On February 10, 2015, Deah Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, 21, and her younger sister Razan Abu-Salha, 19, were shot to death in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Police have charged Craig Hicks, a neighbor to the victims who reportedly turned himself in, with first-degree murder. Allegedly, Hicks condemned all religions on Facebook prior to the shooting. If this is indeed the reason behind his actions, then innocent Muslim students may have lost their lives due to Islamophobia.
Islamophobia, the fear and hatred of the religion of Islam, Muslims, and anyone who is perceived as Muslim, has been running rampant as evidenced by the racist tweets following American Sniper and the anti-Islam ads in San Francisco. Now, we have living proof that Islamophobic sentiment can turn deadly. Many are pointing at American media as a contributor to Islamophobia.
On the night of the shooting, #ChapelHillShooting was the the top trending hashtag on Twitter, but when we checked at 11PM PST for news on the story, we couldn’t find any coverage apart from local news media and Buzzfeed. We weren’t the only ones:
Here are the important stories that top news sites are covering right now instead of the #ChapelHillShooting: pic.twitter.com/n62dSfPUaH
– JRehling (@JRehling) February 11, 2015
Where is the media when it matters most? #ChapelHill shootings not getting any mass media coverage. WHY? #MuslimLivesMatter
– Burcu Bozkurt (@burcubbozkurt) February 11, 2015
On @CNN even robot pets are more important than minority lives. #ChapelHillShooting #MuslimLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/GIeUG4QDEk
– Damiyr Andre (@KingDamiyr) February 11, 2015
Muslims only newsworthy when “behind a gun. Not in front it.” Lack of coverage on Chapel HIll murders confirms this pic.twitter.com/vNQ3KWD6zF
– Khaled Bey (@KhaledBeydoun) February 11, 2015
#MuslimLivesMatter but not for @CNN @NBCNews @CBSNews @ABC @FoxNews #ChapelHillShooting @al_tagreer pic.twitter.com/TC5QDt50nq
– Carlos Latuff (@LatuffCartoons) February 11, 2015
The hashtag #MuslimLivesMatter was created as a response to the American media’s lack of coverage on this incident and to show proof that there are people out there who do believe Muslim lives matter:
I wonder when all world leaders will come and hold hands and march on the streets of Chapel Hill to condemn Islamphobia. #MuslimLivesMatter
– Dr. Yasir Qadhi (@YasirQadhi) February 11, 2015
White terrorists are never called “white.” But other terrorists are given ethnic affiliations. #ChapelHill #MuslimLivesMatter
– Ø£Øمد كريم (@DunyaDweller) February 11, 2015
Mainstream media is not reporting it. Let’s ask about this. Let’s talk about it. Don’t let them sweep it under the rug. #MuslimLivesMatter
– Ijeoma Oluo (@IjeomaOluo) February 11, 2015
senseless. #chapelhillshooting#alllivesmatter#muslimlivesmatter
I cant take my eyes off them-24 & 21 & ALL Life ahead. MURDERED by #Terrorist#ChapelHillShooting#MuslimLivesMatterpic.twitter.com/D9UfmxgoMg
I cant take my eyes off them-24 & 21 & ALL Life ahead. MURDERED by #Terrorist#ChapelHillShooting#MuslimLivesMatterpic.twitter.com/D9UfmxgoMg
– Bea (@Bea4Palestine) February 11, 2015
http://abc11.com/news/3-shot-killed-near-durham-orange-county-line/512086/
senseless. #chapelhillshooting#alllivesmatter#muslimlivesmatter
– steven yeun (@steveyeun) February 11, 2015
A community Facebook page called Our Three Winners has been set up to remember the lives of the victims. Needless to say, these three were all extraordinary individuals who sought to help others. Deah Barakat and his wife Yusor Abu-Salha were both focused on providing dental care to Syrian refugees in Turkey. In fact, Barakat created a charity which you can still donate to. 19-year-old Razan Abu-Salha was just as dedicated to helping others. She spent her spare time supporting charities such as Global Deaf Muslim, which advocates for equal access to Islam for the deaf and hard of hearing.
If these three were able to recognize that other lives matter, surely we can all recognize that #MuslimLivesMatter.
[wp_ad_camp_2]
