Killings of 4 males in Albuquerque go away Muslim neighborhood in worry

Muhammad Imtiaz Hussain is afraid to step outdoors his residence in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to water his crops. Or retrieve books from his automotive. Or even enterprise out onto his balcony.

“My kids won’t let me go outside of my apartment,” stated Hussain, 41, whose youthful brother Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, was fatally shot every week in the past Monday just some blocks away. He was certainly one of 4 Muslim males who had been killed not too long ago within the metropolis — three previously two weeks — and authorities consider the deaths are linked and meant to focus on the Muslim neighborhood.

The newest sufferer, a Muslim man in his mid-20s from South Asia whose title has not been launched by police, was killed Friday simply earlier than midnight. Another man, Aftab Hussein, 41, was fatally shot July 26. Authorities say that every one three had been ambushed and that the latest violence could be linked to the November 2021 killing of Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, outdoors a enterprise he and his brother ran.

As the Albuquerque Police, the FBI and the state police appealed to the general public for assist in discovering the killer or killers — on Sunday authorities described a automobile of curiosity, a dark-colored, four-door Volkswagen sedan — the assaults have left Muslims in a state of terror.

One member who attended the Islamic Center of New Mexico, the identical mosque as all 4 of the victims, stated that he might by no means return, citing a worry of changing into “bait.”

Other members have quickly left the state to stick with relations in different elements of the nation to attend out the investigation. One man, who immigrated from Iraq, stated that he felt safer again when he first got here to the nation within the Eighties. Another member, Salem Ansari, stated that some who attend the mosque and work evening shifts have give up their jobs.

“This situation is getting so much worse,” Ansari stated.

Ahmad Assed, president of the mosque, stated that he grew up in Albuquerque attending the Islamic Center however by no means felt remoted as a Muslim within the metropolis. But now, he stated, the neighborhood goes by means of a “sort of managed panic.”

The elder Hussain stated that he had lived safely in his neighborhood for eight years since transferring to the United States along with his spouse and kids. His brother Muhammad arrived in 2017, and each males would go to the library at midnight or purchase coffees late into the night whereas attending the University of New Mexico as worldwide college students.

“Now, I look outside the window and think, ‘Oh, this is the place where my brother was killed. Should we move?’” he stated.

Hussain stated that he had initially hoped to ship his brother’s physique again to be buried with household in Pakistan, however the quite a few gunshot wounds had made his brother unrecognizable, and Hussain didn’t need his household to see him. The killer “wanted to finish him — the whole nine yards,” he stated.

In common, anti-Muslim hate crimes within the United States have been trending downward. Brian Levin, a professor of felony justice at California State University at San Bernardino and the director of the varsity’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, stated that the variety of hate crimes reported in opposition to Muslims was decrease in 2020 than in any yr since 9/11, although he added that these numbers could also be skewed due to pandemic restrictions.

But he stated that hate crimes stay a priority: They rose greater than 20% in 2021 and elevated one other 4.7% within the first half of 2022, the middle reported. Also, “underlying anti-Muslim attitudes” are pervasive and resurface throughout instances of nationwide hardship, in line with Levin’s research.

Authorities stated that they’re refraining from utilizing the time period “hate” in labeling the crimes till a motive could possibly be established.

Just final yr, the Islamic Center confronted an tried arson from a girl who police say set three fires on the mosque playground and one fireplace on the mosque’s primary entry. No one was injured, and the girl was arrested and charged with arson. The case is pending.

The Islamic Center has instructed its almost 2,500 members to remain residence as a lot as they’ll, use the “buddy system” when going out and chorus from “engaging with or agitating” anybody, Assed stated.

He added that he nonetheless felt supported by different communities however that this time he additionally was feeling a way of “hopelessness and despair.”

“I do watch my back and get in the car. I’m watching all my surroundings,” he stated. “You don’t know whether they’re following you from the mosque, if they’re actually watching people going in and out of the mosque and following them elsewhere. The pattern is unknown.”

Some neighborhood members have expressed frustration concerning the lack of particulars from the police investigation, however Assed stated he was involved with authorities and understood why they’ve stored any developments underneath wraps. Authorities have neither elaborated on why they consider the killings are linked nor indicated whether or not there have been any witnesses.

Hussain stated that he needed the federal and state governments to pour as many assets as potential into catching the killer.

But till somebody is caught, nothing is prone to reduce his worry — or his grief.

“My 5-year-old keeps asking, ‘Hey, where is my uncle?’” he stated. “She’ll see me crying and say, ‘Are you a crybaby? Why are you crying?’ But we can’t tell her. Not yet.”