Beaten Muslim Teen’s Suit Claims Civil Rights Violated

Days after his jaw was unwired, an Arab American teenager spoke out against the youths who allegedly attacked him with baseball bats, golf clubs and screwdrivers at an Orange County park two months ago, demanding justice for what he believes was an ethnically motivated attack.

Rashid Alam, an 18-year-old Muslim of Lebanese descent, filed a civil lawsuit against four youths and their parents Wednesday. He described it as a statement against hate crimes, and a way to encourage prosecutors to file criminal charges against his alleged attackers.

Alam said he has faith that his lawsuit and American courts, rather than his fists, are better weapons against the violence and racism he says have forever changed his life by leaving him paranoid, unable to sleep and with permanent metal plates in his face.

“I would just like justice, and for them to get what they deserve,” Alam said during a news conference at the Anaheim office of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

“What they did is wrong,” he said. “I am a human being. Just because I’m Arabian or a Muslim doesn’t mean I’m bad or evil. And I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”

Rashid’s father, Ahmed, owns an Arabic- and English-language newspaper in Anaheim. At the outset, Rashid said, police were keeping the investigation quiet and were moving too slowly. He hired attorney Federico Castelan Sayre and threatened a lawsuit in March.

Alam’s brother Mohamed also is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, which was filed in Orange County Superior Court and seeks compensatory and punitive damages for battery, assault and civil rights violations. Four minors are named as defendants along with dozens of unnamed youths, as well as their parents.

The case dates to the early hours of Feb. 23, when Alam and some friends went to a Yorba Linda park to meet another friend before going bowling. A short time later, a group of teens showed up, some of them stripping off their shirts and yelling “White power!” Some carried baseball bats, golf clubs and bottles, police said.

Two juveniles were arrested on misdemeanor assault charges three days after the attack. And Brea police, who have jurisdiction over Yorba Linda, have since identified several other suspects. Sgt. Jack Conklin declined to disclose Wednesday how many there are now.

Brea police finished their investigation last week, once Alam was able to talk to them, and turned their findings over to the Orange County district attorney’s office.