Posted by On Monday, hundreds in the United States gathered to lay to rest a six-year-old Muslim boy who amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine war became the victim of a suspected hate crime.
At the funeral gathering, the boy, Wadea al-Fayoume’s uncle, revealed the heartbreaking last words of the little boy: “Mom, I’m fine.””When he (the child) was stabbed, his last words to his mom were, ‘Mom, I’m fine.’ You know what, he is fine. He’s in a better place,” said Mahmoud Yousef, Wadea al-Fayoume’s uncle.
Speaking on behalf of the aggrieved family, Yousef Hannon, another uncle of the victim, claimed that the suspect 71-year-old Joseph Czuba was very friendly with the little boy and his family.
“There was no signs of anything wrong” he said, adding that “he was friendly to the whole family, but especially to the kid, who he treated like a grandson.”Talking to the BBC, he stated that Czuba “brought him (Wadea al-Fayoume) gifts, he brought him some toys.”
In Illinois, United States, hundreds of people came together to pay their last respects to six-year-old Wadea al-Fayoume, who on Sunday was attacked in his home.The Monday funeral saw the Mosque Foundation in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview overflow with people, with some paying their respects on the pavement outside.
Mourners, as per BBC, came from all over the area to express their anger and grief. Among them, some voiced their concerns about other Muslim children.Talking to BBC, a mother of three said: “I’m shocked, but I’m not surprised.”
“We’re worried about our children, and more worried about the powerless kids around the world that are in Palestine now, that are in Gaza,” added Sadia Nawab, who lives near the mosque.She said that schools in the locality have taken extra precautions because of the ongoing war in Israel and Gaza.
As per the police, the little boy was attacked because he was Muslim. In a court filing, Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Fitzgerald alleged that Czuba, who was the landlord to the Muslim family, was angry at the little boy’s mother “for what was going on in Jerusalem.”
“She responded to him, ‘Let’s pray for peace,'” wrote the prosecutors. “Czuba then attacked her with a knife,” they added.They claim that the landlord grew paranoid about the presence of the Palestinian-American family in his house.
The child was stabbed 26 times with a military-style knife, reports Al Jazeera. The mother too suffered a dozen stab wounds, but she is expected to survive the senseless crime.