Muslim civic and elected leaders condemned Islamaphobic rhetoric Monday evening as they gathered on the Muslim Group Heart in Irving Park to mark a yr since a Palestinian-American little one was stabbed to demise in what authorities are investigating as a hate crime following the outbreak of the warfare between Israel and Hamas.
Wadee Alfayoumi, 6, and his mom have been dwelling in unincorporated Plainfield Township final fall when their landlord, Joseph Czuba, allegedly attacked them with a knife, killing the boy and leaving his mom Shahin with severe accidents. Wadee’s demise drew nationwide consideration and highlighted the spike in Islamaphobia that accompanied the warfare’s outbreak, which has additionally introduced an increase in anti-semitism.
Will County prosecutors stated later that Czuba had turn into “closely ” within the Israel-Hamas warfare by means of conservative discuss radio and had turn into satisfied that his Palestinian and Muslim tenants would damage him and requested them to maneuver out earlier than he allegedly stabbed the pair.
Muslim civil rights group CAIR Chicago’s govt director Ahmed Rehab stated Monday that Wadee’s demise stated extra concerning the suspect and the media he’d allegedly consumed than it did about Wadee or his household.
“(Wadee and his mom) have been picked nearly randomly to symbolize all of us,” Rehab stated. “In that sense, we have been all stabbed. We have been all wounded. We have been all killed that day.”
Rehab and different audio system pinned among the accountability for Wadee’s demise on “one-sided statements from politicians, one-sided protection from the media.”
“Whereas our kin and our buddies and our household have been being slaughtered in Gaza, right here at dwelling, our neighborhood members have been being vilified on the similar second,” he stated.
State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, D-Bridgeview, stated the information convention saying the boy’s demise was held a yr in the past in the identical room as Monday’s gathering. He remembered considering of his personal daughter, now 7, that day, and the unhappiness, frustration and anger he had felt.
Authorities charged Czuba with a slew of felonies days after Wadee’s demise. In accordance with a wrongful demise lawsuit filed in Could in opposition to Czuba, his spouse and his brother, the final phrases Wadee’s mom, Hanaan Shahin, heard her son say have been “oh no.”
The assault drew 1000’s to grieve alongside Wadee’s household. It additionally prompted condemnation from elected officers at each degree of presidency and was acknowledged by President Joe Biden in a nationwide deal with shortly afterward.
Will County authorities deemed the stabbings a hate crime and federal authorities together with the FBI and the Civil Rights Division of the Division of Justice launched an investigation into the assault quickly after.
The Related Press reviews that greater than 42,000 Palestinians have died since Israel declared warfare in opposition to Hamas following the militant group’s Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 individuals and left about 250 individuals hostage in Gaza. About 100 of these hostages stay captive, although roughly a 3rd are regarded as lifeless.
Although the entire depend of Palestinian casualties doesn’t separate combatants and civilians, the Gaza Well being Ministry says roughly half of the lifeless are girls and youngsters.
Sheikh Hasan Aly closed Monday’s gathering with a prayer for these youngsters and others “who proceed to undergo in conflicts the world over” and a plea to reject hate and discrimination.
“We ask Almighty God to envelope all the youngsters in his peace,” Aly stated.
Wadee’s father, Odai Alfayoumi, gave a brief deal with in Arabic, which Rehab gave a tough translation of afterward.
Alfayoumi, wearing a gray sweatsuit, thanked these in attendance and drew a parallel between Wadee and youngsters in Gaza, who “are taken each single day by the identical forces of hate and dehumanization,” Rehab translated.
Alfayoumi added that he’s anticipating a brand new child lady together with his spouse, Rehab stated, and hoped his new daughter would share Wadee’s sense of hope and pleasure.