The funeral for the Yemeni toddler whose mother had to sue the Trump administration in order to visit him in a California hospital was on Saturday.
Two-year-old Abdullah Hassan’s funeral and burial occurred in Lodi, a day after he died at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland.
His father, U.S. citizen Ali Hassan, and members from the Islamic community prayed at the funeral and listened to remarks from imam Muhammad Younus.
Younus is the imam of the California Islamic Center in Lodi, CBS San Francisco reports.
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Two-year-old Abdullah Hassan’s funeral and burial occurred in Lodi on Saturday, a day after he died at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland
His father, U.S. citizen Ali Hassan, and members from the Islamic community prayed at the funeral and listened to remarks from Muhammad Younus
Little Abdullah’s casket was covered in a white and green cloth.
Muslim tradition calls for a body to be buried within 72 hours of death.
Hassan and members of the Islamic community prayed at the funeral for Abdullah and listened to remarks from Muhammad Younus, imam of the California Islamic Center in Lodi.
Younus is the imam of the California Islamic Center in Lodi
Little Abdullah’s casket was covered in a white and green cloth
Abdullah Hassan died in UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, where his father Ali Hassan brought him in the fall to get treatment for a genetic brain disorder.
Shaima Swileh is not an American citizen and remained in Egypt while fighting for a visa, finally able to fly to San Francisco on December 19.
‘We are heartbroken. We had to say goodbye to our baby, the light of our lives,’ Ali Hassan was quoted as saying in the statement published Friday by the council.
Abdullah Hassan died in UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, where his father Ali Hassan brought him in the fall to get treatment for a genetic brain disorder
Shaima Swileh is not an American citizen and remained in Egypt while fighting for a visa, finally able to fly to San Francisco on December 19
Hassan is a U.S. citizen who lives in Stockton, California. Hassan and his wife moved to Egypt after marrying in war-torn Yemen in 2016.
Swileh had been trying to get a visa since 2017, so the family could move to the United States.
When the boy’s health worsened, Hassan went ahead to California in October to get their son help, and Swileh remained in Egypt hoping for a visa
Citizens from Yemen and four other mostly Muslim countries, along with North Korea and Venezuela, are restricted from coming to the United States under President Donald Trump’ s travel ban.
When the boy’s health worsened, Hassan went ahead to California in October to get their son help, and Swileh remained in Egypt hoping for a visa. As the couple fought for a waiver, doctors put Abdullah on life support.
‘My wife is calling me every day wanting to kiss and hold her son for the one last time,’ Hassan said, choking up at a news conference earlier this month.
He started losing hope and was considering pulling his son off life support to end his suffering. But then a hospital social worker reached out to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which sued on Dec. 16, said Basim Elkarra, executive director of the group in Sacramento.
The State Department granted Swileh a waiver the next day.
‘With their courage, this family has inspired our nation to confront the realities of Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban,’ said Saad Sweilem, a lawyer with the council who represents the family. ‘In his short life, Abdullah has been a guiding light for all of us in the fight against xenophobia and family separation.’
Swileh held her son for the first time in the hospital on Dec. 19.
As the couple fought for a waiver, doctors put Abdullah on life support