News reports are quick to instigate fear and apprehension surrounding Muslims, branding them as a threat to Western freedoms and life, as though their creed calls for violence.
Craig Stephen Hicks, who murdered three university students in their homes in North Carolina, was a professed atheist. Can the media make the claim that all atheists are terrorists and murderers?
Mainstream media in the US is not so quick to cover the story and the lives of Muslim Americans who are kind, peace-loving individuals, bright and brilliant people serving their country and their local communities.
The death of the three Muslim students who were shot and killed by their hateful neighbor in Chapel Hills, North Carolina is a sad loss, not only to their families, but to the local and world community, because of their exemplary work and ideas that they had to offer to America and the world.
Deah Barakat, 23 years, a tall young man, was a second year dental student at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. A beacon of light and optimism, he was making a difference in his local community and in other parts of the world. He was known for his volunteer work in homeless shelters where he lived in North Carolina and for also volunteering in Palestine and other countries.
Deah Barakat had started a campaign to help raise funds for a mission to take place in the summer of this year to provide dental care for Syrian refugees in Turkey, and he had called the campaign ‘Refugee Smiles'.
Before his life was put to an abrupt end by the hands of his murderer, Deah was planning this humanitarian trip with 10 dentists. The goal is to help Syrian refugees who are in need of urgent dental care. The dentists had been preparing to perform extractions, fillings, root canals, and oral hygiene instructions. With Deah's help, they were raising funds to take toothbrushes and toothpaste to give to the refugees because by focusing on prevention, they could eliminate most dental health problems before they even begin.
Deah had dedicated his life to service, to helping others. Although Deah is dead, his legacy did not die out, and the flame that he lit will continue to give off light. Before his death, his campaign had collected $16,000. After his death, as his family told the amazing story of who he was and what he had been working so hard for, the outpour of support and solidarity for this good cause surprised everyone. People from all over the world began contributing to his campaign, and the donations have now reached a total of $120,000 for his project ‘Refugee Smiles'. His family and community are hoping that caring people will help finish what Deah had started.
His older sister, Suzanne Barakat, trying hard not to cry, in a CNN interview with Anderson Cooper said about her brother, “He had the kindest heart. He loved everyone he met. He greeted strangers with a hug. He dedicated his life to service. He loved his family, his wife, and his in-laws. He was full of optimism, hope, and love. He wanted to help anyone and everyone. Deah always looked at the bright side of things. He made dental school look easy. He made his volunteer work look light. He loved what he was doing; he loved playing with the children. He was happy in everything he did. People loved being around him.”
Deah and his beautiful wife, Yusor Abu-Salha, 21, had been newlyweds, married for only 6 weeks, were both shot to death in their apartment by their neighbor, along with Yusor's younger sister, Razan, 19. Yusor had just received admission into the dental school at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and was scheduled to start in the fall. Razan was studying in a highly competitive program in architecture and she was equally brilliant.
Yusor was a beaming bride and along with her husband and her younger sister, she was an active, vibrant volunteer at an organization called Habitat for Humanity of Wake County. Habitat, with the help of its compassionate volunteers, builds safe, affordable houses for families in the community who otherwise would not have been able to realize the dream of becoming homeowners. Yusor's,
Deah's, Razan's, and everyone's vision at Habitat was a world where everyone has a decent place to live, where families and their children could save money and have a sense of security, space to grow and play, and have good neighbors.
In a letter to the families of the lost loved ones, an administrator at Habitat said, “Your children truly had an understanding and commitment beyond their years! We are blessed beyond measure to have been touched by them.”
Friends and families have launched the Facebook page ‘Our Three Winners' to honor Deah, Yusor, and Razan, to tell their stories.
The three of them had been living the spirit of Islam, to do unto others what you would want for yourself, to smile, to lift human suffering. At the same time, they were American as you would have seen from their American accent, friendliness, and love of basketball.
About the three, Suzanne Barakat said, “They were all destined with very bright futures. Razan was gifted, creative, incredibly generous, and a loyal friend. They all had so much to offer. They were gems in their community. They served as models to the youth. They inspired us.”
After their death, they will continue to inspire us to be better, to dream bigger, to laugh deeper, to love more, to serve more, and to give more.
Razan who will not see her twentieth birthday had tweeted, “Live in such a way that if someone spoke badly of you, no one would believe it.”
Muslims are not a threat to the world; they are the remedy - if they understand and practice their religion correctly.
