Friend: This Was No ‘Parking’ Murder

[Raine1967]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/12/friend-this-was-no-parking-murder.html

Last week when I, along with 13 other Muslim Americans, met with President Obama at the White House, I explained my concern that given the recent rise in anti-Muslim bigotry, I feared that we could wake up one day to the news that someone had gone on a shooting spree targeting Muslim Americans.

Tragically, less than a week later, that very thing may have happened in North Carolina.

Yes, I know that we can’t be certain at this moment exactly why the gunman murdered three Muslim-American students—Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23; Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21; and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19—in cold blood. And true, the local police have noted that its “preliminary investigation indicates that the crime was motivated by an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking.”

But I doubt very much that anti-Muslim hate didn’t play some role in this attack. I say that based on a few factors. One is my conversation with two close friends of the victims and the comments made by the father of the two sisters killed. Second, we can’t ignore that on the day of the shooting we saw wall-to-wall media coverage about the death of the American aid worker and ISIS hostage Kayla Mueller. And finally, we have to factor in the overall rise in anti-Muslim rhetoric we have witnessed on both the right and the left recently.

More at link.

I may have missed it, but I don't believe this has been posted on DU. The entire piece is worth a read.

Muslims in this country are scared; they are concerned. They have every right to be and I wish they did not.

The rhetoric is getting far too ratcheted up.

[daleanime]

1. Too many people think the easy response to a problem....

is to kill some one.

[3catwoman3]

2. This is so sad I cannot even...

...find words for it. I cannot understand people who are so cavalier about the lives of others.

If it were possible, I would melt down every damn gun in the world.

[Thinkingabout]

3. I also remember a day when Timothy McVeigh decided it was time to kill

In Oklahoma but I don't remember those running out in the next few days killing white skin headed men. I am ashamed of American citizens who do not respect others religious choices. This is a freedom I cherish deeply. I may not want to worship with other religions but I sure need to respect them.

I think the deep seated hate probably comes from other sources than watching the news, I have at times listened to shows like Rush, Sean and the real hateful ones Alex Jones, who rule up people to keep themselves on the air, we don't need their kind of hate. Here three innocent people was killed by a deranged gun owner, this has to stop.

[Control-Z]

4. It's hard for me to believe it was about parking.

"She also said that on the day of the murders, Deah had just returned by bus. The only one with a car was the younger sister Razan, who had already parked earlier in the day. The point being: There was no “parking dispute” in close proximity to the actual murders."