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Two Heroes Killed For Standing Up To Anti-Muslim Hate
Three courageous men tried to stop an anti-Muslim rant in Portland; two ended up paying with their lives.
The three men attempted to de-escalate a situation involving a known white supremacist yelling anti-Muslim slurs at a young hijabi woman and her friend.
The man was identified as 35-year-old Jeremy Joseph Christian, who was arrested and charged with two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and other crimes.
The stabbings took place a day before the start of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting.
According to witnesses, Christian was ranting and screaming anti-Muslim hate speech at two young women, one of which who was wearing the hijab.
“This random white guy sits down and he starts talking and ranting about how he feels that Christians should die and Muslims should die,” said one of the girls’ mothers. “He comes running up on them and the guys stood up for them.
Christian proceed to stab each of the men in the neck, one of the men died at the scene and another died at the hospital. The third man is expected to survive.
Police identified the victims as 23-year-old Taelisin Myron Namkai-Meche, a recent graduate, and 53-year-old army veteran Ricky John Best.
21-year-old autistic poet Micah David Cole Fletcher remains in the hospital and is being treated for what are considered to be non-life threatening injuries.
Muslim communities are raising money for the families of the two men who were killed for coming to the defence of the young women involved in the attack.
“I am very thankful as a Muslim, I am very thankful as a Portlander … that we stand together here as one,” said Muhammad A. Najieb, an imam at the Muslim Community Centre. “The two young could have been the victims, but three heroes jumped in and supported them.”
Donations have been pouring for the campaign led by the Muslim Educational Trust and Celebrate Mercy, a non-profit which aims to counter misinformation about Islam.
The campaign has reached over $300,000 as of this morning and will be used to cover medical costs, funeral expenses, and for Best’s wife and children.
“We wish to respond to hate with love, to evil with good, as our faith instructs us, and send a powerful message of compassion through action,” the fundraising page reads. “Our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said: ‘Have mercy to those on earth, and the One in Heaven (God) will have mercy upon you.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling on President Donald Trump to condemn the attacks, and Christian, who made Nazi salutes at a free speech rally in April and posted racist commentary on social media, is expected in court this week.
Main Image Photo Credit: www.nydailynews.com
Nomaan Khan
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After spending some time in a completely different field, Nomaan decided to drop it all and switch to Mohawk College to pursue his longtime interest in the world of Journalism. His experience working in multimedia platforms has helped him develop exceptional skills in thinking on his feet, being ...
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