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Muslim Father Forgives and Hugs Man Involved With Son’s Murder

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by Aysha Qamar

“Forgiveness is the greatest gift in Islam,” Abdul-Mumin Sombat Jitmoud said during the hearing, which lasted for almost three hours.

The father of a murdered Muslim pizza delivery driver forgave the man who was sentenced to prison for playing a part in his son’s death.

In April 2015, 22-year-old Salahuddin Jitmoud was making one of his last deliveries for the night, as a Pizza Hut delivery driver, when he was stabbed to death and robbed at an apartment complex in Lexington, Kentucky. His body was found in the breezeway of the complex.

Three people were arrested in the crime, but a grand jury chose only to indict Relford. Officials say Relford planned the robbery, although he denied killing Jitmoud.

24-year-old Relford was sentenced to 31 years in prison after pleading guilty to complicity to murder, complicity to robbery, and attempted evidence tampering in the stabbing death of Jitmoud.

During the sentencing earlier this month, Abdul-Munim Sombat Jitmoud hugged the defendant, Trey Alexander Relford, in what he said was the spirit of Islam.

“Islam teaches that God will not be able to forgive” someone until the person who was wronged forgives that person, Jitmoud told reporters. “The door of opportunity for God to forgive him is open. … So, reach out to Him. You have a new chapter of good life coming,” he told Relford in court.

Jitmoud’s father told Relford he forgives him “on behalf of Salahuddin and his mother,” who died two years before her son.

“It’s been two years and seven months of suffering along with many nightmares,” Jitmoud told CNN. “Whatever happens to you is from Allah. Let the believer put their trust in Him.”

Relford himself was in tears from this brave and forgiving motion by Jitmoud.

He replied by apologizing and thanking the father. “I’m sorry about what happened that day,” Relford said, wiping his eyes on the collar of his orange jail uniform. “I do applaud you because it takes a powerful man to know that someone has hurt them and to get up there and say what you just said. I can’t imagine the hurt, the pain. There’s nothing I can do… I thank you for your forgiveness.”

Many were shocked and inspired by Jitmoud’s words in the courtroom.

“Out of something that is so tragic, there is really something beautiful here that is beyond really all of us,” public defender Shannon Brooks-English said.

“It’s a testament to Salahuddin that his family is able to forgive,” said Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Kathy Phillips.

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17 Year old Nabra Hassanen’s Death Shakes the American Muslim Community to the Core

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by Aysha Qamar

Another tragic death stuns the Muslim community as a body found in a pond is identified as 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen, of Reston- Northern Virginia.

Hassanen was kidnapped and beaten to death this past weekend in Sterling, Virginia.

Reported missing between 3-4 A.M. after last being seen walking home after prayers at a mosque near Washington, police identified the teen’s body in a local pond.

“While searching, one officer saw a car driving suspiciously in the area and stopped it,” the police said. “The driver, later identified as Martinez Torres, was taken into custody as a suspect.”

A baseball bat was discovered nearby and detectives later obtained a murder warrant against Martinez Torres.

Police have charged 22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres with her murder. The crime has not yet been charged as a hate crime, as motives are currently under investigation.

“I think it had to do with the way she was dressed and the fact that she’s Muslim,” Hassanen’s mother, Sawsan Gazzar told the Washington Post. “Why would you kill a kid? What did my daughter do to deserve this?” she added.

According to reports, Hassanen was headed to Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center with her friends around 3:30 A.M. They had taken a break from their prayers to go eat after which were returning to the Center, however before arriving two men with baseball bats emerged from a car and began attacking them. The group then fled believing that everyone was able to reach safety. When the friends reassembled, they realized was Hassanen unaccounted for.

“They all dispersed after the incident, and when they met back up they realized she was missing,” ADAMS board member Rizwan Jaka told Buzzfeed News.

The ADAMS mosque in Sterling, the biggest in northern Virginia, holds late-night prayers during the last 10 days of Ramadan. Hassanen was reported 1 of 5 teenagers who had left the mosque in the early hours of Sunday. The area which is normally considered safe, commonly has worshippers walk at this time of prayer.

An investigation determined she was walking outside with a group of friends when they got into a dispute with a man in a car. It appears the suspect, Darwin A Martinez Torres, 22, of Sterling, got out of his car and assaulted the victim. Her friends could not find her and police were called to help, Fairfax County Police said in a statement.

Various people were still present at the mosque at the time Hassanen went missing causing her death to further shock and terrify the community.

“People are petrified, especially people who have young Muslim daughters,” Arsalan Iftikhar, a human rights lawyer and author, told the Washington Post

The ADAMS community has released  a statement regarding Hassanen’s death reading, “We are devastated and heartbroken as our community undergoes and processes this traumatic event. It is a time for us to come together to pray and care for our youth. Adams has licensed counselors on site to assist anyone in need of counseling during these difficult times.”

Various fundraising pages have been set up to support Hassanen’s family. Over $250,000 has currently been raised by supporters on LaunchGood.

According to a report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) anti-Muslim hate crime incidents rose sharply in 2015 and have increased a further 44%, from 180 to 260, in 2016.