Muslim community demands answers; Essex County says prosecutor will meet community leaders

During the public-comment period, community leaders demanded updates and accountability in the ongoing investigation into the murder of Imam Hassan Sharif.

Imam Alqasam Sharif and Tar Mateen of Masjid Mohammed asked the board what the county and prosecutor are doing to resolve the case and criticized a perceived lack of sustained outreach to the mosque and family. Tar Mateen said the community had provided contact details and requested a public meeting with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office so family members and Imams could hear what investigators can disclose.

County administration said the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office conducts the investigation independently. County counsel reported recent communication with the prosecutor and the detective bureau and said prosecutors told him they had been in contact with some family members and were “optimistic about an ending” but needed final pieces of evidence. The county agreed to forward community contact names and request an in-person meeting. Commissioner Mary Thomas and others said the board had already reached out and that the prosecutor had agreed to engage in a face-to-face update with community leadership.

Community member Donna Jackson criticized the perceived slowness of outreach and urged more aggressive steps; she also raised separate operational concerns (payroll, tenant assistance) in a forceful public comment. Board members acknowledged the community’s pain and committed to help facilitate contact between mosque leadership and the prosecutor’s office while noting the prosecutor’s office operates independently of the board.

What’s next: County staff offered to collect contacts from mosque leaders and send a formal request asking the prosecutor to meet with community representatives; prosecutors have indicated willingness to engage but cited investigative constraints on what they can share.