By Ali Al-Shuraimi
Al-Watan
JEREMY Joseph Christian, who is accused of stabbing to death two men and injuring a third as they shielded two teenage Muslim girls from his anti-Muslim tirade, is a white American Christian from Portland, Oregon. The unfortunate incident took place while they were traveling in a train last Friday. One of the two girls wore a hijab.
Speaking at the court in Portland, 35-year-old Christian said he verbally abused the Muslim women to save America from the Blacks, Muslims, Jews, Mexicans and other foreigners. “I wanted foreigners to leave our country,” the defendant told the court.
He made repeated outbursts in the courtroom: “You call it terrorism. I call it patriotism… You hear me? Die.”
Christian is an ultra-right extremists whose posts on Facebook reflect his racist views. His posts spewed venom against Muslims and called for the destruction of mosques in America. He also called for a special zone for the Whites. It seems he enthusiastically supported extreme rightists and the Nazis.
He has posted a video clip on his Facebook page where he appeared in a rally organized by conservative groups. During that rally he abused Muslims and Jews and threatened them. He also spoke against “fake” Christians.
The horrendous crime in Portland sheds light on the motives and justifications for any act of terrorism, not only in the Arab and Islamic world but also in the West. It reaffirms that terrorism is the result of extremist and racist mindsets hostile to humanity. The source of terrorism is a culture of hatred and there is no other interpretation for this.
Terrorism has no religion. Enemies of humanity are united by the same antagonistic thought regardless of their nationality, faith and political views. On the other hand, we see tolerance as the hallmark of American society and the incident itself is a good example — three gentlemen sacrificed their lives to defend two Muslim girls.
Christian’s victims were Ricky John Best, 53, of Happy Valley, Oregon; Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, 23, from southeast Portland (both were killed in the attack) and Micah David-Cole Fletcher, 21, who survived the attack with deep injuries. He is from southeast Portland.
Social media carried a picture of the mother of one of Christian’s victims embracing one of the girls who was abused by him. In a highly emotional scene that will not be oft-repeated, Christian’s mother brimmed with pride and held her head high for what her son has done while the girl was in tears.
Asha Deliverance, Meche’s mother, posted a photo of his son, praising his bravery. “Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, my dear baby boy passed on yesterday while protecting two young Muslim girls from a racist man on the train in Portland. He was a hero and will remain a hero on the other side of the veil. Shining bright star I love you forever,” she wrote Saturday.
We have to salute this vast humanity shown by the three American men, who sacrificed their lives to save two Muslim girls, which shows their love and tolerance. We should be inspired by their great humanitarian gesture and talk about it our in community circles.
