Living Under Attack as a Muslim American

At a time where Islamaphobia is at an all time rise in a post Trump America, hate crimes against Muslim Americans are increasing at an alarming rate.

Salam Malikum. This traditional Muslim greeting simply translates to peace be unto you. For Muslims, this is their basic language of greeting each other. While this is clear to anyone who is Muslim, many non-Muslims are lucidly unaware. In fact, at a time where Islamaphobia is at an all time rise in a post Trump America, hate crimes against Muslim Americans are increasing at an alarming rate.

Her name was Nabra Hassanen. On June 17, 2017 17-year-old Nabra donned the traditional all black Muslim abayya. Nabra and a group of her friends were in search of something to eat during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. After the Taraweeh prayers were over at her local mosque, Nabra and her friends were on their way to iHop to prepare for another day of fasting. Instead of making it to iHop, Nabra was brutally murdered with a baseball bat while her friends managed to escape the attacker. By the time Nabra’s friends realized she was no longer with them, it was already too late. A complete stranger with a baseball bat beat 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen to death. Fairfax County Police assert that road rage, rather than any sort of racial or religious motivated hatred towards Nabra led to the attack that killed her. Plainly, investigators assert that Nabra and her friends dress attire had unequivocally nothing to do with the attack. Julie Parker, the director of public affairs for the Fairfax Police proclaimed, “It appears the suspect became so enraged over this traffic argument that it escalated into deadly violence.” Clearly, the attack on Nabra has not been deemed a hate crime.

The brutal murder of Nabra resembles all too eerily to the Chapel Hill shooting of 2015. Deah Barakat, Yusor Mohammad, and Razan Mohammad were all brutally murdered execution style in their home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Like Nabra, Yusor and Razan Mohammad were openly Muslim, both donning the traditional Muslim hijab. Also like Nabra’s case, the Chapel Hill shooting was not characterized as a hate crime but was rather deemed a result of a “parking dispute” amongst neighbors. Frankly, to brutally murder three individuals in their own home is not a consequence of a parking dispute. The motivation of such a crime was hate, religiously motivated hate. Just like Nabra’s case, the religion of the victims depicted how investigators and the media portrayed the brutal incident. Undoubtedly, if the victims in both instances were not Muslim, and their attackers were Muslim, the police and media would portray both tragedies as possible terror attacks and nothing remotely resembling a parking dispute.

In the end, it can be seen that political agendas seem to be more significant than loss of Muslim life, time and time again. In a post 9/11 America, and more timely a post Trump America, hate towards innocent Muslims is at an all time high. Young victims like Nabra, Deah, Yusor, and Razan have paid the ultimate price for such hate. While Muslim Americans are continuing saying Salam Malikun to one another, and are increasing their spirituality during the final nights of Ramadan, a family has to deal with the loss of their child as a consequence of Islamaphobia in America. Muslims are continuously portrayed as terrorists in the media, while hate crimes are simultaneously being ignored; it is an extremely daunting time to be a Muslim American. Instead of enjoying the final nights of Ramadan, Muslim Americans are being taught how to protect themselves in case they too, might be victim of another hate crime.