Dear friends,
There has been much speculation over the cryptic message "Ismail ax" tatooed
on the mass-killer at Virginia Tech.
But, at least one, and possibly two, Muslims lie dead as a result of his
rampage. Given that there was so much hatred and wild speculation about
Muslims immediately following the masscre, those who engaged in it have
something of an obligation, IMHO to set the record straight. I'm not holding
my breath, though.
Here, with much sorrow and condolences to the family of Brother Waleed
Shaalan, is the message about him posted on the Muslim Students Association
website at Virginia Tech.
May God have mercy on his soul.
Peace,
Hajja Romi
Janazah (Funeral) Prayers
1:30 PM - Thursday April 19th at Masjid Al-Ihsan (North Main Mosque) and ADAMS
Center in NOVA
Elhamdel Allah Br. Waleeds body has arrived in Blacksburg. Two brothers have
seen him and said his face is shining and, as always, he is smiling.
Inshaa Allah Janazah (Funeral) Prayers will be held on Thursday, April 19th, at
Masjid Al-Ihsan (North Main Mosque) at 1:30 PM sharp. We will also have it in
ADAMS center at the same time. Please attend if you are in Nova.
We know this is a very late notice, however, we urge everyone to attend and to
convey this information to as many Muslims as you can. The more people
attending the prayer, the better it is for Br. Waleed.
Due to limited parking spaces, please try to carpool or use the Food Lion
parking lot nearby.
Please, NO MEDIA IS INVITED.
---------------------------------
For Immediate Release:
How Waleed Shaalan saves a classmate's life
Story is narrated by Dr. Hesham Rakha, a professor in the Civil Engineering
Department. At this time, we DO NOT have the name of Waleed's classmate who
survived.
"I would like to share with you some additional information that I received
from a colleague in the CEE Dept. This colleague of mine is the supervisor of a
graduate student who was with Waleed in the class and survived the massacre. I
should mention that the description is graphical so I apologize in advance. The
student mentions that Waleed saved his life and wants to convey this to
Waleed's family. Apparently, the murderer came into Norris 206 and shot Dr.
Loganathan and a number of students injuring Waleed. Waleed was sitting in the
front row where he always sat. Everyone jumped to the floor after hearing the
gun shots including the person narrating the story. The murderer then left
Norris 206 to go to another classroom.
The student that narrates the story was not shot but pretended to be dead and
lay on the ground beside Waleed who at that time was only injured. The murderer
then re-entered the classroom and was checking for alive victims. He had
approached the person narrating the story who mentions that his heart was
pounding out of fear. Waleed at that instant made a movement to distract the
murderer's attention and was shot for the second time. At that time Waleed died
and the murderer left the narrator to search for other victims."
To Allah we belong and to Allah we will return.
We ask Allah to forgive Waleed and all of his sins and grant him paradise.
---------------------------------
For Immediate Release:
Brother Waleed Shaalan, a victim of the Virginia tech shootings.
Waleed Shaalan, 32 years old, first stepped onto the Virginia Tech campus in
August 2006. An international student originally from Zagazig, Egypt, with no
family members in the United States, Waleed quickly became an essential member
of the Blacksburg Muslim community. Among those mourning his death are his two
roommates (Fahad Pasha and Irfan Waseem) to whom Waleed was their loving older
brother, cook, academic and spiritual mentor.
Waleed initially began his PhD program in Egypt, but when Virginia Tech offered
him an assistantship position, he chose to leave his original degree path and
continue it in Blacksburg. Following in the footsteps of his father, Waleed was
a dedicated and passionate student of Civil Engineering. Though he had a hectic
schedule, juggling classes, PhD research and TA responsibilities, he always
made time for the people around him. Waleed was known for his broad smile and
wave that he gave everyone.
"He was the simplest and nicest guy I ever knew.We would be studying for our
exams and he would go buy a cake and make tea for us," said Fahad, Waleed's
roommate. Fahad was the last person to have spoken to Waleed, he remarked "He
was studying late for an exam the morning of the incident; it was about 4 am
when I last saw and spoke to him. We were talking about how amazing it would be
once he brought his wife and son to Tech after the summer. I could never have
imagined that in 5 hours hed be gone forever."
Waleed left behind Amira, his wife for 3 years, and Khaled his one-year old
son.
As we express our grief and sympathy for the families of all those directly
affected by this senseless tragedy, we honor them through memory and
reflection; and Waleed will always be smiling in our hearts.
We have set up a fund to support Br. Waleed Shaalan's family. Click this link
http://www.msanational.org/finance/vt07donate.html to donate.
http://www.msavt.org/main/default.asp
---------------------------------
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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