KILLING MUSLIMS IN CHAPEL HILL

News about a triple murder is filling the headlines in North Carolina. This murder has all the ingredients of an Islamophobic incident. Three young college age Muslim students, two hijab-wearing females, and one male were found shot in the head. A 46-year old from the Deep South named Craig Hicks is the self-confessed perpetrator; news reports indicate he has had paralegal training, which I am sure in his mind makes him a legal wiz. In addition, he is a Facebook user who has posted his disbeliefs in all religion. In addition, he has posted a picture of a pistol with ammunition and a note telling his readers how much the gun and holster weighs—in other words, trivial nonsense as an apparent excuse to publish the fact he owns a gun; he believes in “second amendment” solutions. For me, that is the profile of a racist killer. The question is; “Where does such profound hate come from?”

Muslim support groups are stirring up speculation the shooter’s motivation for the kills were religion based. Although there are apparently no witnesses, the speculation is that there was no other motive—indication of a dispute of any kind. I would suspect there was a minor triggering event for the killings. When we examine the surrounding circumstances, the conclusion is that the shooter had a religious motivation—hate Muslims because they are Muslims. As a person who was born and raised in Minnesota but am now a resident of North Carolina, I am acutely aware of regional racial and religious sensitivities—the people do not hide such feeling in a state where the people elected Jessie Helms for years and not elected Thom Tillis. In addition, I am aware of a mantra of hate Israeli propaganda is perpetuating.

The connection between this hate for Muslims and the Republican Party is not always as clear as it might be. In addition to what seems to be a  innate Republican trend toward isolationism, what possible reason could there be for an American Political party be involved in a regional debate over a one state versus a two-state solutions in Palestine? The feeling is so deep that the head of GOP party has invited the Israeli Prime Minister to campaign for office in the U.S. Congress—an unheard of violation of State Department protocol.

People I know fill my Facebook pages with hate films of transgressions committed by radical Muslims against humanity and suggestions for expressing that hate such as banning burkas. They may think they are doing it to promote a political agenda, but that is not reality. They clearly promote hate. In my mind, regardless of political motive, the people who post and re-post these items on social media are the ones who pulled the trigger on those three young people in that Chapel Hill parking lot. If you re-post a hate film, know that I am there to condemn you for what you are, a killer.

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