BATON ROUGE, La. — Kareem Badawi, a University of Alabama student killed in a terrorist attack in New Orleans, was buried Friday. His father recalled how excited his son was to celebrate New Year's Eve with his friends in the Big Easy.
Hundreds of mourners, including several of Badawi's classmates and fraternity brothers, attended the burial ceremony at Maqbara, near the 18-year-old's Baton Rouge home.
After the solemn prayer, Kareem's father, Belal Badawi, paused to speak to the Post about the senseless death of his beloved son.
On New Year's Day. Obtained from NY Post
His heartbroken father said his son traveled to New Orleans, more than an hour away, to ring in the New Year with 15 friends from the city, a city known for its nightlife.
“He thought it was a big city and there would be parties in New Orleans…He thought it was a good idea and he thought there would be bigger parties than in Baton Rouge. '' Belal recalls.
“The next day was the Sugar Bowl and he loves sports so he thought New Orleans would be the perfect place for New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve wasn't what he expected or planned and unfortunately he was killed. I did.”
The father also revealed the heartbreaking last text message he exchanged with Kareem.
“He sent me a message from New Orleans in the middle of the night wishing me a Happy New Year,” Beral told the Post.
“I texted him, 'Happy New Year, Dad,' and that was the last message between me and him. Three hours later, he was apparently killed.”
Imam Emad Nofal, chairman of the Islamic Center Baton Rogue, addressed the congregation and condemned the terrorist attack carried out by Shamsud Din Jabar, in which 13 others were killed.
“We are people of peace. We don’t care who did this. He is a terrorist, someone who does not belong to Islam and does not understand Islam. There is no relationship,” Emad Nofal said.
“As you can see, we are the victims here,” he reflected.
Beral didn't learn about the Bourbon Street attack until she turned on the news the morning after wishing her son a New Year's greeting.
Concerned about Kareem, his parents tracked his cell phone and located it at Canal and Bourbon Streets.
They then received information from five of Kareem's friends who were staying at an apartment near Bourbon Street.
“Around 2 a.m., after midnight, they all went home. At about 2:45 a.m., Kareem and Parker decided to go out one more time. The other three decided to stay.” Beral told the Post.
Parker was also injured during the rampage and is currently hospitalized.
“Actually, when I heard that Kareem had passed away, I heard that he freaked out and went so crazy that some of his sutures came out,” Belal said.
Belal lamented that her son, who “just loved life” and “touched so many people's lives,” was killed in a callous act carried out in the name of religion.
Kareem attended the University of Alabama on an engineering scholarship and was a member of the fraternity Sigma Chi.
His funeral in Baton Rouge was attended by some of his classmates and fraternity brothers.
“They came all the way from Alabama today just to say goodbye, and that just speaks to how nice he was and how wonderful he was. As a family, we're going to miss him so much,” Beral said. Ta.
“He spent his whole life loving people and socializing with his friends. He's a wonderful boy,” his grieving father said.
“Killing innocent people doesn't solve anything. What message do you send? Those innocent people aren't hurting anyone. They go to parties and celebrate the new year. He went there and he came and killed everyone,” he said of the terrorist.
Friends of the family told the Post they are still in shock and struggling to make sense of the tragic events.
“This is such a tragedy,” said Belal's close friend Kamal Alabasha, 62.
“This child has been kidnapped by evil. He claims to be human, but he is not human,” he said, referring to terrorists.
