The Right Blames Muslims Even When the Hero Is a Muslim Immigrant Cop
Why it matters that Didarul Islam, the NYPD police officer killed in a mass shooting Monday, was a Bangladeshi Muslim immigrant.
For hateful bigots and Islamophobes like Laura Loomer and Charlie Kirk, a heroic death isn’t enough to humanize the country’s 4 million Muslim Americans.
NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, a 36-year-old Muslim Bangladeshi immigrant and father of two young sons, was one of the four people killed by Shane Tamura, a US citizen, according to authorities. Tamura, who left behind a note alleging he suffered from a degenerative brain disease known as CTE, walked into a midtown Manhattan building on Monday evening with an AR-15-style weapon and opened fire. Islam was off duty but in uniform and working security for the building.
Officer Islam was the first to die.
He leaves behind his pregnant wife and his two parents, who lived with him and his growing family. His father reportedly had a stroke upon hearing the news. His only son was yet another victim of a mass shooting in a country with more guns than people. A three-and-a-half-year veteran of the police force, Islam was described by neighbors as a pillar of the Bangladeshi Muslim community. A close family friend, Marjanul Karim, recounted to the New York Times that his mother told Islam, “You left a safe job working for a school in security, and being a cop is dangerous. Why did you do that?” According to Karim, Islam said that “he wanted to leave behind a legacy for his family, something they could be proud of.”
That legacy is of a hero who died serving his community, according to fellow police officers and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who praised Islam.
However, such grace could not be expected from Laura Loomer, who took to social media during news of the shooting and falsely blamed immigrants and Muslims.