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<h1 id="reader-title">#OurThreeBrothers: Why Is America Ignoring
The Murder Of Three Young Sudanese-Americans?</h1>
<div id="reader-credits" class="credits">Jaimee A. Swift <span
class="post-date">March 2, 2016</span></div>
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<p>The violent murders of three young African men last
Wednesday in Fort Wayne, Indiana have prompted
accusations from family members that both national media
outlets and American Muslim organizations are ignoring
the murders because of the victims’ origins.</p>
<p>“They are not promoting it as much because they were of
African descent,” <strong>Ibrahim Dahab</strong>, a
cousin to two of the victims tells <em>Okayafrica</em>.</p>
<p>The three victims, members of a predominantly Muslim
community from Africa’s eastern Sahel region, were found
with multiple gunshot wounds. 23-year-old <strong>Mohamedtaha
Omar</strong>, 20-year old <strong>Adam Mekki</strong>
and 17-year-old <strong>Muhannad Tairab</strong> were
shot <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/muslim-american-men-murders-barely-ripple-160228003914813.html">“execution-style”</a>
inside a building which police dubbed as a “party
house.” Although the house was under surveillance by
police for gang and violent crimes, Fort Wayne Police
Chief <strong>Garry Hamilton</strong> ruled that the
victims were not a part of any gang affiliations. Two of
the young men’s funerals were held over the weekend.</p>
<p>“There is definitely a reason why my cousins and friend
are not getting as much media coverage, and it is
because they were black,” Dahab says, in an exclusive
interview. “There is discrimination in the Islamic
community on who is really a legitimate Muslim and there
is a belief that if you are not from the Middle East,
you are not as Islamic as someone from Saudi Arabia for
example,” he continues.</p>
<p>According to <a target="_blank"
href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/02/28/the-mysterious-execution-style-murders-of-three-young-muslims-in-indiana/">The
Washington Post</a>, the city’s public safety director
told investigators they do not believe that the
triple-murders were motivated by the victims’ religious
beliefs or are that of a hate crime. Indiana Governor <strong>Mike
Pence</strong> <a target="_blank"
href="https://www.colorlines.com/articles/indiana-governor-silent-police-rule-out-hate-crime-execution-style-killing-three-african">has
yet to make any comment</a> on the murders.</p>
<p>Hundreds have flocked to social media to address the
lack of media coverage on the death of the young men.
While reports emerged that all the victims were Muslim,
<strong>Motasim Adam</strong>, the founder and president
of <strong>Darfur People’s Association</strong>, told
the <a target="_blank"
href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FORT_WAYNE_DEATHS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">Associated
Press</a> that Omar and Tairab were Muslim and Mekki
was Christian. Outraged by the lack of transparency on
their deaths, people took to Twitter using the hashtags
<strong>#OurThreeBoys</strong> and <strong>#OurThreeBrothers</strong>,
interchangeably. Now, the hashtag that is being used is
#OurThreeBrothers.</p>
<p>The hashtags are a take on <strong><a target="_blank"
href="http://ourthreewinners.org/">#OurThreeWinners</a></strong>
— a campaign that led after the tragic shooting deaths
of three Muslim students, <strong>Deah Shaddy Barakat</strong>,
<strong>Yusor Muhammad Abu-Salha</strong>, and <strong>Razan
Muhammad Abu-Salh</strong> in Chapel Hill, North
Carolina last year. In February 2015, <strong>Craig
Hick</strong> <a target="_blank"
href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/fivepoints/craig-stephen-hicks-guns-anti-theism">shot
the three students</a> after supposedly a long-running
dispute about parking, but his <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/chapel-hill-shooting-craig-stephen-hicks-condemned-all-religions-on-facebook-prior-to-muslim-mass-10038126.html">Facebook
posts</a> on the condemnation of religion suggested
otherwise.</p>
<p>Thousands used the #OurThreeWinners hashtag all over
the world to call out the heavy anti-Muslim and
Islamophobic sentiments looming in America and beyond.
However, with the recent case in Indiana, many are
questioning why both Muslims and the media are not
rallying behind the tragic shootings of Omar, Mekki and
Tairab, just as they did with the unfortunate events at
Chapel Hill.</p>
<p>According to the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/02/us/02indiana.html">New
York Times</a>, the first Darfurian families to come
to Fort Wayne, Indiana was in the late 1990s; by-passing
the urban-city life for more of the rural atmosphere in
hopes to garner industrial jobs. However, since the
Darfur genocide in western Sudan — which started in
early 2003 and is still ongoing — it has been <a
target="_blank"
href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-abandonment-of-darfur/2015/05/15/ca744c46-f8f4-11e4-9030-b4732caefe81_story.html">reported</a>
that several hundred thousands of Sudanese have died and
that some 3 million have been internally displaced or
are refugees. Fleeing from the violence and seeking to
start a new life, many Sudanese people came to Fort
Wayne, increasing the already sizeable Sudanese
immigrant community that resides there.</p>
<p>“We all came here to find peace and security…we’re from
war zones,” said <strong>Abdelaziz Hassab</strong>, who
is a relative of Omar and Tarib, in an interview with <a
target="_blank"
href="http://wane.com/2016/02/28/two-of-three-lewis-street-victims-laid-to-rest-seeking-justice/">WANE-TV</a>.</p>
<p>While <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/02/us/02indiana.html">common
misinterpretations</a> of cultural values and norms
have persisted between the Sudanese community and other
Fort Wayne residents, for the most part, community
relations have been fairly peaceful — until the shooting
deaths of Omar, Mekki and Tairab last week. Vigils <a
target="_blank"
href="https://twitter.com/AfrixaAF/status/704471223225298945">were
held</a> for the Sudanese men, with participants
raising #BlackLivesMatter signs as a means to show
solidarity with the movement.</p>
<p>Speaking on how Omar, Tarib and Mekki were
kind-hearted, pillars in the Fort Wayne community, Dahab
also highlighted how the murders of his cousins and
friend are unifying people all over the world.</p>
<p>“We all grew up together in Fort Wayne and they were
big-brother figures in the community,” Dahab said. “And
it is not just the Fort Wayne community that is rallying
behind their deaths. At their funerals, there were
people there from New York City, from Washington D.C.,
to Utah to California. This issue has united many people
all over the country.”</p>
<p>“It is a unifying issue and it is opening people’s
minds on what is really going on with our youth,” he
said.</p>
<p>Calling for a comprehensive police investigation and
concrete answers about their deaths, many took to
Twitter to commemorate their legacies and call to
actions for the Fort Wayne police to bring full
transparency on the murders. A <a target="_blank"
href="https://www.facebook.com/our3boys?pnref=story">Facebook</a>
page was created to honor and remember the three young
men. An <a target="_blank"
href="http://act.mpowerchange.org/sign/justice-ourthreeboys/">online
petition</a> also came about to demand for justice and
accountability.</p>
<p>Check out more tweets on #OurThreeBoys and
#OurThreeBrothers below:</p>
<blockquote data-lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Demand accountability &
Justice for Ahmed Mekki, Muhannad Tairab, Mohamed Taha
Omar. <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OurThreeBoys?src=hash">#OurThreeBoys</a>
<a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndianaShooting?src=hash">#IndianaShooting</a>
<a href="https://t.co/vvowtr8TVS">pic.twitter.com/vvowtr8TVS</a></p>
<p>— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) <a
href="https://twitter.com/lsarsour/status/703759436255502338">February
28, 2016</a></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote data-lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p>Why didn’t the killing of the 3 Sudanese American
boys urged the same outrage as the Chapel Hill
shootings?!! <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OurThreeBoys?src=hash">#OurThreeBoys</a>
— Nad!aa (@Nadiaalie) <a
href="https://twitter.com/Nadiaalie/status/703743103513993216">February
28, 2016</a></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote data-lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Shots from todays vigil
remembering the three Sudani boys.<a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackMuslimsMatter?src=hash">#BlackMuslimsMatter</a><a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OurThreeBrothers?src=hash">#OurThreeBrothers</a>
<a href="https://t.co/5pUhMEttek">pic.twitter.com/5pUhMEttek</a></p>
<p>— Different Somali™ (@AfrixaAF) <a
href="https://twitter.com/AfrixaAF/status/704471223225298945">March
1, 2016</a></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote data-lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p>Muslim-American men’s murders barely cause a ripple <a
href="https://t.co/zjJFK93zzE"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://t.co/zjJFK93zzE">https://t.co/zjJFK93zzE</a></a>
<a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OurThreeBoys?src=hash">#OurThreeBoys</a>
— Johnetta Elzie (@Nettaaaaaaaa) <a
href="https://twitter.com/Nettaaaaaaaa/status/703976298402611200">February
28, 2016</a></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote data-lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Black Muslim males are easily
stereotyped as “former thugs turned converts” as if
Islam wasnt instilled in us since birth. <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OurThreeBrothers?src=hash">#OurThreeBrothers</a></p>
<p>— Mohamed (@FreshcutMo) <a
href="https://twitter.com/FreshcutMo/status/704293745571844096">February
29, 2016</a></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote data-lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p>This is just sickening. The fact that I wouldn’t have
learned about this if it wasn’t for Twitter <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OurThreeBoys?src=hash">#OurThreeBoys</a>
— Jay (@Gresham_Major) <a
href="https://twitter.com/Gresham_Major/status/703747259440242688">February
28, 2016</a></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote data-lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Muslims are only newsworthy when
villains. Not victims.</p>
<p>RIP. <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OurThreeBoys?src=hash">#OurThreeBoys</a>
<a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackLivesMatter?src=hash">#BlackLivesMatter</a>
<a href="https://t.co/gASTZVW1GM">pic.twitter.com/gASTZVW1GM</a></p>
<p>— Khaled Beydoun (@KhaledBeydoun) <a
href="https://twitter.com/KhaledBeydoun/status/703773265060356097">February
28, 2016</a></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote data-lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p>Disgusted. Not only by what happened, but by how
little we are talking about this. <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OurThreeBoys?src=hash">#OurThreeBoys</a>
<a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackLivesMatter?src=hash">#BlackLivesMatter</a>
<a href="https://t.co/f9mlyzfa56">pic.twitter.com/f9mlyzfa56</a>
— Hana Khalil (@hkhalil91) <a
href="https://twitter.com/hkhalil91/status/704023279787446273">February
28, 2016</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p><em>Jaimee Swift is a journalist, activist and is
obsessed with Pan-Africanism and the African Diaspora.
You can follow her on Twitter <a target="_blank"
href="https://twitter.com/jaimeeswift">@JaimeeSwift</a>.</em></p>
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