Islamophobic Men With Baseball Bats Kill Teen Girl In Hijab #NabraHassanen

RIP Nabra Hassanen #Justice4Habra

The news that a 17 year old hijabi had been kidnapped and beaten to death by a man yelling Islamophobic slurs is gnawing at me. Because it's Ramadan, Muslims gather after sundown for prayers and the eating they cannot do during the daylight hour fast. As Nabra and a group of friend returned from a meal at IHOP they were accosted outside the Dulles Area Muslim Society mosque in Virginia; the group scattered, but Nabra didn't make it inside to safety.

Her body was found twelve hours later on Father's Day lying dead near a baseball bat. Nabra may have been raped as well as killed, and one suspect is in custody.

Her name was #NabraHassanen. Tonight in New York City, communities showed up in love and solidarity to demand #Justice4Nabra. pic.twitter.com/oXsWXNzcBh

— Women's March (@womensmarch) June 21, 2017

Fairfax Virginia County Police tweeted "Detectives believe road rage incident led to Reston teen's murder." If, like me, you don't believe that, you can sign a petition here along with tens of thousands of others demanding her murder be investigated as a hate crime. 

There's no need for a yellow star this time around to identify potential victims of the thugs encouraged by the hateful rhetoric of the current regime.

Girls and women who cover are particular targets of the vigilantes too cowardly to attack other men. Their highly visible symbol of faith -- the hijab -- has been promoted for years by right wing propaganda as a signal for violence.

Something else I shared yesterday resonated with me and a lot of other people. It's a chilling history-minded cartoon from The Nib by Maia Kobabe about what fascism looked like to a child growing up in Mussolini's Italy. The cartoon ends like this:

I don't have much more time this morning but I think that is enough for all of us to ponder. Will we stick our heads in the sand and ignore this new normal filled with hate crimes against people of color, women wearing the hijab, and people exercising their 1st amendment right to practice their religion?

Or will we stand up against the rise of fascism?