ADAMS will hold a vigil Fri Feb 13 at 7pm-9pm ET at the ADAMS Main Center – 46903 Sugarland Rd, Sterling, VA – to remember the Chapel Hill Victims( Deah Barakat, 23; his wife, Yusor Mohammad, 21; and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19) and their families. We have invited our interfaith partners, local government officials and all concerned citizens to show their solidarity with the families of the victims, and their determination not to allow the actions of such misguided and depraved individuals to diminish the commitment of all Americans to peace and freedom from fear, and to religious and ethnic tolerance everywhere across America.
The All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) is profoundly shocked and pained by the horrific execution style murder of three Muslim students at Chapel Hill, NC. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We ask all people, of every faith, to join in condemning this shocking attack and in remembering the victims and their families.
We are thankful law enforcement has the perpetrator in custody after he turned himself into the police, and hope they will quickly complete their investigation of this brutal attack, and to ensure justice for the victims and for all citizens by prosecuting him to the fullest extent of the law. We also urge the FBI and Local Law Enforcement to investigate the motive due to some of his alleged online statement and ascertain whether this was a hate crime, and to send a clear message that any such crime, or any intimidation of communities, will never be tolerated.
In one post widely shared online, perpetrator Craig Hicks claimed he is an atheist, and allegedly wrote: “When it comes to insults, your religion started this, not me. If your religion kept its big mouth shut, so would I.” (http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/11/us/chapel-hill-shooting/index.html). Hicks further described himself as a supporter of “Atheists for Equality”.
The shooting of the three Muslims has been widely condemned across social media, even by a prominent atheist activist Richard Dawkins himself, who tweeted: “How could any decent person NOT condemn the vile murder of three young US Muslims in Chapel Hill?” (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/chapel-hill-shooting-craig-stephen-hicks-condemned-all-religions-on-facebook-prior-to-muslim-massmurder-arrest-10038126.html)
ADAMS deplores Hate Crimes and Hate Rhetoric against Muslims that remain at a dangerous level (https://www.adamscenter.org/?p=1669) and (http://www.splcenter.org/home/2012/spring/fbi-bias-crimes-against-muslims-remain-at-high-levels). While the motive for this heinous crime is still being investigated, we are very concerned this rhetoric and the barrage of attacks on any minority groups may encourage people like Hicks to feel his evil actions are somehow justified. ADAMS therefore urges all Americans to be extra vigilant in our common struggle against actions that counter and threaten the very core of our nation’s principles, and to cooperate with Law Enforcement Agencies to ensure justice for the victims of these attacks. ADAMS continues to work with local law enforcement, and with national Agencies like the FBI Washington Field Office, to assure the safety of all communities, and to do all we can to prevent hate crimes while building enduring relationships based on knowledge, respect and cooperation.
The All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) is profoundly shocked and pained by the horrific execution style murder of three Muslim students at Chapel Hill, NC. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We ask all people, of every faith, to join in condemning this shocking attack and in remembering the victims and their families.
We are thankful law enforcement has the perpetrator in custody after he turned himself into the police, and hope they will quickly complete their investigation of this brutal attack, and to ensure justice for the victims and for all citizens by prosecuting him to the fullest extent of the law. We also urge the FBI and Local Law Enforcement to investigate the motive due to some of his alleged online statement and ascertain whether this was a hate crime, and to send a clear message that any such crime, or any intimidation of communities, will never be tolerated.
In one post widely shared online, perpetrator Craig Hicks claimed he is an atheist, and allegedly wrote: “When it comes to insults, your religion started this, not me. If your religion kept its big mouth shut, so would I.” (http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/11/us/chapel-hill-shooting/index.html). Hicks further described himself as a supporter of “Atheists for Equality”.
The shooting of the three Muslims has been widely condemned across social media, even by a prominent atheist activist Richard Dawkins himself, who tweeted: “How could any decent person NOT condemn the vile murder of three young US Muslims in Chapel Hill?” (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/chapel-hill-shooting-craig-stephen-hicks-condemned-all-religions-on-facebook-prior-to-muslim-massmurder-arrest-10038126.html)
ADAMS deplores Hate Crimes and Hate Rhetoric against Muslims that remain at a dangerous level (https://www.adamscenter.org/?p=1669) and (http://www.splcenter.org/home/2012/spring/fbi-bias-crimes-against-muslims-remain-at-high-levels). While the motive for this heinous crime is still being investigated, we are very concerned this rhetoric and the barrage of attacks on any minority groups may encourage people like Hicks to feel his evil actions are somehow justified. ADAMS therefore urges all Americans to be extra vigilant in our common struggle against actions that counter and threaten the very core of our nation’s principles, and to cooperate with Law Enforcement Agencies to ensure justice for the victims of these attacks. ADAMS continues to work with local law enforcement, and with national Agencies like the FBI Washington Field Office, to assure the safety of all communities, and to do all we can to prevent hate crimes while building enduring relationships based on knowledge, respect and cooperation.