demand our utmost attention. To that end, Mr. Sharif’s case should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, to serve as both a legal deterrent and public repudiation of violent bigotry.”

More reports continue to emerge of anti-Muslim acts. The Council on American-Islamic Relations says a man entered a mosque in Queens Wednesday night and shouted anti-Muslim slurs as he urinated on prayer rugs.