Opinion: To fight Islamophobia, look to lives of Muslims

There are no words to encompass the magnitude of the tragic deaths of Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha.

The story is shocking and terrible, and no statements will ever be enough to encapsulate what the loss of these three young Muslim individuals means to their friends and family, as well as to our larger community.

Yet, in the midst of this tragedy, we are reminded of the incredible joy these individuals provided to those who knew them. Indeed, the Facebook page “Our Three Winners” recalls memories of Yusor, Deah and Razan, and has more than 80,000 followers only a day after its creation. From the outpouring of love and support for the three, it is clear that their goodness has left a permanent mark in this world that no act of violence can diminish.

In his last public post on Facebook, Deah is shown providing meals and dental supplies to people without homes in the Durham community.

Yusor traveled to Turkey in the summer of 2014 to provide critical dental care to refugees of the civil war in Syria.

Razan was recently featured in a video produced by N.C. State University for her remarkable design abilities. Most importantly, perhaps, is that many of the stories shared highlight the love within this family, which in late December celebrated the marriage of Deah and Yusor.

It is important to note that despite conclusions we might draw in private, no motive has officially been established beyond reports of tension over parking arrangements.

But the visceral grief the Muslim community is now experiencing is a fact. Regardless of the reported reasons for this tragedy, we must also recognize that this event has caused so much pain for so many because it represents a horrific actualization of the fears that Muslims live with today.

They are the fears of being targeted because of the false stereotypes of Islamophobes who conflate Islam with extremism.

These fears are not unjustified: a 2012 report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation noted a 1,600 percent increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2001 following 9/11.

One needs only to look at the lives of Deah, Yusor and Razan to understand the stupidity, barbarity and destructiveness of the United States’ collective distrust of those who practice Islam.

If we want to honor the memories of Tuesday’s victims, we must consciously seek out and hear the stories of Muslims in our communities, which stand together in opposition to the simplistic suppositions and bigotry common to popular discourse and the media.

Rather than expecting that the grief-stricken take it upon themselves to educate others about their lives and cultures, it must be the responsibility of all others to practice active acceptance and understanding from positions of privilege.

No Muslim members of this or any other community deserve to live with the weight of stereotypes our society too often chooses to accept.

While we lament that most of us now learn of the three because of the tragedy that has befallen them, we must always remember their lives and honor their memory to create a more just world for us all.

If anything good comes from this atrocity, it will have been the feeling of togetherness and understanding of difference that is being expressed now. Let us now resolve to use that feeling to both prevent future violence and as a response to it.