Students, faculty and community members held candles to honor the lives of the three college-aged victims, Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23; Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21; and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, of a recent shooting at an apartment complex near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus.
Haseeb Mohideen, the president of the Muslim Student Union, said his board began organizing the interfaith vigil in response to student demand.
“Those three people are very relatable to almost everyone,” he said. “It just hits home that much more.”
Mohideen began the vigil by thanking the almost 200 attendees for bearing the cold and acknowledged the event’s co-sponsors — the Feminist Student Association, Arab Student Association, Oxfam at IU, Hillel and Stop the Kyriarchy — as well as advertisers.
“A lot of the organizations, we didn’t even have to ask,” he said.
A moment of silence was followed by short speeches by students Fariha Hossain and Ayesha Syed, who spoke about the victims’ short lives and promising futures.
Hossain said Barakat was a dental student at North Carolina and his new bride Yusor Mohammed Abu-Salha planned to enroll in dental school in the fall. Her younger sister, Razan Mohammed Abu-Salha, was a sophomore who made the dean’s list last semester at North Carolina State ?University.
Tears shone in several eyes when graduate student Kyung Hwan Brian Min took the microphone and spoke about attending high school with Barakat.
“Deah was the kind of guy who made everyone around him happy,” Min said.
Bloomington mayoral candidate John Linnemeier attended the event and also made short remarks toward the end.
Mohideen concluded the event by requesting audience members of any faith to say a prayer. After three prayers led by various audience members, Mohideen said a Muslim prayer in Arabic before ?translating it to English.
Mohideen said he was impressed by the turnout to the event and the support of the community.
“I only expected 50 people tops, and all of a sudden a lot of different organizations wanted to work with us,” he said. “By the time of the event, there were so many more organizations and students ?involved than I expected.”
While the cause of the crime is still under investigation, there is speculation that the shooting was a hate crime targeting the victims because of their Muslim faith.
Mohideen said he and the other organizers of the vigil made sure to make clear that everyone was welcome and stressed the interfaith nature of the event.
“We focused on the victims rather than the crime itself,” he said.
Alex Chong, an event attendee, said this was the ?correct approach.
“I decided to come tonight because I feel like it’s important to stand together as a community of Indiana University students in respect for those who have died at ?Chapel Hill,” he said.
