World

The Chapel Hill killings

Three young Muslim lives have been brutally snuffed out, and we want to know why

Editorial February 12, 2015

Flowers sit outside the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry in recognition of dentistry student Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his new wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, February 11, 2015 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. PHOTO: AFP

The murder of three young people, all Muslims, in the town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in the US has made headlines around the world. The alleged killer gave himself up to the police and he was arraigned in court on the morning of February 11. He has been charged with three counts of murder and is held without bail. The older sister of one of the three killed has asked the authorities to investigate the killings “as a hate crime”, a call identical to that of the father of two of the victims who said they were killed “because they were Muslim”. As yet, the precise motivations of the killer are unknown with any certainty, but the police in the town are saying that the killings may be linked to a long-running dispute between the alleged killer and his victims over car parking. The alleged killer and the victims were neighbours. The father of one of the victims has said that his daughter had told him they had “a hateful neighbour” and that “he hates us for what we are and how we look”.

It is not entirely clear right now whether the brutal killings were prompted by the parking dispute or because of the faith of the victims. What we do know is that the accused had used social media to express his atheist views, which basically consisted of a universal rejection of all religions. This tragic event was quickly picked up around the world on social media, and the hashtag #MuslimLivesMatter was trending on Twitter. What one can also instantly observe is that while the incident was given coverage by Western mainstream media, the kind of heartfelt response that came after the Charlie Hebdo killings was clearly missing, giving rise to accusations of double standards within Western media from many quarters. The police have said that they will investigate the possibility of a hate crime having been committed and it is hoped that things will become clearer quickly. Three young Muslim lives have been brutally snuffed out, and we want to know why.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2015.

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