By Eddie Mikus
Fordham University’s Muslim Student Association conducted an interfaith prayer vigil in the McGinley Center on Feb. 25 to memorialize the shooting deaths of three Muslim students at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
The incident occurred on Feb. 10, 2015, when Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, Yusor Mohamad Abu-Salha, 21, and Razan Mohamad Abu-Salha, 19, were shot at the Finley Forest Condominium Complex, a location near the University of North Carolina that serves as a popular residence for the university’s students.
While the shooting was originally labeled as a dispute over a parking space, the alleged killer, Craig Stephen Hicks, had made anti-religious posts on a social media page.
As a result, a federal inquiry has begun in order to identify whether the matter should be classified as a hate crime.
During the vigil, student body representatives from the Muslim, Hindu and Christian faiths offered prayers from their respective traditions for the victims. Additionally, the vigil also featured a segment in which students recited memorial poems for the deceased, and those in attendance were requested to sign a peace banner.
Conor O’Kane, Fordham’s director of interfaith programs, attended the service and discussed his reactions with the Fordham Ram.
“I thought it was a very positive gathering, and it was very prayerful, and very reverent, and very meaningful,” O’Kane said. “And it was a powerful response of remembrance and love in the face of a terrible tragedy. It was an opportunity for folks to gather together to share their thoughts, their prayers at a time when their hearts were heavy and to come together under the banner of peace.”
Bushra Mian, FCRH ’15, co-president of the Muslim Student Association, said that the incident had special poignance to her due to the age of the victims.
“I was taken aback by the tragedy,” Mian said in an interview with The Fordham Ram. “It’s always hard to take, no matter who dies, Muslim or non-Muslim. But, I think just knowing that they were students close to our age, like I can relate to them. It was really hard to take it.”
Mian further told The Fordham Ram that she felt the vigil would help bring the university community closer.
“I feel like it brings us together, and it definitely helps us realize that we need to stand up for each other and have each other’s back and support each other,” Mian said. “I think it’s really important to have these vigils and prayers to grieve together, mourn together, because at the end of the day, we need to be there for each other.”
Mian’s co-president, Rahitul Bhuyian, FCRH ’15, said that he believed the vigil would benefit the members of Fordham’s Muslim community.
“Other people will see that, just like the three victims, we are just regular people living our life here and it may make them more comfortable in a sense,” said Bhuyian. “But, until the community builds and sort of reaches out to other communities and sort of builds connections there, there’s always going to be some tension between them.”
O’Kane offered a positive perspective on the results of the prayer vigil.
“I’m glad that we were able to come together as a community to mourn the loss of the three students at Chapel Hill and then pray for the future that they sought and that we seek,” O’Kane said. “A world that is defined by mercy and love.”
