On October 14, Hanaan Shaheen and her son, Wadea Al-Fayoume were just having a normal day; not knowing their own landlord would be stabbing and attacking them.
The Attack
On Saturday afternoon, the Will County Police Department receive a call to a residence in the Plainfield area. This call coming from a woman, telling police her landlord was stabbing her. Upon arrival, the authorities see the landlord, 71-year-old Joseph Czuba, outside in the home’s driveway. With further inspection, the police locate the two victims: 32-year-old Hanaan Shaheen and her 6-year-old son, Wadea Al-Fayoume.
The mother and young boy suffering several stab wounds, both were taken to the hospital. Once arriving at the hospital, Wadea died from his injuries, having 26 stab wounds. Hanaan in critical condition having more than 12 stab wounds. Despite her condition, Hanaan posts to her Facebook her son’s last words. The status saying:
“My son’s last words were: (I’m fine). May God have mercy on him and let him dwell in the highest paradise.”
According to Hanaan, Czuba was knocking on the door and once she answered, the assailant began stabbing her whilst shouting anti-Muslim statements, “You Muslims must die.” Shaheen and her son are both of Palestinian descent. This attack occurred just a week after the Hamas military initiated an attack on Israel. The current situation going on between Israel and Palestine is allegedly the reasoning behind this stabbing.
Shock and Hurt (The Aftermath)
Moreover, upon this news, the community and family of Hanaan and Wadea were devastated and shocked. The father and ex-husband of the victims, Odai El-Fayoume, in particular is distraught by the attack. “He is an angel. Basically a small angel in the form of a person,” says El-Fayoume. He goes on to say that he can’t comprehend how the attack even happened and how Czuba could raise a knife towards his son. According to Odai, the family and Czuba, having no problems. Prior to the young boy’s death, the landlord built a treehouse for the child, let him use the swimming pool, even bought him toys.
However with the current dilemma going on between the Palestinians and Israelis, El-Fayoume and his family began to see a change of behavior from Czuba. And they weren’t the only ones witnessing and experiencing this change. Locals have spoken about their interactions with the landlord. After hearing the news of the stabbing, people within the community wrote in the Facebook community forums about how Czuba has been clearly displaying his extremist views with yard signs for quite a while. One person even said they called the authorities about the “unhinged” assailant but didn’t do anything about it. Yousef Hannon, an uncle and family spokesperson, recalls when the family first became tenants, they had seen the signs but didn’t understand the symbolism behind them.
President Biden comments on the attack, stating that the stabbing is a “horrific act of hate.” Further saying in the statement that this type of action has no place here in America and that as a country, as people should renounce the ideal of Islamophobia, along with all sorts of prejudice and hate. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker also commented in a statement, saying that the fact this 6-year-old boy’s life being cut so short at the expense of bigotry is “nothing short of evil” and that every Illinoisan should be free from all forms hate.
In Memoriam
The stabbing of Wadea and his mother, Hanaan is truly heart-wrenching. Before the week of the attack, the little boy had just celebrated his 6th birthday, his mother posting a video of them together displaying Wadea blowing kisses to the phone; not knowing his life would cut so short. His family remembers him as a very bright, loving boy. Describing him as always smiling, playing with his toys, just a ball of energy and joy. Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) of Chicago’s chapter, states “…..he loved life and he was looking forward to a long, healthy, prosperous life” in a news conference. He adds to his statement “He has no clue about these larger issues happening in the world but he was made to pay for it.”
Joseph Czuba is now in custody with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, hate crime and aggravated battery charges. He is currently at the Will County Adult Detention Facility awaiting his first court appearance.
May Wadea Al-Fayoume rest in peace.
Written by Saniya Fields
Sources:
CNN – Palestinian-American boy killed and his mother injured after landlord stabs them because they were Muslim, authorities say by Chris Boyette and Keith Allen
Daily Beast – Impaled Palestinian Mom Posted About Dead Son Just After Chicago Attack by Noor Ibrahim
The Washington Post – Palestinian American boy stabbed to death in hate crime, sheriff says by Hannah Allam and Anumita Kaur
Top and featured image Courtesy of Tony Webster’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset image Courtesy of Jernej Furman’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
