Richard Antoun, 77, professor of Middle East studies at Binghamton University and author of several books on Islam, geopolitical and religious issues was stabbed to death

Muslim student murders Binghamton, NY professor of M.E. Studies

By Doug Hagmann Monday, December 7, 2009

Richard Antoun, 77, professor of Middle East studies at Binghamton University and author of several books on Islam, geopolitical and religious issues was stabbed to death at approximately 1:41 pm on Friday, 4 December 2009 by an Islamic assailant. The suspect has been identified as 46 year-old Binghamton University graduate student Abdulsalam Al-Zahrani, a Saudi national.

According to a combination of witness accounts and reports from law enforcement sources, Al-Zahrani entered the professor’s office in the science building where Antoun was working and used a kitchen knife with a six-inch blade to stab the victim at least four times.

Antoun was taken to Wilson Regional Medical Center in Johnson City, NY, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

According to a combination of sources at the scene, Binhamton University Police confronted Al-Zahrani immediately after the attack, subdued and arrested him. He was charged with one count of second degree murder by police. Al-Zahrani was arraigned Saturday before Justice Joseph Meagher in Town of Vestal court and remanded to the Broome County Jail without bail.

Investigation found that Al-Zahrani, a resident of Binghamton, NY, is a cultural anthropology graduate student who is working on his doctoral thesis titled, “Sacred Voice, Profane Sight: The Senses, Cosmology, and Epistemology in Early Arabic Culture.â€