Cairo - Al-Azhar strongly condemned the killing and kidnapping of an Egyptian Muslim girl, who was with her friends walking back from a restaurant, in a racist crime in Virginia. In regards to this incident, Al-Azhar warned of the increasing phenomenon of Islamophobia that threatens the lives of Muslims in Western countries. Al-Azhar offers condolences to the family of the victim. He called for decisive action against crimes of hatred, violence, fanaticism, and extremism in order to limit this phenomenon to ensure peace and security of all citizens regardless of their nationality and creed. On the same context, foreign ministry is following up the kidnapping and killing of the Egyptian girls in the United States, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said on Tuesday. The murderer grabbed the teenager, identified as Nabra Hassanen, and hit her with a baseball bat, Zeid said, pointing out that the guy took her in his car to a second location nearby. He noted that the suspect was arrested, charged with her murder and is being investigated. The Egyptian Embassy in Washington immediately contacted the victim's family and the police to follow up the incident, the spokesman noted. The spokesman expressed condolences to the family of the victim.
