I have not converted to Islam, but I maintain a reverent respect for it as I do the faith of all people. This morning, I was presented with a news item, disturbing for both its content and response from more than one reader.
Shamsiddi Abdur-Raheem, 21, of Galloway Township, New Jersey reportedly confessed to police that he tossed his three-month old daughter, Zara Malani-Lin Abdur, from the Alfred Driscoll Memorial Bridge; a fifteen-lane structure spanning the Raritan River along the Garden State Parkway.
Authorities say Abdur-Raheem forced his way into the East Orange apartment of Zara's maternal grandmother around 4 p.m. Tuesday, struck the 60-year-old woman in the face and choked her. He then fled with the infant girl as the grandmother followed. When she got in front of his van to try to stop him, he allegedly tried to run the grandmother over, striking her and driving off with the baby.
Understandably, the news has incited outrage and calls for penalties as severe as castration and death. While my own reaction mirrors that of so many others who struggle to make sense of the senseless, I refuse to look to this man’s religion as a possible cause for his action as some are doing. For more than a year I have lived in close proximity and shared everything with someone of Islamic faith. Through this person I have learned that Islam is not the faith of extremists, nor does it seek to nullify Christianity. The person I know is surely as disgusted, angry and hurt by Abdur-Raheem’s alleged action as the most devout Christian.
I implore everyone to learn something about Islam, especially the meaning of this post’s title, which simply means “Peace be unto you.”
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