I missed a big development in the death of Shaima Alawadi. (Thanks to George for ” title=”one detail of the crime scene” target=”_blank”> one detail of the crime scene garnered international attention and sent a shockwave through Muslim immigrant communities:
The note found next to her body reportedly said: “Go back to your own country. You’re a terrorist.”
But as the police conducted their investigation, new details emerged, as this piece from ” title=”KGTV further reported” target=”_blank”>KGTV further reported that while Fatima was being interviewed by investigators, she received a text message that read, “The detective will find out tell them cnt (can’t) talk.”
It’s now a lot less clear whether police are investigating a hate crime or a collapsing family. (“Collapsing” doesn’t seem to do it justice but I can’t think of anything extreme enough to convey family dynamics that could be so broken as to motivate matricide.) The latter, like the ” title=”Time” target=”_blank”>Time:
If female freedom turns out to be at the heart of the murder, it will highlight not so much the intolerance of Muslim immigrants by Americans, but the cultural restrictions on women in those communities and what happens when those restrictions clash with the relatively permissive rules of Western society.
That remains to be seen.
As for Fatima and Alawadi’s husband: They were last in Iraq, where they traveled for her burial.
