Community Update on Hanaan Shahin, Wadea's Mother
(CHICAGO, IL, 10/19/2023) - The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today is sharing this update with the community regarding Hanaan Shahin, the mother of Wadea ElFayoume.
CAIR-Chicago Executive Director, Ahmed Rehab, who met with Hanaan Shahin yesterday for a couple of hours, shared the following reflection:
This was the first time I met with Hanaan Shahin. I was accompanied by a case manager from a trusted partner organization, who was the first to meet with Hanaan when she was released from the hospital.
The goal of the meeting was to assess her health and needs and to connect her with the necessary resources, services, and legal assistance, as well as to apprise her of what was happening while she was in the hospital and to convey our community's and the public's support.
I was able to get a deeper understanding of what happened that day, as well as answer some of her questions. But what I will focus on in this short reflection is an update on Hanaan herself.
First, as far as her health, she is recuperating. Her injuries are healing. She is fully functional but tired. She said that her doctors were stunned by the speed of her recovery despite the brutality of the attack and that she credits that to "God hearing the prayers of people out there."
(NOTE: Hanaan is not ready to meet people, or do any media, and wishes to focus on her physical and mental recuperation, which I promised to convey. We ask that her privacy be respected)
I was astonished by her mental strength and composure. A caregiver to seniors by profession, she exudes a giving personality and a calm demeanor. In the hospital while delirious, she was asking doctors to check on the elderly landlord's wife.
Despite the painful loss and the trauma she experienced that morning, her spirit is strong and she is finding peace and answers in her faith in God. She said that she accepts that God chose them for this test - and that she finds solace in "remembering Wadea as an angel on earth, and knowing that he is now an angel in heaven."
She said that she harbors no hatred, but believes in the pursuit of justice.
She thanked her doctors, social workers, Will Country Sherriff's office, and the doctors and nurses at St. Joseph's Hospital for their care and professionalism, a sentiment I wish to echo on behalf of CAIR-Chicago and the Muslim community. They have all been exceptional in taking care of Hanaan and managing the situation. Hanaan also thanks the Muslim community, the media, and the general public for their care and support.
I asked her if she had a direct public statement she would like me to convey, and she only had this to say, with sad eyes that betrayed that polite, weary smile that hardly parted her stitched face:
"Just.. Pray for Peace."
We spent most of our time together listening to her recounting stories of how smart and funny her boy was, and how he cared for the planet and always liked to join her in prayer.
"He was my best friend.
END
CONTACT: Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago, arehab@cair.com; Erin P.R. Davis, MCM, Communications Coordinator of CAIR-Chicago, 773-802-8786, epdavis@cair.com
