Mr. Syed was clearly offended, Mr. Hadi mentioned, and got here to the shop in individual to threaten the household on three separate events. Mr. Syed would name the brothers “kafir.” The phrase, supposed to be derogatory, refers to nonbelievers who perceive faith however choose to cover from it. Popularized in Saudi Arabia to denigrate Shiite Muslims, the time period was later adopted by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
“Once we’d inform him to go away, he’d simply go to his automotive and sit within the parking zone ready for us for hours,” Mr. Hadi mentioned. “We known as the police however they by no means confirmed up.”
The police mentioned they’d no report of any such requires help. However in February 2020, surveillance photos from the Islamic Heart of New Mexico confirmed Mr. Syed slashing the tires of the automotive Mr. Hadi’s spouse had parked exterior the mosque there. Leaders of the mosque informed Mr. Syed to remain away, and he did so for months.
Mr. Syed now stands accused of homicide within the killings of Aftab Hussein and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, and the police mentioned they have been nonetheless compiling their circumstances on the opposite two killings. Leaders of the Afghan neighborhood have mentioned they’re relieved {that a} suspect has been recognized, however some have been reluctant to ascribe the killings to sectarian violence; the explanations for homicide, they discovered after many years of battle, are sometimes too sophisticated to suit easy labels.
Salim Anseri, a pacesetter of the town’s Afghan neighborhood who knew Mr. Syed in addition to all of the victims, is a type of who shouldn’t be able to make a judgment. “Perhaps he’s mentally sick, or had private points with the victims,” he mentioned of Mr. Syed. “From what I can inform, it was private points.”
For Mr. Hadi, such distinctions matter little. Between suits of tears, he mentioned he nonetheless had bother going again to the spot the place his brother’s life ended so abruptly.
“I nonetheless see him day-after-day after I come to work,” Mr. Hadi mentioned. “However he’s lifeless. Nothing goes to convey him again.”
Susan C. Beachy and Kitty Bennett contributed analysis.
