US Muslims have held protests in New York to denounce the fatal shooting of a mosque imam and his associate on Saturday

US Muslims have held protests in New York to denounce the fatal shooting of a mosque imam and his associate on Saturday.

The two were walking home from afternoon prayers at a mosque in the New York City borough of Queens, when a gunman opened fire, shooting both in the head.

Imam Alala Uddin Akongi, a revered religious leader who came to the city from Bangladesh about two years ago, was pronounced dead at the scene.

His assistant, 64-year-old Thara Uddin, was critically injured and succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

Muslim protesters gathered at the scene of the murder later in the day, calling the killings a hate crime, and demanding justice.

The protesters blamed the murder on the anti-Muslim rhetoric in the US perpetuated by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani.