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Mom of boy killed in alleged hate crime calls for peace

The Muslim mother who was seriously injured during the brutal murder of her 6-year-old son is calling for the public to “pray for peace.”

The alleged hate crime happened in Will County southwest of Chicago.

Hanaan Shahin released the brief statement on Tuesday through the Chicago chapter of the Council of American Islamic Relations ten days after the death of her son, Wadea Al-Fayoume.

“I was astonished by her mental strength and composure. A caregiver to seniors by profession, she exudes a giving personality and a calm demeanor. In the hospital while delirious, she was asking doctors to check on the elderly landlord’s wife,” said Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of CAIR Chicago who met with Shahin Monday.

That landlord, 71-year-old Joseph M. Czuba, is accused of killing her son in what police call a hate crime.

“Despite the painful loss and the trauma she experienced that morning, her spirit is strong and she is finding peace and answers in her faith in God,” Rehab stated.
“She said that she accepts that God chose them for this test – and that she finds solace in “remembering Wadea as an angel on earth, and knowing that he is now an angel in heaven.”

He described her as fully functional but tired and said that she talked about the doctors who were stunned by the speed of her recovery.

Court documents examined by CNN revealed she lives on the first floor of Czuba’s house and Czuba lives on the second. Shahin told police she got away by locking herself in the bathroom, but could not get her son inside with her. She called 911 from inside as she could hear her son being attacked.

Police arrived to the home to find Czuba with a knife holster on his waist belt.

Court documents say Czuba told his wife that he wanted Shahin and her family to move out because Shahin would call her Palestinian friends to harm him.

Czuba’s wife told police her husband has been listening to conservative talk show radio and had been following the events in Israel closely.

Shahin told police Czuba had confronted her earlier about the attacks in the Middle East.

Just prior to the attack, court documents say Czuba told Shahin he was angry with her about the events in Jerusalem. Shahin suggested that they pray for peace. Shortly after, she says Czuba attacked her.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug issued a statement saying “Hate has no place in America. We unequivocally condemn hate and Islamophobia and stand with the Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim American communities. The Biden-Harris Administration will continue working to protect our communities against hate and senseless violence.”

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1 COMMENT

  1. I’m in awe of this mother and her faith. Instead of spiritual practice, Czuba had conservative talk radio – where America’s religion of hate is openly practiced, and every day is a mass (shooting). I wrote this after I heard about Wadea Al-Fayoume’s brutal murder.

    Keeping a Cool Head and Warm Heart During a Crisis | Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-pacific-heart/202310/keeping-a-cool-head-and-warm-heart-during-a-crisis

    and just published this a few days ago –

    Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis, and Society in a World Held Hostage | Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-pacific-heart/202310/psychotherapy-psychoanalysis-and-society-in-a-world-held-hostage

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