Anti-Muslim Hate Crime: Funeral-Goers Mourn The Death Of A Palestinian-American Boy Who Was Stabbed 26 Times For Being A Muslim

Monday, the Mourners gathered outside the Chicago Funeral of Wadea Al-Fayoume, the 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy who was stabbed to death 26 times in his home late last week in an apparent anti-Muslim hate crime.

Anti-Muslim Hate Crime: Funeral-Goers Mourn The Death Of A Palestinian-American Boy Who Was Stabbed 26 Times For Being A Muslim (PHOTO: NRP)

Anti-Muslim Hate Crime Occur In Chicago

An anti-Muslim hate crime occurred on Saturday in the house of Wadea Al Fayoume who was stabbed 26 times by his family’s landlord in Plainfield Township, Illinois, the Will County Sheriff’s Office reported on their Facebook page.

Joseph M. Czuba, 71 years old was the family’s landlord and also the attacker is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of a hate crime, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said.

Hanaan Shahin 32-year-old mother of Wadea Al Fayoume also suffered more than a dozen stab wounds, the sheriff’s office said.

Shahin’s serious injuries prevented her from being at her son’s funeral, said Ahmed Rehab, executive director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Chicago office. In accordance with Muslim tradition, deceased Muslims are buried as soon as possible after death.

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Department of Justice is currently investigating the attack on the 6-year-old boy and US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the occurrence cannot help but further increase the fears of Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian communities in our country with regard to hate-fueled violence.

Investigators have found out that the anti-Muslim victims were “targeted by the suspect because they were Muslims and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis,” the sheriff’s office said.

Monday’s court filing stated that Czuba’s wife informed investigators after the anti-Muslim crime incident that on October 11, he told her he wanted Wadea and his mother to vacate the home.

The landlord’s wife also told investigators that Czuba believed that they were in danger and that Shahin was going to call over her Palestinian friends or family to harm them, the filing said. Moreover,  Czuba also confronted her “about what was going on in the Middle East.”

Shahin told police she was able to get away by locking herself in the nearby bathroom, but was not able to get her son. While there, she called the police, according to the filing. The document stated that while Shahin was on the phone with 911 she claimed that her son was being stabbed.

Responding officers found Czuba outside. Shahin was in the front of the house with “multiple facial wounds and was bleeding profusely,” the filing said.

The boy was transferred to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the document said.

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