At first blush, an Oklahoma murder making national headlines this week seems to be a case of anti-Muslim hate. That would mean that it’s another story about “Islamophobia,” as the news media like to call it.
Except that Khalid Jabara, the 37-year-old man shot dead in Tulsa, was not
a Muslim. The victim, whose family immigrated to the U.S. from Lebanon,
was an Orthodox Christian. That simple fact should have raised all
kinds of questions for journalists working on this story.
The basic details of the crime, via CNN:
Tulsa, Oklahoma (CNN) For years, the Jabara family says, their Tulsa neighbor terrorized them.
He
called them names – “dirty Arabs,” “filthy Lebanese,” they said.He
hurled racial epithets at those who came to work on their lawns, they
alleged. He ran Haifa Jabara over with his car and went to court for it.
And
it all came to a head last week when the man, Stanley Vernon Majors,
walked up to the front steps of the family home and shot and killed
Khalid Jabara, police said.
“The frustration
that we continue to see anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, xenophobic rhetoric and
hate speech has unfortunately led up to a tragedy like this,” it said.
To what or whom does the “it said’ refer after that last quote? What person or group produced this statement?
I’m
not entirely certain. My guess is that an editing error led to that
awkward attribution. But the quote sets up the “anti-Muslim” angle:
These
are tense times for Muslim-Americans – and those perceived to be
Muslims. (The Jabaras are Christians of Lebanese descent.)
Ever
since the Paris attacks, carried out by extremists hiding behind
religion, xenophobic bile has poured out. Then came San Bernardino, and
after it anti-Muslim rhetoric from the Trump campaign, and a steady
stream of hateful incidents came rolling in.
Is it me or
does that background material include a fair amount of editorializing by
the members of the CNN team? Specific examples rather than broad
generalizations (such as the “xenophobic bile has poured out” phrasing)
might be more appropriate for an impartial news story aiming for an
impartial reporting of the facts and relevant background. Am I right?
Later, CNN includes a full statement from a family spokesperson that includes this revealing quote:
This
suspect had a history of bigotry against our family. He repeatedly
attacked our ethnicity and perceived religion, making racist comments.
He often called us “dirty Arabs,” “filthy Lebanese,” “Aye-rabs,” and
“Mooslems” – a fact highlighted by the Tulsa Police Department who also
heard these comments from the suspect. The suspect’s bigotry was not
isolated to us alone. He made xenophobic comments about many in our
community – “filthy Mexican” and the “n” word were all part of his
hateful approach to anyone from a different background.
As
often happens (drawing commentary from your GetReligionistas), lots of
people – including journalists – tend to forget that the words “Muslim”
and “Arab” do not always describe the same people, in real life. As our own tmatt once noted:
At
the time of 9/11, my family was part of an Eastern Orthodox parish in
South Florida in which most of the members – a strong majority – were
either Arab or Lebanese. It was an eye-opening experience to say the
least.
One strong memory: The anger of
grandparents noting that their grandchildren were being harassed at
local schools – in one case, pushed around on a playground – because
they were “Arabs” and “Arabs” attacked the World Trade Center. This
American-born child from a Christian Arab home was wearing his gold
baptismal cross at the time the other kids jumped him.
Don’t
people realize, parishioners kept saying, that “Arab” is not a
religious term, that “Arab” is not the same thing as “Muslim”? Don’t
they know that Christians have been part of Middle Eastern culture since
the early church?
That appears to have been what happened in this Tulsa tragedy.
Like CNN, other national news reports – from sources such as the Washington Post, McClatchyDC and the Los Angeles Times – mention the anti-Muslim issue.
But
what about the victim’s actual Christian faith? Most news reports
provide parenthetical references to it. However, they don’t go into any
detail at all.
That’s why I was pleased to see a Tulsa World interview — by Godbeat pro Bill Sherman — with Jabara’s pastor:
Sherman notes:
Dozens
of people are murdered in Tulsa every year, but something about this
killing touched a nerve. It was covered by ABC, BBC, Good Morning
America, CNN, Al Jazeera and scores of newspapers on both sides of the
Atlantic.
I talked about it Wednesday in a
downtown coffee shop with Jabara’s pastor, the Rev. George Eber, of St.
Antony Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church.
Eber
said he thinks the shooting drew global attention because “at the core,
we’re alienated from a peaceful and loving God, and in a world without
God, chaos reigns. … There is a lot of blaming going on.”
Most
of the media coverage has been focused on the killing as a hate crime
against people of Arab descent, or against Muslims, though Jabara was
Christian, and on the failure of police to protect the family despite
numerous signs that the shooter was a threat to them.
The World writer also provides interesting on the planned funeral:
He
said the service will be a traditional Orthodox funeral service. It
will be long and will consist largely of prayer, chanting of readings
and Scripture, and some responsive readings by worshippers.
He
said he will speak briefly about the deceased, but unlike a typical
Protestant funeral, there will be no time for others to talk about
Jabara.
That will take place later at a “meal of mercy” for family and close friends. …
He
said the service will be a time to reflect on biblical realities of
Orthodoxy, that “It is a fallen world, and there have always been
tragedies, but God is not the author of evil and never wanted that to
happen.
“God is weeping with us, weeping for us.
“We
commit these crimes, yet God, in his mercy and love, comes to bail us
out, so he became as one of us. … God has turned the grave into a new
being.”
Certainly, the killer’s motivation is a key part
of this story, as is the family’s “perceived religion.” But key facts
and details concerning the victim’s own faith certainly seem appropriate
for news coverage, too, particularly as this case keeps making
headlines.
Kudos to the World for shedding a little religious light on this sad news.
IDC Decries Murder of Christian Lebanese-American and Targeted Violence Against Middle-Eastern Americans
The Christian Lebanese-American Family Fled the Lebanese Civil War in the 1980s, Only to Become a Target of Violence in the U.S.
Washington,
DC August 17, 2016–In Defense of Christians (IDC) extends its
heart-felt condolences to the family of Khalid Jabara, who was brutally
murdered in his home of 12 years in Tulsa last week because of hatred
for his ethnic identity.
Jabara, 37, was Lebanese-American and an active parishioner of St. Anthony Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in Tulsa.
When
Vernon Majors moved next door a few years ago, Jabara and his family
began experiencing routine harassment including racists comments and
hate-filled obscenities. In September of last year Majors hit Jabara’s
mother, Haifa, with a car leaving her with multiple injuries before he
left the scene.
On Friday, August 12, Jabara was found shot dead
in his own home after calling 911 with concerns that Majors had
approached the house with a gun.
IDC Executive Director Kirsten
Evans made the following statement after hearing the news of Jabara’s
violent death: “That anyone, no matter who they are or where they come
from, could be targeted for violence, persecution and even death simply
because of their ethnic or religious identity, is unconscionable. Our
deepest sympathy goes out to Mr. Jabara’s family and community.
Mr.
Jabara, an Antiochian Orthodox Christian from Lebanon, is a member of a
Christian community that has a long and proud historical and cultural
heritage in the Middle East, spanning back to the first centuries of the
Early Church.
Today, Middle Eastern Christians are all too often
the targets of violence, marginalization, and persecution in their
native ancestral homelands, simply because of their Christian faith. In
March of this year the United States officially proclaimed that Middle
Eastern Christians and other religious minorities are being targeted for
genocide in territories occupied by ISIS because of their faith.
Here,
in the United States, Mr. Jabara and his family became targets of
violence and hatred not because of their faith, but because of their
Middle Eastern identity and culture.
