By Robert Green
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) - A Muslim man who says he was stabbed because of his religion was back at work on Monday while his alleged attacker was free on bail.
Samad Ebadi, 57, was stabbed in the neck Friday night at a bar next to the convenience store he owns in a St. Petersburg suburb. Bradley Strott, 52, was arrested and charged with a hate crime of aggravated battery. He was released on Saturday after paying a $15,000 bail.
Ebadi said Strott was a regular customer at his store and that Strott had invited him to Strott's birthday party last year.
On Friday, Ebadi said he and Strott talked briefly at the bar when Strott asked if he was Muslim. Ebadi said he was.
"He said 'I kill you,'" Ebadi said. He said Strott then pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed him.
"He's ugly inside. He could have killed me. He's an angry man," Ebadi said in an interview at his store, Sam's Food Market.
"Something's not right. He needs to get treatment," Ebadi added.
The police report of the stabbing quoted Strott as saying, "Muslims are at the root of the problem."
Ebadi said he was shocked when he found out Strott had been released on bail and thought Strott should have been charged with attempted murder.
Ebadi is a native of Iran who came to the United States in 1975 and became a U.S. citizen. His three children were all born in St. Petersburg at the same hospital where he was treated for his stab wound. He got several stitches in his neck.
The Tampa chapter of the Council of Islamic American Relations condemned the attack.
"Elected officials in Florida and nationwide must address the rising level of Islamophobia in our society that can lead to violent incidents and acts of discrimination against ordinary Muslims," CAIR-Tampa Communications Director Ramzy Kilic said in a statement.
(Editing by Greg McCune)
