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Update March 25, 2012: Outrage over Alawadi's brutal murder has spread around the world. Now a Facebook page called One Million Hijabs for Shaima Alawadi has been launched, featuring a photo of college students wearing hijabs in a show of solidarity with the El Cajon murder victim:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Million-Hijabs-for-Shaima-Alawadi/137306256397032
March 24, 2012 (El Cajon ) – Shaima Alawadi, 32, mother of five children, has died of injuries sustained Wednesday when she was found savagely beaten in her home.
ECM news partner 10 News confirms that Alawadi was taken off life support this afternoon. The death is being investigated as a murder--and a family member believes the killing was a hate crime.
Her daughter, 17-year-old Fatima Al Himidi, found her mother mortally injured in the dining room of their home. She told 10 news she believes her mother was the victim of a hate crime. A note left next to Alawadi’s body said that “This is our country not yours you terrorist,” she told 10 News. A similar note was found at the home a few days earlier, but family members dismissed it as a prank. Another neighbor has said that the note warned Al Awadi to “go back to Iraq,” her homeland.
According to police, Alawadi was found unconscious on March 21 in the family’s home at 565 Skyview Drive in El Cajon. Police confirmed that a threatening note was found near the body, but did not confirm the content.
She has been described as a “respectful modest muhajiba” who wore a hajib, or headscarf traditionally worn by Muslim women.
KUSI news has reported that a tire iron was used to assault the victim. News reports have shown glass shattered in a sliding door at the home.
Nothing was stolen from the home, according to Himidi, who believes the only motive was hate.
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