Mourning The Arab Victims Of The Paris Attacks

"We are all in the same boat," a victim's brother said.

Nineteen countries lost nationals in the deadly attacks that rocked Paris last Friday. At least five out of the 129 victims came from Arab countries.

In the wake of the tragedy, people of all faiths and ethnicities banded together to urge others to stop making generalizations about Arabs and Muslims, and to distance these communities from the Islamic State group that claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Thousands of people on Twitter used the #MuslimsAreNotTerrorist hashtag to highlight the peaceful nature of Islam. Over the weekend, French citizens organized interfaith rallies across the country to support the Muslim community and in the U.S. a Muslim imam, Jewish rabbi and Christian pastor in Maryland held a joint service as a symbol of unity.

Muslims from Spain gather to condemn Friday terror attacks in Paris by lighting candles at Placa Sant Jaume in Barcelona.
Muslims from Spain gather to condemn Friday terror attacks in Paris by lighting candles at Placa Sant Jaume in Barcelona.
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Here's what we know about the Arab victims of the Paris attacks:

MOHAMED AMINE IBNOLMOBARAK, FROM MOROCCO

Ibnolmobarak, 29, was an architect and teacher at the ENSA Paris-Malaquais Architecture School, The Moroccan Times reported Sunday. He'd recently got married, and he and his wife, Maya, were dining at the Carillon cafe's terrace when the assaults took place, Ibnolmobarak's cousin, who is based in San Diego, wrote on Facebook. Maya took three bullets and is in critical condition, he added.

I just learned that one my cousins was a victim in the #Paris attack. A newly wed Mohamed Amine Benmbarek passed away...

Posted by Akram Benmbarek on Saturday, November 14, 2015

HALIMA AND HODDA SAADI, OF TUNISIAN DESCENT

The Saadi sisters, who were both in their 30s, were celebrating a birthday at the Belle Equipe restaurant on the Rue de Charonne, Le Parisien reported Sunday. Halima was killed on the scene after being shot, while Hodda died later from her injuries. Halima leaves behind two children, aged six and three, the outlet added.

Halima and Hodda's father, Khalifa, arrived in France from Tunisia in 1970, he told Le Parisien, and a neighbor told the outlet the family was "well integrated" into French society. Abdallah Saadi, one of Halima and Hodda's brothers, said he fought for France in Guyana. Another of their brothers, Khaled, was also at the restaurant but survived the shooting.

These Muslim men lost two sisters in the Paris attacks."We're all in the same boat," they said.

Posted by INSIDER on Monday, November 16, 2015

"The people that do this, they kill Muslims, they kill everyone," Abdallah said in a video Insider posted on Facebook Monday. "There were black people, Arab people, Jewish people, all of us were hit. We are all in the same boat."

"Reality check for all those people out there that blame all Muslims for the atrocity on Friday," a Facebook user wrote in a comment to the video that got over 200 likes.

KHEIREDDINE SAHBI, FROM ALGERIA

Sahbi, 29, was pursuing a master's degree in ethnomusicology at the Paris-Sorbonne University when he was killed while walking home in Paris' 10th arrondissement, per a message from the Paris-Sorbonne's president. His friends called him "Didine." He was a professional violinist as well as a composer, arranger and banjo player, and had been living in Paris since 2014, according to French music site Actualités Musicales.

An Algerian woman, who was 40 and hasn't been named, also died in the attacks, the Algerian Embassy's Emergency Committee said Friday.

SALAH EMAD EL-GEBALY

El-Gebaly, 28, a tile layer from Egypt, died at the Bataclan, the Egyptian consulate in Paris confirmed. El-Gebaly moved to France in 2007 and lived with his cousin Mohammed in Val-de-Marne, a department to Paris' southeast, Le Monde reported Nov. 28.

"He was a happy man, a bon vivant, who loved eating," his friend Tarek told Le Monde. "He never took drugs or drank alcohol. He was a devout Muslim, who practiced Islam the normal way, not like those who carried out the attacks."

El-Gebaly leaves behind a wife, Roufaida, who lives in Egypt. They were planning on starting a family.

This is a developing story and will be updated as we find out more.

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