Thursday March 28th, 2024
Download SceneNow app
Copied

17-Year-Old Egyptian-American Muslim Girl Beaten to Death and Dumped in a Pond in Virginia

From comedienne Mindy Kaling to Minister Bernice King, can the outpouring of public support and sympathy to America's Muslim community drown out the hate?

Staff Writer

This morning, the body of a 17-year-old Egyptian-American Muslim girl by the name of Nabra Hassanen was found in a Virginia pond, reports the Washington Post. Nabra Hassanen was on her way home from a local Virginia mosque with her friends on Sunday night when a 22-year old Latino man allegedly started shouting insults at the teens, eventually abducting, assaulting, and murdering Hassanen. 

“Pray for me that I can handle this…I lost my daughter, my first reason for happiness,” Nabra’s mother, Sawsan Gazzar, said at the 17 year old’s funeral.

Others are taking to twitter and Facebook to express their grief, disgust, and overall disbelief at the tragedy. The founder of @muslimgirl tweeted a photo of Nabra with the caption: “If you believe Muslim women face less violence in the west, you’ve been blinded. Nabra, 17, murdered with [a] baseball bat last night in Virginia”. 

Actress and Comedienne Mindy Kaling released a statement saying, “Nabra Hassanen, I won’t forget you and what happened to you. Another innocent Muslim person targeted for their faith. Please read about her if you can.”

American minister and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.’s youngest daughter Bernice King tweeted saying, “Nabra. ‘Rare, precious’. Beautiful, meaningful name. Beautiful, meaningful girl. Living in a world she didn't make. Gone now. We can change.”

Shortly after the news broke out, many of the tweets and posts about the tragedy were accompanied by the hash tag #SayHerName in reference to a Black Lives Matter offshoot social movement of the same name.