Murder of the Faruqis
| Murder of the Faruqis | |
|---|---|
Shared grave of the Faruqis | |
Location of the murders | |
| Location | Wyncote, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Coordinates | 40°05′15″N 75°08′40″W / 40.0876364°N 75.1443599°W |
| Date | May 27, 1986 Around 2:00 AM (EST) |
Attack type | Double homicide |
| Weapons | Survival knife |
| Injured | 1 (Anmar el-Zein) |
| Victims | Ismail al-Faruqi (aged 65) Lois Lamya al-Faruqi (aged 59) |
| Perpetrators | Joseph Louis Young (Yusuf Ali) |
| Motive | Potential political motivations, personal vendetta, or robbery gone wrong |
| Verdict | Guilty |
| Convictions | Joseph Louis Young sentenced to death (died in prison of natural causes before execution) |
| Charges | Murder |
The murder of the Faruqis occurred on May 27, 1986, at their home in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, United States. Isma'il Raji al-Faruqi, a prominent Islamic scholar, and his wife, Lois Lamya al-Faruqi (née Lois Rachel Ibsen), a respected art historian known for her contributions to ethnomusicology, were both killed in a brutal attack that drew significant attention due to their academic standing and the nature of the crime. Their daughter, Anmar el-Zein, who was eight months pregnant at the time, survived multiple stab wounds and managed to alert authorities despite severe injuries requiring 200 stitches. She described the assailant as a stocky man wearing a black scarf tied in a "cowboy-robber" style.
Due to al-Faruqi's prominence, the Cheltenham Township Police Department investigated the case with assistance from the FBI. The incident sparked discussions about potential motives, which ranged from political retaliation due to al-Faruqi's outspoken views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to personal vendettas.