San Diego, California – More than 2,000 people gathered in San Diego Thursday to mourn the security guard and two other men who were shot and killed during an attack on the city's largest mosque earlier this week.
Gathered in a San Diego park, thousands of men and women stood in rows for an Islamic funeral prayer, heads bowed in respect for those who died on Monday when two gunmen opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego.
A row of uniformed police officers participated in the Janazah and gave their respects as the bodies of Amin Abdullah (51), Mansour Kaziha (78), and Nadir Awad (57) lay beneath cloths and rugs, protected by a white canopy.
The men were honored as heroes who had delayed the attackers and prevented further killings, especially at a time when the mosque's school was filled with children.
Monday's attack is being investigated as a suspected hate crime by the FBI, and has spread fear of further Islamophobic attacks across the US' Muslim community.
"Today is a message to everyone. Our community got hurt, but our community is standing strong and firm," said Taha Hassane, the Islamic Center of San Diego's imam.
Ruba Abu Jamah, a mourner who knew all three men, condemned the Islamophobia she believes contributed to the attacks.
"For God's sake, why are we going backwards? Hate takes us backwards," she was cited as saying by Reuters. "Moms, don't have a whole display of weapons if you know your 16-year-old kid is depressed."
"The fact that he was on the frontline, trying to defend kids and innocent people, that makes me feel good," 24-year-old Khaled Abdullah, the son of the security guard killed in the attack, said of his father. "Calling him a hero is the least we can do."