Thirty-two-year-old Shaima Alawadi was found beaten to death. Police recorded a violent attack and the world was taken aback to discover a note alongside her body — ‘go back to your country, you terrorist’.
The case captured the world’s attention. Most importantly because, Alawadi had fled Iraq thinking United States was safe. Police in El Cajon, California, are now investigating the possible hate crime and while we were hoping she finds justice soon, social networks boomed in unity.
Over one million women have now posted photos of themselves in a hijab — the traditional Islamic scarf — as a show of support. The campaign, spread via a page on Facebook titled ‘One Million Hijabs For Shaima Alawadi’, and has received widespread response — from Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and more.
“I’m a woman, and an American, and it bothers me to an extreme degree that this has happened. My neck froze and my shoulders scrunched up and I felt all twisty and sick inside. I had to do something, somehow. So all this week, I’ll be wearing a hijab in honour of Shaima,” wrote Tess, a Buddhist, who’s planning to wear the Hijab all week to work.
Then there was ‘Ashley’ with a history lesson. “What makes someone different because they are from another country? The United States was built on emigrants from other countries…”
But what really impressed the world was the blurring of symbols.
“I am an office manager in a local Christian church. I took this picture to support the friends and family of Shaima Alawadi and made it my profile picture. I plan to wear it to my church during services and I urge others to do the same,” wrote Jean.
Alawadi and her husband arrived in the United States in 1993. She was buried last month in Najaf, roughly 160 kilometres south of Iraq’s war-torn capital, Baghdad. She did go home.