The following is an excerpt from a story in the Wichita Eagle on the June 5 candlelight vigil for WSU student Abduljaleel Alarbash. (Subscription may be required to view full story.)
At Abduljaleel Alarbash’s candlelight vigil Friday afternoon at Wichita State University, few tears were shed.
From the way he was eulogized by friends and family, that’s the way Alarbash would have wanted it.
“We believe that being a martyr is the most honorable way to die – that is why no one of us is crying right now. We believe that Abduljaleel is happy,” a cousin of his said in his remarks.
“Oftentimes my father tells me … give people their flowers while they are living,” WSU student body president Joseph Shepard said. “I hope that before today we had the opportunity to do that.
“Those who knew Jaleel knew him as a hero, as a brave, strong person who always kept a smile on his face, and although he is no longer here, we can still give Jaleel his flowers. We can still recognize him for the work that he has done.”