Ten Years Later: What Chapel Hill Taught America About Islamophobia
Muslim Americans are still fighting for recognition of hate crimes.
A decade ago on February 10th, Craig Hicks murdered three young Americans in their Chapel Hill, North Carolina home in a ruthless act of hate. Twenty-three-year-old Syrian-American Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife, twenty-one-year-old Palestinian-American Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, and Yusor's sister, twenty-one-year-old Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, were just beginning their adult lives—embodying the very essence of the American Dream through their hard work, ambition, and aspirations for a better future.
While Islamophobia has long cast a shadow over the United States, the brutality of the Chapel Hill murders seized the nation’s attention. Muslims and non-Muslims alike came together in protests, held vigils, and demanded justice.
The courts sentenced Hicks to three consecutive life terms without parole for first-degree murder, but failed to name his obvious hatred for what it was. Even in 2019, when Hicks pleaded guilty and his prejudice stood plain as day, both the Department of Justice and North Carolina prosecutors declined to charge him with a hate crime—revealing how the justice system continues to minimize violence against Muslims.
In court, Assistant District Attorney Kendra Montgomery-Blinn painted a picture of Hicks as a man whose rage grew with each confrontation with his neighbors, especially as more college students moved into the complex. Montgomery-Blinn revealed how Hicks had confronted Yusor Abu-Salha's mother when Yusor was moving in, declaring, "I don't like the look of you people. Get out of here." Both women wore hijab.
Law enforcement's sluggish response and reluctance to acknowledge the murders as a hate crime sparked fierce criticism.
Only in 2022, after years of relentless advocacy from The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and other advocacy organizations, did the White House's #UnitedWeStand Summit finally acknowledge the shooting as a hate-fueled Islamophobic attack.
"While we welcome the Biden Administration's classification of the 2015 Chapel Hill Shooting as a hate-fueled attack, we demand more action to ensure law enforcement and government properly recognize and prosecute hate-fueled attacks against American Muslims and other minorities,” said MPAC in a statement.
Legal and Political Aftermath
State Senator Jay Chaudhuri (NC-15) has introduced the Hate Crimes Prevention Act four times since 2018. The bill would establish hate crimes as felonies in North Carolina and empower courts to punish hate-fueled violence more severely—yet the state legislature blocks it at every turn.
Their inaction mirrors the broader political climate of those years, as the 2016 presidential campaign unleashed a new wave of anti-Muslim rhetoric. While families mourned in Chapel Hill, politicians openly demanded Muslim immigration bans, with Trump calling for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States."
During his presidency, anti-Muslim hate crimes soared. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) documented alarming numbers, reporting that the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the United States rose 91 percent in the first half of the first year of Trump’s presidency compared with the same period in 2016. This surge included everything from vandalism of mosques to physical attacks, with many victims citing the president's rhetoric as emboldening their attackers.
Deah, Yusor, and Razan's murders exposed how mainstream media and political discourse had normalized anti-Muslim hatred, a pattern that persists today. A new documentary, 36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime, released this month, delves into the ongoing struggle to have hate crimes against Muslims properly recognized. The film highlights the federal government's decision not to pursue hate crime charges, underscoring the challenges in seeking justice. It concludes with a stark reminder that hate crimes are on the rise across the United States, making the need for change more urgent than ever.
Long-Term Impact and Continuing Fight
In the aftermath of October 7th attacks, America witnessed another horrific Islamophobic crime—the murder of six-year-old Palestinian-American Waleed “Wale” Al-Ayoubi, who was stabbed twenty-six times by his seventy-two-year-old landlord, Joseph Czuba. Czuba reportedly targeted Wale and his mother due to their Palestinian identity, underscoring the ongoing threats faced by Muslim and Arab communities in the U.S.
Czuba heads to trial next week, while questions remain about potential federal hate crime charges. Advocates are calling for charges that reflect the clear evidence of bias-motivated violence and are pushing for accountability at both the state and federal levels. This case, like the tragic deaths of Deah, Yusor, and Razan, underscores the continued rise of Islamophobia and the urgent need for stronger legal protections for vulnerable communities. The outcome of the trial could set a significant precedent for how hate crimes against Muslim and Arab Americans are prosecuted moving forward.
As this trial unfolds, one thing is clear: justice for Wale, and for all victims of hate, is not just a legal matter—it’s a moral imperative. How we respond will speak volumes about the kind of society we want to be.
LEARN MORE:
How Their Legacy Continues (Spectrum News)
Decades after 9/11, Muslims Battle Islamophobia in US (Al Jazeera)