New Mexico's Muslims were relieved when a murder suspect was arrested. Then disbelief

New Mexico's Muslims were relieved when a murder suspect was arrested. Then disbelief

Transcript¹

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to members of Albuquerque's Muslim community about the fear experienced after four men from the local mosque² were murdered. Police arrested a suspect on Tuesday.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

For days, before police arrested a suspect in the killings⁴ of four Muslim men in Albuquerque, the city's Muslim community lived in fear. Ahmad Assed⁵ is the president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico, the mosque where Assed says the victims and the man now charged in two of the killings all attended prayer. Assed spoke⁶ with me before the arrest about the victims - Mohammad Ahmadi, Naeem Hussain, Muhammad Afzaal Hussain and Aftab Hussein.

AHMAD ASSED: These were, you know, very respected young men in the community - middle-aged⁷ men. Mr. Ahmadi has got a long-standing family here in Albuquerque and owners of a bakery - a Mediterranean⁸ bakery that serves the needs of the Afghani/Pakistani communities - and he was killed right behind the store back in November. The other three are basically young men that have diverse backgrounds in terms of their professions. Naeem was a truck driver and had no family living here. I mean, these are all really, you know, wonderful young men that enjoyed a very good reputation within their inner circles.

FADEL: Before the arrest of 51-year-old Muhammad Syed, Assed said many in the Muslim community of only a few thousand sheltered in their homes, afraid they might be targeted.

ASSED: We know that businesses have closed, and people have decided⁹ to close businesses or have decided to temporarily move out of the state. There are actual people that had moved out of the state while this investigation¹⁰ was pending¹¹. People have been very reluctant to attend prayer services. There's a sense of just great fear.

ASSED: Leena Aggad hid inside her house for four days before the suspect was arrested. I reached the 23-year-old vice¹² president of the Muslim Student Association at the University of New Mexico just hours after the arrest, as she mourned with her community at a vigil at the Islamic Center.

LEENA AGGAD: So today, right now, I'm sitting at the mosque in Albuquerque, and this is the first time I have left my home since we started hearing about this. And me, personally - I wear a hijab, so I wear a scarf. And so at the time, before the suspect and more information came out, all what we knew was that Muslim men were being attacked, right? And so how did he get this information? No one knew. Was he following these people? So for me, walking outside with a scarf - I am a walking symbol of Islam. It's very obvious that I'm a Muslim. I was very scared to leave my house.

FADEL: And then the information came out that it does appear that it was motivated by hate, but it appears that the man was Muslim and killing³ Shia Muslims because he was angry - or at least reportedly angry - that his daughter was marrying a Shia Muslim. What was that like to hear?

AGGAD: You would expect that learning that a suspect is found and has been detained - it would feel like a breath of relief.

FADEL: Yeah.

AGGAD: But it kind of felt like another chain was placed on my heart because these people died for nothing. For tables to turn and for it to be hate in our own community, I felt so disappointed to hear that news.

FADEL: At the vigil right now, what are you all telling each other? How are you finding solace¹³ with your community today?

AGGAD: The one thing that I realized is that, regardless of who the perpetrator is, regardless of their motives¹⁵ - whatever it may be - an attack on one of us in this community is an attack on all of us. The fact that people are embracing each other and reminding each other that they are loved and they are welcome in the community - we are a community. We are not communities. We are a community. We are a singular group. We come together as one.

FADEL: Yeah.

AGGAD: That made me feel really welcome. I was born and raised here, but I feel like this is one of the first times where I've actually felt completely, 100% accepted in this community.

FADEL: In the city of Albuquerque and the larger community, you mean?

AGGAD: Yeah. So in a really weird¹⁶ way, there's almost this silver lining¹⁷ of comfort and peace that has come out of this. And I see this every time someone tries to destroy a community or someone tries to destroy something. It almost ends up backfiring on them because it shows that, no matter how hateful someone is, peace and love always overpowers that.

FADEL: You said you knew Muhammad - one of the men that was killed - because of your activities at university. If you could tell me a little bit about him and about losing him in the way that you and others who knew him and loved him did.

AGGAD: Muhammad was one of the most inspirational students at UNM - very, very smart individual. Whatever he planned and helped execute, it was always successful.

FADEL: Such a senseless loss.

AGGAD: Exactly. And so I've been talking to a lot of people, and one of the main things I keep reiterating¹⁸ is let's not let these acts of hate take away from the greatness of his life. What he started and the impact that he had on other people - we want to continue that. There's been thoughts about creating a scholarship in his name because he was very much about education.

FADEL: Yeah.

AGGAD: He was very much about bettering themselves.

FADEL: One of the victims - it was reported that, actually, he had fled sectarian violence. It's one of the reasons he came to the United States. And then to hear about what is sectarian hate in Albuquerque, N.M., in a community that is so diverse - right? - and this is a mosque where Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims pray together. I just wonder what you're thinking.

AGGAD: It's atrocious, in my opinion. But at the end of the day, we can't let that be the underlying¹⁹ principle here. The underlying principle is that people are going to do bad things regardless of whatever motive¹⁴. Of course, they're going to come up with something, but whoever wants to do something bad is going to do something bad, unfortunately. And we can't protect against that. No matter what we do, there will always be bad people out there.

FADEL: Does anybody know, in the community, the suspect? And, you know, how are they dealing²⁰ with that?

AGGAD: He's very well known in the community. I mean, he comes to the same mosque that the victims went to, you know? It's crazy to just think that, for months, this guy was praying next to other members of the community as if everything was normal.

FADEL: Wow.

AGGAD: It shocks you - you know? - that someone that you could see every day - someone that you see in prayer, that you just assume is a fellow Muslim, could have such a gross mindset.

FADEL: That was Leena Aggad, vice president of the Muslim Student Association at the University of New Mexico.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

5 assed   

称职的

参考例句：

• Don't take a half-assed approach. 不要采取半assed办法。
• They did a half-assed job in repainting my car. 我的车子重新喷漆，他们做得差劲得很。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

8 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

12 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

13 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

14 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

15 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

16 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

17 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

18 reiterating   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He keeps reiterating his innocence. 他一再申明他无罪。
• The Chinese government also sent a note to the British government, reiterating its position. 中国政府同时将此立场照会英国政府。

19 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

20 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。