Why? That is the question 40-year Bloomington resident and practicing Muslim Rachid Maïdi asked frequently in response to the lack of publicity about the execution-style triple homicide that occurred Feb. 24 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, against two Muslim men and one Christian.
In response to recent attacks, Maïdi said he is mostly upset about the media’s coverage of these events.
“They didn’t make a big deal about it,” he said. “I watch the news all the time, but a triple homicide and that quiet about it, what’s that mean? I don’t know if that’s the fueling from Donald Trump, or people are so basically upset about the Muslims, which is wrong because Islam has nothing to do with it.”
The Fort Wayne Police Department has concluded this was not a hate crime, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported. The Fort Wayne Police Department did not respond to interview requests from the Indiana Daily Student by press time.
Maïdi lived in Strasbourg, France, and Normandy, France, before coming to Bloomington 40 years ago.
He now belongs to the Islamic Center of Bloomington.
Maïdi condemns all murders and believes what the Islamic State group is doing is completely wrong and does not fall in line with Islamic teachings, he said.
“Not because of ISIS, what they did, or other lunatic Muslims, can you go ahead and judge me — the one who cannot even kill a roach,” Maïdi said. “It is really wrong. The Muslims never say the Christians are bombing us. What you hear is that the Americans, the French, the Germans, but one comes to the Muslim world, and they name us by religion.”
IU students are having a vigil Friday for the three victims of the Fort Wayne murders.
“We all are touched by that event,” Maïdi said. “We all are hurt. We all feel as though the media is not doing their job, and we feel discriminated against.”
Maïdi stressed Islam is not about killing.
“God said in the Quran: ‘Whoever kills an innocent soul has killed the whole humanity, and whoever saves a soul saves all of humanity,’” Maïdi said.
Suicide is unacceptable in Islam, Maïdi said. Those that strap bombs to themselves to kill innocents commit double the crime, he said.
“You have to teach them, not by yelling at them, not by hitting them,” Maïdi said. “You have to teach them by the way they know how to understand it. You’ve got to tell them things that make them think.”
Bloomington is one of the best towns in the United States, Maïdi said. He said it is peaceful, cosmopolitan and tolerant and praised its diversity. However, Maïdi has experienced some discrimination — he said on one occasion during the Gulf War, a man hurled a racial slur at him.
Muslims are now vulnerable from the rhetoric and what is happening in the Middle East, Maïdi said.
He said he is puzzled by the media’s lack of attention to the issue and for the first time he would like to ask them why.
“I’m not the person who gets scared, but others are. Here you may not be concerned, an American living among Americans, but how about if you were living somewhere else, and there was some anti-American sentiment?” Maïdi said. “Americans would get worried — same thing with people here.”
Maïdi said he behaved as a good Muslim in Bloomington for 40 years and has contributed much to the city.
He ran for the Mayor’s office in 1999 as an independent but lost to John Fernandez.
Maïdi is worried about being treated differently by others.
He said there have been many Muslims who have contributed greatly to the nation.
“Do I deserve to be looked at by others as a Muslim that needs to be kicked around?” Maïdi said. “I am like everybody — it’s just my religion. What makes me different than others?”
