Who is Furkan Dogan you may ask?
He was the lone US citizen of the nine activists killed by the Israelis during the Flotilla Massacre. I was horrified to read about his execution-style killing and the even more horrifying, but not surprising, silence by the US on one of its citizens being murdered abroad.
What does this 19-yr old martyr have to do with me?
Well, besides his obviously extraordinary act of courage and sacrifice, I didn’t give any extra thought to him over the others who died at the hands of the IDF.
But when I read that he was born in a small town located in upstate New York named Troy, I immediately sat up.
You see, Troy, NY is known for nothing - absolutely nothing. The weather is dreary, the social life is non-existent, and the locals are aloof. Those living in this ex-industrial town are infamously known as Troilets.
The only thing of real value located in Troy is my Alma mater, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Yes, that makes me the only human being in the world who has the ignominy of being both a Troilet as well as a Baltimoron (being from Baltimore). Yay for me!
Anyways, so when I read that he was born in Troy 19 years ago, the story became a bit more personal. I was there in Troy from 1990 to 1994, the exact time of his birth.
And since I know that the only Turkish residents of Troy are RPI postgrads, I immediately started racking my brain for any Turkish brother with the last name Dogan, in the off chance that I actually may have known Furkan’s father. Seeing that it was almost 20 years ago, many names and faces have begun to blur, so I wasn't having much luck there.
And then when I finally found a picture of the good brother whose son was killed in the Flotilla Massacre, my heart dropped.
His name is Ahmet Dogan and I knew him from the local masjid at RPI. While he was pursuing his PhD, I was an undergrad youngling. I remember him for two things, his extremely quiet demeanor and his sweet jump shot. Our paths regularly crossed in many places during my four years there – at the masjid, at social gatherings, at Juma’a, on campus.
And it is not beyond the realm of possibility that I actually held little Furkan in my arms, during one of the countless encounters with dear Ahmet.
And for the mere possibility of having met modern-day martyr Furkan Dogan, I am humbled and honored.
Just don’t call it genocide
1 week ago
6 comments:
Wow, six degrees of seperation or something like that. Amazing how small the world really is. May Furkan Dogan and others like him attain Jannatul-Firdose, InshaAllah Ameen.
Ameen to your du'a Azra. Thanks for sharing this touching story Brother Naeem. When justice eludes victims in this world it will definitely be given out in the Hereafter by the One Most Just.
Alhumdulillah.
It's a small world.
-Faique
Mashallah...i am really moved by this story.
To think that a mere 19 yr old was so courageous, makes me ashamed thinking about myself.
On the other hand, after all the news i heard about the attack on the flottilla, never heard a mention of this name...makes me wonder...does America have no value for the life of its citizens??
Salam Alaikum,
My name is Hassan and Allah sent to us new baby boy this week. my wife and me we are proud to give him the name of Furkan, a symbol of continuation of what young Furkan Dogan died for. I would like to have his father email address just to tell him that his son never died
So you live in Saudi Arabia, an Islamist theocracy where non-Muslims cannot worship publicly and women are third class citizens. Yes, tell me more about peace and justice and other things you are not capable of even understanding, let alone practising. It's sad that this 19 year old was killed, but the violent attacks on Israeli soldiers by his compatriots and their intention to provide support for Hamas is to blame.
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