In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Let me tell you about my brother. As the blogosphere was aflame with intense speculation (and it was just that: speculation) about Cho Sueng-Hui's possible connection to "Islamic terrorism" because of the words "Ismael Ax" tattooed on his arm, the Virginia Tech Muslim community was mourning the death of one of their brightest stars.

Waleed Shaalan, 32, was a graduate student in the Civil Engineering Department at Virginia Tech. He first came to VT in August 2006 from northern Egypt. He took on an assistantship position, choosing to leave his Ph.D. track which he started in Egypt. He was known for "his broad smile and wave that he gave everyone."

Says Fahad, Waleed's roommate: "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." Fahad was the last person to have spoken to Waleed.

"He was studying late for an exam the morning of the incident," Fahad said, "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 he'd be gone forever."

Mr. Shaalan is survived by his wife for three years, Amira, and Khaled, his one-year old son.

As some people were wondering whether Cho Seung-Hui was a "terrorist" because of two cryptic words on his arm, details were emerging about how Mr. Shaalan was murdered in cold blood.

As reported in the New York Times, Waleed Shaalan died a hero: according to Randy Dymond, a civil engineering professor at Virginia Tech, Mr. Shaalan was in a classroom with another student when the gunman entered and opened fire.

Mr. Shaalan was badly wounded and lay beside the other student, who was not shot but played dead, as the gunman returned two times searching for signs of life. Just as the gunman noticed the student, Mr. Shaalan made a move to distract him, at which point he was shot a second time and died. The student believed that Mr. Shaalan purposefully distracted the shooter to save him, Mr. Dymond said.

"Waleed was bright, energetic and caring," Mr. Dymond said. "The reason we are in higher education is because there are students who are the bright light to the future. Waleed was one of them."

That was my brother who died there. That was my brother who put his own life on the line to save the life of someone else. That was my brother who embodied Islam's teaching that the sanctity of life is paramount. Now, to be clear: Mr. Shaalan is not my actual, "blood" brother. Rather, he was my brother in faith: "The believers are one brotherhood" (49:10)

Still, Waleed Shaalan gave his life to follow the instructions of the Qur'an: "...if anyone saves a life, it shall be as if they have saved all of humanity." (5:32) This is how the majority of Muslims live and act. This is what the majority of Muslims believe about life and death. Waleed Shaalan is the true face of Islam, not the murderous, vicious soldiers of Satan who kill and destroy and claim they are doing so in Islam's name.

Thus, for some to try to link Islam to the Virginia Tech shootings is insulting. When it first came out that the shooter was "Asian," some people asked the question: "Were they from Pakistan and part of a terrorist attack?" How sickening.

Of course, I am also sickened by the acts of terrorism committed by some Muslims in the name of Islam. Of course, authorities must consider all possibilities when investigating an incident as terrible as the shootings at Virginia Tech. But to automatically assume that it is "terrorism" whenever something even remotely connected to Islam shows up, this is plain wrong.

Waleed Shaalan was what Islam is all about: kindness, caring, compassion, and respect for life. Rather than take your life senselessly, you will find that the overwhelming majority of Muslims would do what they can to save your life, because, their religion tells them so.

OmarG,

No, I bring up information that the mainstream media often does not want to mention. I do that even more at [url=http://www.muslimwakeup.com]http://www.muslimwakeup.com[/url] where I have a chance to post my own topics. You also have that opportuniity to do so too, but you do not want to. Instead you want to tell me what topics I should and should not be discussing.

Can you tell me how can we solve a problem if we do not discuss all the factors that are contibuting to it?

There is no shortage of people who want to say what Muslims should be doing, but there are not enough people saying what the peopel of the UNited States should be doing, otherwise if there were, the US government would not be getting away with all the criminal activities it is involved in around the world.

I'm afraid I must point out that this story may be a work of fiction. The witness insists on anonymity, the deceased's actions were tiny and thus subject to subjective interpretation, and any evidence of wounds, etc. on the deceased that might confirm the story is in state records that are not accessible to anyone while a criminal investigation is in progress, and that will only be released to the deceased's immediate family afterwards.

In short, no one will ever know whether Shalaan was the hero the press made him out to be or not, unless the witness cedes anonymity and the family releases the records.

I wonder what Waleed would have wanted his friends and family to do, and especially whether he would have wanted the story waved around by those wishing to portray him as following the instructions of the Qu'aran.

>I'm afraid I must point out that this story may be a work of fiction. The witness insists on anonymity,<
>In short, no one will ever know whether Shalaan was the hero the press made him out to be or not, unless the witness cedes anonymity and the family releases the records.<

So what if the witness insists on anonymity? There is nothing wrong with that. Who are you to second guess this heroic young man's actions and dismiss? Can't you have a tiniest bit of compassion in your heart for him or his family?


>I wonder what Waleed would have wanted his friends and family to do, and especially whether he would have wanted the story waved around by those wishing to portray him as following the instructions of the Qu'aran.<

You are a disgusting excuse for a human being, you ought to ashamed of yourself for tarring the memory of this man. Your jewish extremism(with the expected hatred of Arabs) stands revealed once more. No different then the zionist whore who insisted that a "paki" was responsible for the massacre.

"So what"? How meaningful can an anonymous witness be? Which young man do you think I'm second-guessing? Not the deceased, but this "witness". What possible reason could the witness have for anonymity if he (or she) was telling the truth in this matter?

Compassion? I was an engineering student myself. IMO, engineers, regardless of religion, want the facts put first. Yes, it does make me feel a bit slimy doing it, but perhaps Waleed will rest easier if we stick to verifiable facts, rather than the alternative. What I wrote, then, does not diminish Waleed's memory at all, does it?

As for your last paragraph: this article and its comments aren't about me; this is the wrong venue to discuss my personal characteristics, so it would be inappropriate for me to respond, just as it is inappropriate for you to make these statements here in the first place.

>How meaningful can an anonymous witness be?<

Go ask law enforecement who seem to have no problems with anonymous tips and witnesses. Why should we take your word over that of eye-witnesses?

>What possible reason could the witness have for anonymity if he (or she) was telling the truth in this matter?<

Privacy, and wanting to deal with the tradegy on their own terms without the media circus.

>Compassion? I was an engineering student myself. IMO, engineers, regardless of religion, want the facts put first.<

So now you're going to play forensic scientist and do detective work through the internet and dismiss whoever you want? The condescending level of disingenuousness in your statement is beyond description. Certainly your issue with this article and your general presence here has nothing to do with your course of study. Have some respect.

>As for your last paragraph: this article and its comments aren't about me; this is the wrong venue to discuss my personal characteristics<

On the contrary, this is the best and revealing venue to discuss and explore your personal characteristics, particularly your ethnocentric jewish extremism which is behind all your comments regardless of the facts. I saw this first hand when you tried to tar Irfan Yusuf for exposing Raphael Israeli's racism. I don't have to be a genius or self-declared "engineering student" to see a pattern in your narrow minded thinking. Your extremist blog(with endorsement links to pro-terrorism blogs) is further evidence of your irrational mindset.
Your purpose on this article is to tar Waleed Shaalan, and cast doubt that he helped save someone else's life at the cost of his own. If he was Jewish, you would not be here other then to praise him for his heroism. But no, Waleed Shaalan was an Arab, and we can't have people seeing "their" kind as human beings now can we? Your disgusting jewish extremism is sickening, but rest assured that no one will care when it consumes you.

Take my word"? On what?

So now you're going to play forensic scientist and do detective work through the internet and dismiss whoever you want?

No. The reason for my delay in posting was because I was waiting for a reply explaining these matters from the Virginia Coroner's Office - I had hoped for forensic confirmation of Waleed's deeds. You may inquire and check yourself, if you wish.

If he was Jewish, you would not be here other then to praise him for his heroism.

Really? Don't you think that if Waleed was Jewish, everybody would assume that he twitched due to his pain and suffering, and refuse to believe whatever an anonymous or possibly mythical eyewitness said?

Waleed Shaalan was an Arab, and we can't have people seeing "their" kind as human beings now can we?

Yes, Waleed Shaalan was an Arab, but Hesham Hassaballa attributes what he did to Islam, not to his ethnicity or the values imparted to him by his family, so why direct your outrage at me?

If you had an ounce of humility you would have stopped commenting on this topic a while back. Instead you continue to dismiss eye-witness accounts and cast doubt on Shaalan for no other reason except that he was an Arab. Your qualification? A self proclaimed "engineering student." Bravo!
Ofcourse if he was indeed a hero, his heroism would have nothing to do with his faith and the values he derived from it, right? Whereas if he was an extremist, Islam would HAVE to be the culprit. I'm sure this has nothing to do with you being a jewish fanatic. This is your thought process in action, the mindset of racist hatemonger spitting on the dead.
Shame on you.

BTWFMBGNOF, why do you keep altering my carefully qualified statements into something different? There are Muslim teachers out there who worry that they may be teaching their students contempt for others. Do I direct them to your posts on this site? Then what are they supposed to do? Leave Islam and teach their students Judaism, Christianity, or secular humanism instead?

One may justly ask, why is it important to question the manner of Waleed's passing? Yet, if somebody is inventing his deeds and attributing them to G-d and Islam, is that not blasphemy? Would Waleed have wanted to be an object of such? And if you aren't making it your duty to uncover the truth, choosing to promote this tale blindly instead, do you not also blaspheme?

>>> Ofcourse if he was indeed a hero, his heroism would have nothing to do with his faith and the values he derived from it, right? Whereas if he was an extremist, Islam would HAVE to be the culprit.

Very valid point. Noone attributes what he did to Allah, they just make mention that muslims live in ordinary ways in ordinary society and aren't demon worshipping goblins without a story worth telling. Apparently .. even that is not befitting a Muslim. Our muslim brother is dead and other non-muslim brothers and sisters are dead too and only Allah rewards heroism and goodness and there is no better judge than God and His judgement will suffice everyone.

Solomon2 wrote "I'm afraid I must point out that this story may be a work of fiction. The witness insists on anonymity, the deceased's actions were tiny and thus subject to subjective interpretation, and any evidence of wounds, etc. on the deceased that might confirm the story is in state records that are not accessible to anyone while a criminal investigation is in progress, and that will only be released to the deceased's immediate family afterwards.

In short, no one will ever know whether Shalaan was the hero the press made him out to be or not, unless the witness cedes anonymity and the family releases the records."

You want to see Waleed Shaalan’s records? How about revealing Liviu Librescu’s records to see at what angle the bullets went through his body. It could be that he was running to the windows himself, but the younger students outran him and pushed him aside. So out of guilt they praised him and made false claims of his heroism.

Why didn'y Librescu, with his scientific mind, use a chair or desk instead of his body to jam the door closed? It says in this April 22 NYT article (“Students Recount Desperate Minutes Inside Norris Hall” http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/us/22norris.html?ex=1179460800&en=608da47852c772e9&ei=5070 ) that “Desks were hurriedly flipped on their sides as protective shields, and the students crouched behind them.”

The artice says “Nine or 10 jumped, and Mr. Calhoun said he was the last to go. As he stood on the sill, he wavered. He saw students ahead of him fall and get injured, screaming in pain. One would break a leg. Jump? Don’t jump? A gunman controlled the hall. He spied a shrub and aimed for it. He successfully landed in it, bounced off and finished on his back on the grass. Picking himself up, he sped for the nearest building. ”

Maybe Librescu was afraid to jump from the second floor window and break his 76 year old bones. Just because there are many “witnesses” to Librescu’s actions it doesn’t mean they are true. Look at the story that was built up about Jessica Lynch, the American soldier that was wounded and captured in Iraq. What about the story of former football star Pat Tillman? The government and the army claimed he was killeded by enemy fire in Afghanistan, but it turns out that he was killed by friendly fire.

Good points Randall...I doubt solomon has the intelligence and sincerity to see the wisdom of your words.
I wish he was in Shaalan's place.

You want to see Waleed Shaalan’s records? How about revealing Liviu Librescu’s

You are trying to divert readers from considering Shaalan by having them consider Librescu? Does that mean you think that Shaalan's story was manufactured to divert Muslims from considering Librescu's story?

Noone attributes what he did to Allah

"Still, Waleed Shaalan gave his life to follow the instructions of the Qur'an: "...if anyone saves a life, it shall be as if they have saved all of humanity." (5:32)"

You guys are dancing around the main issue: that the story about Shalaan may have been false. And at least Ghulam believes, as shown by his cover-up, that such a lie in the name of Islam can indeed be considered blasphemy. Why would you let this issue be displaced by a discussion of my personal characteristics?

Solomon2,

I see you didn’t question on your blog ( http://solomon2.blogspot.com/2007/04/true-meaning-of-resistance.html ) the vericity of Librescu’s story. Don’t you think Liviu Librescu would have wanted to truth told about him?

For crying the F out loud! Let the dead rest and keep thier memories out of the mud, why don't you all?! I swear by God, I will vote for anyone who can start the draft so you inconsiderate arses will see and know death up close and personal. Maybe then, you'll all have a but more respect for the dead and passed!

OmarG,

Our beloved President G.W. Bush served in the military. He doesn't have respect for the dead, American or Iraqi or Afghani.

I will vote for anyone who can start the draft so you inconsiderate arses will see and know death up close and personal.

That reminds me of the stories Vietnam-era pilots tell of seeing their wingmen shot down in flames, yet reporting them as "missing in action". They knew their buddy was dead, but this way his family would continue to receive his salary.

Of course, what that meant was agony for relatives who didn't know whether their husbands and fathers were dead or alive. OmarG, do you think the surviving pilots did the right thing?

Snapoutofit,

Its no different than the Israeli newspaper Haaretz highlighted the heroics of the Holocaust survivor Jewish professor in the same shooting above any other. I did not see them mention any other heroes in those articles let alone a muslim one.

snapoutofit wrote, So your referrering to an Israeli newspaper highlighting the heroics of only one person because he is Jewish does not excuse the Muslim behavior. It only equates it.

Set an example and you will find deeper respect for your complaints. As it is said...be the change you wish to see in the world.


snapoutofit did you send emails to the major newspapers and radio and television news programs who only mention the Jewish hero but not any other heroes? Or do you only spend your time preaching to Muslims?

Two wrongs don't make a right either way you slice it. Would it make you feel better if I had searched out the Jewish papers who posted exclusively on their fallen hero? The reason this became a topic that piqued my interest was because of the propensity of the Muslim blogsphere to claim it as another case of prejudice toward them based on their perception that the world was holding a view that said the shooter was Muslim.

The whole...if it WAS a muslim, this would be blown wide open in the media angle just screamed..."IT'S ALL ABOUT US!, (cuz we need to see the world as through the lense of victim even when we are NOT being accused!)

Sorry, but there were no Jewish forums ranting about how people were making false accusations toward their religion and the shooter.

This was purely a MUSLIM issue with this case, and in fact it had nothing to do with ISLAM or Muslims at all!

The fact that there was also the issue of not being allowed to pray for anyone but the fallen Muslim's just added more to the picture of "group separateness" which leads to the very prejudice Muslim's claim they are victims of when in fact their own world view perpetuates it.

Whether I post in responce to Jewish outrage equivalent to the Muslim "victimization" perspective (didn't actually see that anywhere, sorry) is beside the point. Deferring from the way the Muslim community wanted to make this yet another defacto case about THEM when it had NOTHING to do with them by pointing the finger in another direction is not going to make one lick of difference.