Salt Lake City, UT – More than 50 people gathered at the steps of the Utah State Capitol, Feb. 25, in honor of three young Arab American Muslims murdered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. On Feb 10, Craig Hicks gunned down Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha.

The murders sparked protests and vigils across the country including Salt Lake City. United in Service for Humanity called for the vigil to build solidarity with the Muslim community and take a stand against Islamophobia.

“Deah, Razan, and Yusor knew how to live, yet it was snatched away by someone who judged them before even knowing them,” said Wagma Mohmand, the Co-Founder and Director of United in Service for Humanity. She called for action, “To prove to the world that we are strong and that hate and ignorance will not tear us apart and bring us down. I don’t know why people choose to hate and judge, but I do know that if we stand together against hate, we will win.”

“The mainstream national media also tried to pass this tragedy off as a parking lot dispute,” said Zuhaib Alam, a director of the Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake. He continued, “A parking lot dispute doesn’t cause young sisters to be fearful to wear their hijab, or cause young brothers to be fearful to wear their beard, or cause parents to reevaluate safety of their children. This was no parking lot dispute.”

The final speaker Nadine Sbaih personally knew those killed. “Yusor was always my motivation.” She referenced their humanitarian service saying, “They were truly sincere, inspiring, motivated, beautiful, honest, close and just amazing people.” She continued, “That’s what I think so many people now strive for, and that makes me proud to see how much they’ve impacted so many lives.”

The crowd vowed to continue forward. They will be holding another solidarity event on April 4 at the library square.

#SaltLakeCityUT #PeoplesStruggles #AntiRacism #ChapelHillShooting #Utaj

Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people came out for a protest against islamophobia and racism, Feb. 17, in response to the killing of three Muslim students last week. Gathered at a busy intersection in the heart of the local Somali community, near the University of Minnesota campus, they held signs and chanted for an hour, as temperatures dropped below zero.

Organizers sought to honor the lives of Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, 21 and her sister, Razan Abu-Salha, 19, who were executed by a neighbor in their home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on Feb. 10. While local police and media have said the murders were motivated by a parking dispute, family members of the victims say the crime was fueled by islamophobia and racism. Protesters slammed the media silence on this story in general, and the unwillingness to name racism and islamophobia as contributing factors in this case.

Sabry Wazwaz of the Anti-War Committee led chants throughout the event, along with Caleb Murphy. The rally closed with brief remarks by Wazwaz, as well as Sahro Ismail, a member of the large local Somali community and Tarik Rasouli and Karmel Sabri, who are organizing a major event for Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh. Some at the rally carried signs for Rasmea Odeh, and all were urged to attend Rock for Rasmea on Feb. 21 at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #Islamophobia #AntiWarCommittee #ChapelHillShooting

This happened in the U.S. The U.S. is no friend to Arab countries, or Arab Americans. The U.S. has a long history of war, occupations and bombings in Arab and predominantly Muslim countries, from backing the occupation of Palestine, to the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, to the current bombing of Syria, to drone strikes in Yemen. The rich and powerful U.S. ruling class wants an empire of oppression and exploitation.

While the U.S. government creates conflict and endless wars overseas, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the Department of Justice work overtime, spending billions to set up and jail Arab-Americans and Muslims. The government wants to make examples out of people, to create fear in society, and thus promote U.S. wars and occupations.

This is the case for Palestinian American Rasmea Odeh in Chicago. Like tens of thousands of others in occupied Palestine, she was locked up and tortured at an Israeli military prison. She later moved to the U.S. and built her life around community activism, winning awards for her service over 20 years. Like many others, she was targeted because she spoke out against U.S. wars and U.S. funding of Israel. Now Rasmea Odeh, at the age of 68, is threatened in U.S. court with 10 years in prison, fines and deportation. She faces sentencing in Detroit on March 12.

While the corporate media attempt to confuse the issue with talks of parking spaces, atheism and mental illness, we know why a white American gunned down peaceful Muslim students in a college town. The people in the U.S. are force-fed the ideas of Wall Street and the ruling class. Those who promote and conduct U.S wars are the same ones who teach people to fear and then hate Arab people and Muslims. It is also no surprise that these murders happened right after the release of the film, American Sniper. The film glorifies murder and the occupation of Iraq. It is also the widest released rated-R film of all time – it's been put in more theaters than any other film. Hollywood films and the corporate media promote ideas that incite violence and discrimination. They fuel and justify the actions of U.S. imperialism.

The murder of three Muslim students in Chapel Hill is a hate crime. We must unite against this. We must unite against the U.S. interventions in Syria and Iraq. We must unite against state repression of Arab Americans, Muslims and anti-war activists. Together, by building a mass movement, we can stop racist vigilante violence, police murders, war and repression.

Along with their families and the 5000 who attended their funerals, we mourn the deaths of Deah Shaddy Barakat, a 23-year-old University of North Carolina dental student married to 21-year-old Yusor Mohammad, and also her 19-year-old sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha.

#ChapelHillNC #ChapelHillShooting #DeahShaddyBarakat #RazanMohammadAbuSalha #YusorMohammad