These three men who protected these teens put themselves at risk by standing up for those who could not do so for themselves. They are real-life heroes.
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| Photo: Gillian Flaccus/AP/HuffPost |
Source/Credit: Oregon Live
By Harris Zafar | May 28, 2018
On Friday, Portland was shaken by an attack on a train that targeted two teenage girls and led to the deaths of two bystanders. As the details emerge, we discover that the suspect, 35-year-old Jeremy Joseph Christian, allegedly set his sights on the teenagers -- one of whom was wearing the Muslim hijab -- and began shouting hate and racist speech, including that they should get out of the country, Muslims should die and accusing Muslims of killing Christians. As he approached the two terrified teenagers, three other passengers came to their aid by standing up and intervening. That's when Christian reportedly took out a knife and attacked the three passengers, brutally killing two by slashing their throats and injuring the third.
As an American Muslim who has lived in Portland for 31 years, I went numb when I learned about this attack. This is my city, a city that not only is full of loving and tolerant people but also one that has consistently shown its character at times of difficulty. After 9/11, my mosque (the Portland Rizwan Mosque) stood out as being the first and oldest mosque built in Portland. Although we received a handful of threatening calls, we received more than 200 calls of support. People lined our doors with flowers and messages of support, reminding us that we are welcome as neighbors here in our home.
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