A funeral and burial ceremony for a six-year-old Palestinian-American Muslim child will be held today, Monday, in a suburb of Chicago after he was fatally stabbed early this weekend by a man the police say targeted him and his mother because they are Palestinian-Americans. The funeral prayer for the child, Wadi Al-Fayoumi, will take place at a mosque in Bridgeview, Illinois, southwest of Chicago, according to a statement from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Ahmad Rehab, the head of CAIR's Chicago office, stated, "This is a heavy day we hoped would never come. As they say, the tiniest coffins are the heaviest."
The funeral will be held in an area referred to as "Little Palestine" due to the significant population of Palestinian-Americans there. The death of Wadi Al-Fayoumi comes amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas following an attack by Hamas militants on Israelis last week and subsequent retaliation by Israel in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas. The conflict has put Jewish and Palestinian Muslim communities in the United States on edge and fearful of possible violent reactions against them.
According to police, Wadi and his mother, Hanan Shaheen (32 years old), were attacked by the homeowner they were renting from on Saturday in the town of Plainfield, approximately 64 kilometers southwest of Chicago. The child suffered around 26 stab wounds, while his mother sustained multiple injuries and is expected to survive. A regional official stated that the suspect, Joseph Chuba (71 years old), has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of committing a hate crime, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
CAIR clarified that prior to the stabbing incident, there were no known issues or disputes between Chuba and the victim's family. The child's father, Oday Al-Fayoumi, told the "Daily Beast" that Chuba had a "good" relationship with both the child's mother and son, noting that the suspect had previously built a small treehouse for the child outside the home they rented from him.
