Page 14 - Pakistan Link - October 20, 2023
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P14 - PAKISTAN  LINK - OCTOBER 20, 2023                                                                                                  COMMUNITY
               n By Anwar Iqbal      Americans Urged to Speak against                              According to an earlier AFP story,  their chest, torso, and upper extremi-


                                                                                                                                 A serrated military-style knife with
       WASHINGTON:  The  need  for  heal-  Hate after Young Boy’s Murder                        US President Joe Biden said the boy’s  ties,” the sheriff’s statement said.
                                                                                                family were Palestinian Muslims who
       ing  was  felt  across  America,  as  the                                                “came to America seeking what we all  a seven-inch blade was pulled from the
       media reported details of the murder                                                     seek — a refuge to live, learn, and pray  boy’s abdomen during the autopsy, the
       of six-year-old Palestinian boy Wadea                                                    in peace.”                    statement said.
       Al-Fayoume, whose murderer had his                                                          “This  horrific  act  of  hate  has  no   When  police  arrived  they  found
       first day in a Plainfield, Illinois, court                                               place in America,” Biden said in a state- Czuba sitting on the ground near the
       on Monday.                                                                               ment.                         driveway  of  the  residence  with  a  lac-
         “All  must  speak  out  against  hate,”                                                   The  suspect,  Joseph  Czuba,  71,  eration on his forehead. He was taken
       wrote  The  Baltimore  Sun,  referring                                                   was charged with first-degree murder,  to hospital for treatment before being
       to  a  speech  former  President  George                                                 attempted  first-degree  murder,  two  charged with murder, attempted mur-
       W.  Bush  made  at  the  Islamic  Center                                                 counts  of  hate  crime  and  aggravated  der, and two counts of hate crimes.
       of Washington days after the Sept 11,                                                    battery with a deadly weapon, the sher-  “He  knocked  on  the  door  and  at-
       2001, terrorist attacks, where he urged                                                  iff’s office said.            tempted  to  choke  her,  and  said  ‘you
       Americans not to blame an entire reli-                                                      “Detectives were able to determine  Muslims’  must  die,’  ”  Ahmed  Rehab,
       gion and its followers for an act com-                                                   that  both  victims  in  this  brutal  at- head of the Council on American-Is-
       mitted by a handful of militants.                                                        tack were targeted by the suspect due  lamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago office,
         Emphasizing this point, The Balti-                                                     to them being Muslim and the ongo- told reporters, citing text messages sent
       more Sun suggested that the campaign                                                     ing  Middle  Eastern  conflict  involv- by the woman to the murdered boy’s
       against  hate  “can  start  by  mourning  Wadea Al-Fayoume, 6, a Muslim boy who was stabbed to death in an attack   ing  Hamas  and  the  Israelis,”  the  Will  father from her hospital bed.
       6-year-old  Wadea  Al-Fayoume,”  who  that targeted him and his mother for their religion and as a response to the   County Sheriff’s Office said in a state-  The  CAIR  identified  the  boy  as
       loved to play ball, loved to color, loved  ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, poses in an undated family   ment.  Wadea Al-Fayoume and said the wom-
       to swing, loved his family, and who, we  photograph — Reuters                               Reuters could not identify an attor- an, Hanaan Shahin, was his mother.
       surely can all agree, did not deserve to                                                 ney for Czuba. He was in jail awaiting   “The  Islamophobic  rhetoric  and
       have his life ripped from him, stabbed  Fitzgerald  said  the  boy’s  mother  told   The family “had no reason to sus- his initial court appearance, the office  anti-Palestinian  racism  being  spread
       26 times“.                    investigators that when first confront- pect what was to occur”, said Ahmed  said.       by politicians, media outlets, and social
         The court ordered that 71-year-old  ed by Czuba over the violence in Israel,  Rehab, executive director of the Coun-  Although Czuba did not make any  media platforms must stop,” CAIR said
       Joseph  Czuba,  who  is  charged  with  she told him, “Let’s pray for peace”.  cil  on  American-Islamic  Relations,  statements to detectives, as is his con- on  the  social  media  platform  X,  for-
       murder and hate-crime, must be kept   That’s  when  Shahin  said  he  at- Chicago, as Czuba was friendly to the  stitutional right, police said they deter- merly known as Twitter.
       behind bars without bail.     tacked her with a knife. “He didn’t give  family until the bombing of Gaza be- mined the charges through interviews   FBI  Director  Christopher  Wray
         Czuba  also  stabbed  Fayoume’s  her time. He then attacked her with a  gan.           and evidence.                 warned  the  International  Association
       mother,  Hanaan  Shahin,  dozens  of  knife,” Fitzgerald told the court.  “It  wasn’t  until  Czuba  started   When  police  arrived  at  the  scene,  of Chiefs of Police conference to stay
       times, but she survived the attack and   On Monday night, people gathered  watching  the  news  and  hearing  the  they said they found Czuba sitting on  vigilant  “in  this  heightened  environ-
       is now in a hospital near Chicago.  outside Shahin’s hospital, while her son  statements  that  something  changed,”  the ground outside the home with a cut  ment.”
         “You  Muslims  have  to  die,”  was laid to rest in a Chicago suburb of  he added.     to his forehead. The victims were in a   “There’s no question we’re seeing
       screamed Czuba, when he barged into  Bridgeview, where hundreds attended   Czuba’s  wife,  Mary,  told  police  he  bedroom.  an increase in reported threats, and
       the  ground-floor  apartment  that  he  his funeral.        “listens  to  conservative  talk  radio  on   Authorities  said  the  woman  man- we’ve got to be on the lookout, espe-
       owned and where his tenants, Fayoume   According  to  court  documents,  a regular basis”, and was heavily inter- aged to call 911 as she fought off the  cially  for  lone  actors  who  may  take
       and his parents lived.        Shahin told police she rents two rooms  ested in the recent events happening in  landlord, named by the sheriff’s office  inspiration  from  recent  events  to
         “You are killing our kids in Israel.  in Czuba’s house where she lived with  Israel.   as Czuba.                     commit violence of their own,” Wray
       You Palestinians don’t deserve to live,”  her  son  on  the  first  floor,  and  Czuba   Czuba told his wife on Wednesday   “Deputies  located  two  victims  in- told the conference in San Diego on
       he shouted as he attacked his victims.  lived on the second floor, according to  that he wanted Shahin and her family  side the residence in a bedroom. Both  Saturday, according to the FBI web-
         The  county’s  attorney  Michael  the documents.          to move out of the home. - Dawn  victims  had  multiple  stab  wounds  to  site. – AFP/Reuters


             n By Ras H. Siddiqui             Sacramento Rally Calls for Peace                                                   It would have been very easy to
                 California                                                                                                   skip this protest as there was also

             sizeable number of people      and End to Occupation in Palestine                                                a  Cricket  tournament  being  held
                                                                                                                              in  town.  But  amongst  the  people
             from diverse backgrounds                                                                                         at the rally were some old friends
       A eld a rally in Sacramento,                                                                                           who  have  been  directly  and  dev-
             h
       California  on  October  14,  2023,                                                                                    astatingly impacted. Br Adeeb Al-
                  to  voice  support                                                                                          zanoon  of  PAL  and  local  Council
                  for  the  Palestinian                                                                                       on  American-Islamic  Relations
                  people,  especially                                                                                         (CAIR) Executive Director Br Ba-
                  those currently un-                                                                                         sim El Karra are just two of many
                  der  siege  in  Gaza.                                                                                       who were here.
                  The protesters pop-                                                                                            This  writer  has  known  both
                  ulated the four cor-                                                                                        Adeeb and Basim for a long time,
       ners  of  the  intersection  of  16th                                                                                  and  on  seeing  them  this  time  it
       &  J  Street  carrying  banners  and                                                                                   appeared  that  they  had  suddenly
       Palestinian  flags.  They  also  lis-                                                                                  aged several years since we had last
       tened to speeches by local leaders                                                                                     seen  them  just  a  few  months  ago.
       and activists belonging to various                                                                                     This  tragedy  is  devastating  many
       groups.  Endorsers  of  this  event                                                                                    lives.  Brother  Basim  whose  fam-
       included the ANSWER organiza-                                                                                          ily is from Gaza, was continuously
       tion. Left Wing, Student and Pal-                                                                                      checking his cell phone at this rally
       estinian groups including the Pal-                                                                                     to hear about displacement and ca-
       estine  American  League  (PAL),                                                                                       sualties  within  his  extended  fam-
       and not to be left out, the Jewish                                                                                     ily.  Yes,  this  new  Gaza  war  (there
       Voice for Peace Sacramento.                                                                                            have  been  many  before)  is  killing
         October  7,  2023,  will  go  down                                                                                   innocents  including  women  and
       in history as a dark day in the his-                                                                                   children on both sides.
       tory  of  Israel-Palestine  relations                                                                                     All the speakers here called for
       which also extend outwards to the                                                                                      the  end  of  the  Occupation  and  a
       worldwide  Jewish-Muslim  rela-                                                                                        peaceful  resolution  of  the  Israeli-
       tionship. Within a week of the at-                                                                                     Palestinian  conflict.  The  crowd
       tack inside Israel by Hamas, Israel                                                                                    raised slogans including “End, end
       has responded, and the global me-                                                                                      the  Occupation”  and  “Free,  free
       dia has rightly condemned the kill-                                                                                    Palestine”  along with “No justice,
       ing of innocent people. But before                                                                                     no peace.” They also called out for
       one delves into this long-standing                                                                                     fairness  towards  the  Palestinian
       conflict,  there  is  also  some  con-                                                                                 people  and  for  putting  an  end  to
       demnation brewing in the western                                                                                       this war.  Lest we forget, the Pales-
       world of the Israeli response which                                                                                    tinians are the long-suffering peo-
       also  includes  the  killing  of  inno-                                                                                ple in this conflict. And they love
       cent people.                                                                                                           their children too.
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