Shooting victim hoped for tolerance — we should, too

On Wednesday, an angry gunman shattered a cloudless day on the campus of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill by taking the lives of three young Muslim-American students.

The names of these students need to be remembered: Yusor Abu-Salha, Razan Abu-Salha and Deah Barakat.

The victims were not in a high-crime neighborhood, nor involved in any threatening activities. Though the shooting occurred on a quaint college campus — a place that is supposed to be a safe and nurturing space — it could have happened anywhere.

Few tragedies are truly isolated. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. forever linked the evils of racism, materialism and militarism into a common human pathology. Violence breeds violence, and cultures of hate create environments that reproduce hate. Although the victims in this case were Muslim Arab-Americans, we know far too well that such acts of terrorism directed at other minority groups, such as African Americans or Latino Americans, have become an appalling reoccurrence in our society.

Though all of the facts are not known, it is hard to believe that the execution-style killing in Chapel Hill erupted from a mere parking dispute. But the killer is not the only guilty one here. For more than a decade, we, as a community, have stoked the flames of fear and distrust of the Arab-American and Muslim-American communities. The most recent catalysts include the xenophobia that has surrounded the tragic Charile Hebdo attack in Paris, the vilification of Islam that the movie "American Sniper" seems to have engendered and wrongly associating Muslims with ISIS criminals.

Muslims and Arabs are often described and depicted as the "other." This otherworldly ethos has contributed and continues to contribute to the dehumanization of Muslim and Arab Americans and endorses acts of discrimination against them. Amidst the uncertainty of modern times, where economic instability, rapidly evolving world events and simmering racial tensions around the country exist, painting vulnerable groups as "different" highlights exclusion.

Which actual variant of pathology motivated the murder remains to be seen, but the fact that the three victims in this case had a particular physical appearance and were likely viewed by the murderer as "outsiders" cannot be ignored. The sobering fact is that the current climate in this country has left many Muslim Americans, and other groups who look like Muslims, such as non-Muslim Arabs or south Asian Sikhs, feeling vulnerable in their own country. Why? Because their fellow citizens are hostile to them, uncomfortable around them and apathetic toward their struggles.

At UNC, security will likely increase, and many other safety precautions will likely be adopted on campuses all over the country. For some students, faculty and staff, the daily walks to and from campus will forever be marred by some element of fear.

As we reel from this disaster, we hope all Americans use this horrific tragedy to take meaningful action.

Only when barriers are lifted and open discourse is practiced can people find common ground. And it is this common understanding that helps build relationships based on mutual respect rather than fear and suspicion.

The attitudes and actions of each of us matter. Individually, we either contribute to a climate of fear and violence or we contribute to a climate of love and inclusion. Collectively, we can express our true values in new legislation against ethnic intimidation, hate crimes and racial violence. Deah Barakat understood the value of mutual respect. He tweeted less than two weeks before his murder, "It's so freaking sad to hear people saying we should 'kill Jews' or 'Kill Palestinians.' As if that's going to solve anything SMH."

We must start seeing people as individuals. We must remember Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha. We share their dreams for their futures and their families. It is the American dream.

Fatina Abdrabboh is the director of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee. Peter Hammer is the director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at the Wayne State University Law School.