At least 50 Muslim community members and others gathered at a vigil Tuesday night in Garden Grove, mourning the death of 6-year-old Palestinian American boy Wadea Al-Fayoume, whom officials say was stabbed to death in his suburban home near Chicago last weekend.
The Greater Los Angeles area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) and community partners organized Tuesday’s vigil, held at the Islamic Center of Orange County, to honor Al-Fayoume and all victims of Islamophobia and war, organizers said in a news release.
Al-Fayoume was stabbed 26 times last Saturday, Oct. 14 by his family’s landlord in Plainfield Township, Illinois, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said. Police said the suspect also stabbed Al-Fayoume’s mother, Hanaan Shahin, who is hospitalized and fighting for her life, and reportedly missed her son’s funeral on Monday.
Will County officials determined the attack was a hate crime, and said the suspect targeted Al-Fayoume and his mother “due to them being Muslim, and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis.”
CAIR-LA officials said Tuesday’s vigil was, so far, the only local event specifically honoring Al-Fayoume. Numerous Israeli and Palestinian peace vigils and rallies have been held over the last week and around the world, with many calling for the end of innocent deaths after attacks in both Gaza and Israel by the Hamas terrorist group.
CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush condemned the attacks, saying that “no child deserves to feel insecure or threatened.”
“Every child is precious. Every child deserves protection,” Ayloush said. “Whether they are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Palestinian, Israeli, American, White or Black — every child deserves that protection.”
Members of the Islamic Society of Orange County, Project Islamic H.O.P.E and the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California also joined in Tuesday’s solemn event.
Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, director of the Islamic Center of Orange County, said a blessing for Al-Fayoume, his mother, and for those whose lives have been lost.
“Six-years-old… he did not do anything wrong to anybody,” Siddiqi said.
Referencing increasing violence in Israel and Gaza, Siddiqi said that Palestinians are “the longest-suffering people in the world.”
“Hundreds and thousands of them are killed, expelled from their homes, living as refugees,” Siddiqui said. “In their own home, they’re refugees.”
Community members at the vigil asked that humanity be remembered in divisive, atrocious times.
Najee Ali, the executive director of Project Islamic H.O.P.E., reminded attendees that “Islam is a religion of peace and justice.”
“This baby was murdered because he was a Palestinian. He was murdered because he was Muslim, and that’s something we should all be outraged about because at the end of the day, he’s a child. And he was murdered because of hatred, ignorance and those engaging in Islamophobia,” said Ali.
“We want to protect all innocent children,” Ali added. “Palestinian lives matter. Our children matter. Muslim children matter.”
CAIR-LA officials also criticized Orange County leaders for their release of a “one-sided statement” last week that they said “offers solidarity with Israeli victims of violence, but blatantly makes no mention of the 1,400 Palestinians killed by Israel in their most recent assault and bombardment of Gaza.”
“Instead of using their platform as an opportunity to recognize and support all the communities impacted by the recent events — including Palestinian Americans, Arab Americans and American Muslims — the (Orange County) supervisors chose to engage in old Islamophobic tropes that conflate violence with a religion practiced by 2 billion people around the world,” CAIR-LA officials stated, while asking the board members to meet with local Palestinian human rights advocates.
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