New York (CNN) -- Dear Mr. President: How good of you, sir, to have personally telephoned two New York heroes whose timely diligence prevented a lunatic from causing a catastrophe  in Times Square. We New Yorkers are happy to hear you called Mr. Lance L. Orton Sr. and Mr. Duane Jackson to thank them for their vigilance. But there is a third vendor, Mr. President, whom you forgot to call. His name is Alioune B. Niass, and he is an immigrant from Somalia who said he was the first person to notice the smoking Nissan Pathfinder. "I thought I should call 911," Niass later told a reporter, "but my English is not very good and I had no credit left on my phone, so I walked over to Lance, who has the T-shirt stall next to mine, and told him. He said we shouldn't call 911. Immediately he alerted a police officer nearby."
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Hamid Dabashi lauds president for calling two street vendors who reported Times Square car
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But, Dabashi says, a third vendor, a Muslim immigrant, says he was first to spot Pathfinder
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Muslim-American hero defies the "terrorist" stereotype, he writes
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Dabashi: Muslim Americans living with prejudice would be buoyed by Obama calling him
Here in New York, Mr. President, we are not particular about which one of these great @placeholder saw that deadly car first, alerted the police and prevented a disaster.