Muslim Student Union holds vigil for Chapel Hill victims


The Muslim Student Union hosted a candlelight vigil Wednesday evening outside the University Religious Center to honor three Muslims killed in a shooting near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Tuesday night.

On Tuesday evening, 3 Chapel Hill residents, Muslims of Arab descent, were shot and killed by their apartment neighbor.

At the vigil, participants gathered around lit candles placed on the ground in a peace sign. Attendees voluntarily spoke to the crowd about remaining strong for the Muslim community in a time of sadness. After the demonstration, a group of students huddled closer to the candles and prayed.

Muslim Student Union President Mushfiqur Chowdhury said the vigil was focused on remembering how precious each life is.

“The vigil served [the] purpose to show how fragile and innocent life can be, and at the same time to protect that and to sustain that and to remember that that’s our duty as neighbors, fellow Americans and people who are proud to be in this nation,” Chowdhury said.

Varun Soni, dean of Religious Life of USC, recognized the loss of the students’ futures at the event.

“We come together to ask ourselves, ‘can there be a loss greater than this?’” Soni said. “These student had big dreams, hopes and aspirations. They represented what was best about Islam and what was best about America.”

USC Humanist Chaplain Bart Campolo said that the shooting made him aware of how Muslim students feel about peers misunderstanding their culture.

“I was very shocked and deeply outraged by the news when I received it this morning,” Campolo said. “As the Humanist Chaplain however … I was also suddenly aware of how it feels to have your people and your way of life misunderstood and maligned because of the actions of people far away from you that are completely outside of your control and every Muslim on this campus knows exactly how that feels.”

Hishaam Siddiqi, a senior majoring in business administration, said comfort on college campuses is necessary for the Muslim community

“USC is a diverse campus, but there is only so many Muslims that this campus [has] and if I don’t go out of my way to join clubs like the Muslim Student Union it can quickly become a very, very lonely place,” Siddiqi said. “When you’re lonely and the entire country has an anti-Muslim sentiment you quickly become vulnerable no matter how liberal of an environment you might be in.”

Siddiq said he hoped the event brought security to his fellow Trojans.

“[For years] a lot of Muslim have been very afraid,” Siddiqi said. “Since 9/11, obvious tension in the country has been bad, but to have young people dying by being shot in the head is really bad. A big portion of the night tonight was so that Muslim students know that there is a sense of support and community and that USC supports religious life on campus and that it’s a place where we can find solidarity and comfort.”

The Muslim Student Community is committed to giving all students a safe space, according to Chowdhury.

“We’re here to provide a forum — a safe space — and fortunately the Office of Religious Life and Dean Varun Soni has helped us with that and provided us with the space and we’re servant leaders so we’re just trying to serve that to the other Muslim students,” Chowdhury said.

Saaliha Khan, communication and project manager at NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change, who was at the event, said the candlelit demonstration will brighten the community.

“Today at USC, the Muslim Student Union and people of all backgrounds coming together was a demonstration to me of people transforming communities through the power of relationships, because it is these relationships and this sense of community that will continue to carry us forward through times of darkness.”

Chowdhury reminded students that everyone must remain hopeful through tough times.

“It’s in our darkest days that make the other days shine,” Chowdhury said. “We’re going to make sure that we don’t faint out. We’re going to be a strong flame in the sense that we’re here. We’re here to stay and we’re here to contribute.”

1 reply
  1. Arafat
    Arafat says:

    And what of this I ask the Muslim students? Why do you not hold vigils for these people too? Is it because the Qur’an teaches you that only Muslim lives matter?

    ++

    On Feb 15th a 37 year old Jewish man was gunned down by a Muslim in Copenhagen, Denmark.
    +++
    On Feb 15th a teenaged girl blew herself up in a crowded bus terminal killing 16 in Damaturu, Nigeria.
    +++
    On Feb 14th a Muslim gunman shot into a free speech event and killed one person in Copenhagen, Denmark.
    +++
    On Feb 14th a driver for a POLIO TEAM was murdered by a Muslim extremist.
    +++
    On Feb 13 two children and a women were murdered were among six people murdered by a Mujahid extremist in Samrrah, Iraq.
    +++
    On Feb 13th 20+ Shi’ite worshippers were murdered by Jundallah gunmen in Peshawar, Pakistan.
    +++
    On Feb 12th twelve villagers are murdered by Boko Haram in Akida, Nigeria.
    +++
    On Feb 12th a female suicide bomber murders 11 at a market in Biu, Nigeria.
    +++
    On Feb 11th ten civilians lose their lives when Sunni terrorists lob shells into Baghdad.
    +++
    On Feb 10th Boko Haram hijacks a bus and kills seven and kidnaps eight young girls in Koza, Cameroon.
    +++
    On Feb 10th ten people are beheaded and this is videoed by Ansar Bait al-Maqdis in Arish, Egypt.
    +++
    Shall I go on?

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