Another American Hate Crime

An Iraqi woman who was found severely beaten at her San Diego home next to a note saying "go back to your country" has died.

Shaima Alawadi, 32, a mother of five, was found unconscious by her 17-year-old daughter on Wednesday, police said.

The daughter, Fatima al-Himidi, told local TV that her mother had been beaten on the head repeatedly and that the note said: "Go back to your country, you terrorist."

Fatima al-Himidi's grief-stricken daughter

Hanif Mohebi, director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he met Alawadi's family members on Saturday morning and was told later she had been taken off life support.

"The family is in shock at the moment. They're still trying to deal with what happened," Mohebi said.


Police said the family had found a similar note earlier this month but had not reported it to authorities. Himidi said her mother had dismissed the first note as a child's prank.

A family friend, Sura Alzaidy, told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the attack apparently occurred after the father took the younger children to school. Alzaidy said the family is from Iraq and Alawadi was a "respectful modest muhajiba", meaning she wore the hijab.

Read it all here.


Related reading:  Hate Crimes Against Religious Groups