A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on the Justice Department to bring federal charges against a number of teens who attacked a Muslim man in Brooklyn, N.Y., Sunday evening.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said prosecutors are calling the attack a hate crime. The victim, who will require reconstructive facial surgery, said: "They were saying you Muslim terrorist...get out of the country."

A court hearing for two of the alleged attackers is scheduled for Friday in Brooklyn Criminal Court....

"The viciousness of this attack, coupled with the allegations of bias- motivated slurs should be sufficient to bring federal hate crime charges against the alleged attackers," said CAIR Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar.

Iftikhar said that CAIR yesterday called on religious and political leaders to repudiate the growing Islamophobia in American society that can lead to such attacks.
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