Muslim, Arab Groups Condemn Fort Hood Shooting, Brace For Backlash

Arab and Muslim political groups are bracing themselves for a wave of anger and attacks after news broke on Thursday that the primary suspect behind the shooting deaths of twelve soldiers at Fort Hood had a Arabic and/or Muslim-sounding name.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a native of Virginia, is believed to have been responsible for opening fire on his fellow soldiers at the U.S. Army base.

It was not immediately clear whether Nidal Malik Hasan was, in fact, a Muslim, though reports surfaced that he had converted to the religion late in life. Late on Thursday a family member revealed that he had been a life-long Muslim.

By then, nevertheless, Arab-American and Muslim-American advocacy organizations were already readying themselves for a backlash. The Arab-American Institute said it received one threatening call from an unidentified male shortly after reports surfaced that the name of the alleged shooting suspect was Nidal Malik Hasan. The group, which condemned the massacre, said it was expecting more.

"We like to give people the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to being a reactionary thing," said Leigh O'Neill, director of government relations for the organization. "But there is a lot of hate out there and hate is hate. It is bipartisan and doesn't have geographic balance. We feel terrible for the victims today. And I wish people will understand when crime is crime and terrorism is terrorism."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil liberties organization for American Muslims, was, meanwhile, working fast to get ahead of a potential rise in anti-Muslim sentiment. The group was set to host a press conference at 8 p.m. on Thursday evening to condemn the attacks and "urge calm" in the aftermath of the shooting.

Ibrahim Hooper, the group's communications director, told the Huffington Post that they had not, as of 6:30 p.m. received any threatening calls, emails or other communiqués. The organization, he said, would be announcing publicly any such threats as they occurred - in hopes of dissuading people from making them in the first place.

At this juncture, it was believed that Nidal Malik Hasan was suffering from intense stress over a pending re-deployment overseas. He had been serving, ironically, in the Department of Psychology at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Bethesda Naval Facility in Bethesda, Maryland. He is believed to be 39 or 40 years old.

Comments

[Bardmess]

11:12 AM on 11/07/2009

The commander-in-Chief called it a "dumb war". How would you like to die, or kill, for a dumb war? Soldiers are very stressed by these two wars. Bring them home or put them to work building schools, hospitals and roads. We could use some of those at home too, not to mention the jobs. Who is crazy? We're all crazy to support this.

[Anonani]

03:22 PM on 11/07/2009

You really want to know why men and women serve in the uniform..what the true motivator is, read these words:

"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God." (Title 10, US Code; Act of 5 May 1960 replacing the wording first adopted in 1789, with amendment effective 5 October 1962).

Your questions and your objections to this war, and any war that our civilian leadership deems in the nations intrerests, are not those of the Soldiers, Sailors, Marine, or Airmen who serve the United States of America.

[Anonani]

08:57 PM on 11/06/2009

Absolutely nothing is "obvious" about the reason for this horrific tragedy. Many of us, like the family members who lost a loved one, are waiting to have the question, "why?" answered. It is too easy to say it is because of his religious beliefs, his ethnicity, or even his name because you fail to grasp the complexities of the human psyche. Why did Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols kill all of those people in the Murrah Building? Why wasn't their religion, race, name, ethnicity the primary focus of the nation? Why didn't we all go out and target folks that look just like them? Why didn't we write about and attack McViegh or Nichols religious beliefs, or lack thereof? Bigotry and racism will get in the way of finding out the truth for too many who are looking for any excuse to put their racism and bigotry out there for the public to see. After every tragedy, it becomes OK to spew out your ugly generalizations about anyone who does not look like you, believe what you believe, or who you believe don't belong in our country, a nation that is what it is because of immigrants of every race, creed, and color.

[k1dork]

01:19 PM on 11/07/2009

Please. It's not hat complicated for anyone with a smidget of common sense.

Hmm? Radical Muslims hate America. This guy made radical Islamic rants and thought the war in Iraq was a war against Islam. He praised suicide bombing.

Sorry, but it doesn't take a PHD in psychology to figure out why he did what he did.

[Anonani]

05:21 PM on 11/07/2009

And you had a conversation with him when? I am no apologist for this heinous and cowardly act...but it is getting very tiresome reading the opinions of the Monday morning quarterbacks who speak as though they know this guy personally and have irrefutable knowledge or facts about his motives. I just don't think that you do. Do you?

[AkhiBrass]

06:04 PM on 11/06/2009

It's funny that all these people are bringing up his faith and "possible" association with some extremist group as reasons for this tragedy yet no one has brought up the fact that he has for over 8 years been affiliated with possibly the most dangerous organization in the world, an organization that has wrought more death and destruction in the last 20 then any other organization on the face of the earth and how his refusal to serve this organization may have fueled this horrific killing spree.
Lets talk about that.

[rudiy]

01:48 PM on 11/06/2009

Too many people are trying to be politically correct. If this guy was a Christian who killed these people he would be called a mass murderer, but like this guy not technically a terrorist since his primary target was military.

If the killer was a Christian or Jewish zealot or killed because of his beliefs the news and people would not shy from the facts.

This guy was a Muslim and it is obvious that his religious belief was part of his reason. How much is to be determined. Why should the press or anyone be "politically correct" if this was driven by religion.

Unlike Christianity/Judiaism, Suicide killings have become a common religious teaching in Islam with little attempt to stop it.

[AkhiBrass]

05:55 PM on 11/06/2009

Yeah, but you have not idea what his motive was. Dude worked in Psychiatric around lots of being with mental health issues. We don't know what was going on in his head, but the news agencies are reporting on his faith like it is necessarily relevant when its not. We don't do the same when the suspect is Christian or Jewish even when they are very devout but do something crazy.
Fact is, for many individuals no matter their religion, faith plays an important part in their life but is not necessarily the cause of anything nutty they do.
So far, their is no indication of a political motive for this tragedy.
Remember, a similar incident happened earlier this year at a Military hospital
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/army_liberty_shooting_102009w/
and another happened last year I believe. This happens in areas of high stress. I would place what happened at Fort hood in line with other work place massacres and not as some sort of "terrorist" agenda.

[billhodges]

06:36 PM on 11/06/2009

Sorry but his motive seems to be more about his refusal to be sent to a Muslim country where Muslims were being killed by American forces. At least that is what we have been told was his reasoning for requesting he not be deployed.

Shouting God is Great in Arabic before killing non Muslims seems to be more in line with his belief the Islamic religion approved of his actions. Why do we keep giving the Muslims committing murder and plotting to destroy Americans and others around the world a pass. Are we afraid of offending them? If that is it then we have a real problem and will never face the issue and do what it takes to resolve it. Maybe the Muslims know our weakness in this area and feel they can move with impunity in our country because we are far to PC about them.

[RoadSkoller]

01:42 PM on 11/06/2009

Islam is a religion of peace and love.

[billhodges]

04:20 PM on 11/06/2009

Really, well please show me the peace and love side of it because it seems only the violent side keeps showing up around the world. Muslims come to America and demand we adapt to their way of life rather than adapting to ours. If you do not like the laws we have and the practices we have then please go else where. If you want to live here than that is wonderful but respect our laws and set yours aside.

We do not preach death to other religions, we do not accept honor killings, and we are tolerant of all religions. Please be that way and there would be no issues between the Muslims and the rest of the country. Learn to accept the Jewish religion as you expect us to accept yours.

Please show us the Peace and Love side of the Muslim beliefs not in words but in actions.

[BlackWidowPilot]

05:45 PM on 11/06/2009

Mr. Hodges,

you persist in conflating Wahabbism/jihadism with Islam. The Wahabbist/jihadist creed is an heretical cult akin to such extreme heretical Christian movements such as the Phineas Priests and other assorted white supremacist groups that claim the Bible is their own, cherry picking what they claim justifies their racist violence.

Wahabbism is no different, but just as the Phineas Priests do not represent the majority of Christians, neither do the Wahabbists represent the majority of Muslims.

The murderer of Dr. George Tiller is convinced he was doing God's Holy Work, as are his supporters who tried to auction on EBay assorted violent anti-choice "artwork" and paraphernalia to raise money for his legal defense. Does Dr. Tiller's murderer and his fellow fanatics represent *all* Christians?

Does the Falangist Militia of Lebanon -an officially Christian outfit- represent all Christians? Do you remember Sabra and Shatilla?

Perhaps if you could be bothered to go open a translated copy of the Quran and see for yourself the numerous passages that condemn violence committed against the innocent, as well as numerous other passages that the Wahabbists deliberately omit from their heretical screed, you would acknowledge that Islam is indeed a religion of peace and mercy first, as much as our own Christian faith *when* such teachings are followed as they have been written, in the spirit in which they were so clearly intended.

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

PROTESTant

[AkhiBrass]

05:57 PM on 11/06/2009

That's a simplistic assessment of a nuanced, rich and complicated complex of theology and praxis.
Islam is beyond simply being a religion of peace and love. Islam acknowledges a creator who is Gracious, Merciful and Loving yet can be wrathful and judgmental as well.
Muslims are to adopt an ethics that places earthly peace as a priority but allows for fighting for self-defense and against tyranny and oppression. We do believe in a just war.

[BlackWidowPilot]

11:52 PM on 11/06/2009

Define a "just war."

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[OxamsRazor]

01:42 PM on 11/06/2009

I just want to thank all of the posters here that are defending every day Muslums from the hate that is bring projected towards them.

George Carlin used to say that religion was a mental desease. That's what this man suffers from. That in no way excuses his crimes, but it should open our eyes as to how to spot a potential problem in the making.

If the army has any common sense, they would offer all soldiers intensive mental health services to make sure that the stresses of war does not imbalance them. How many suicides have we had over the past 9 years in the army? How is that any difference than a shooting spree that also could have been avoided?

This man needs to pay for his crimes, but we need to know that this could have been avoided if we actually cared about our soldiers rather than just hide behind then.

We should demand more funding for mental and spiritual health for our soldiers across the board and give them all the resources they need to heal.

[BilaalUSA]

01:37 PM on 11/06/2009

As a Muslim, American, U.S. Army Veteran, I believe that if the Major was not of the Islamic faith, the story would have a completely different slant. There would be more talk regarding the affects of stress on military personnel. Christian and Jews would have no need to apologize on behalf of their so-called follower. In fact, if Obama even mentions tha we should not blame the religion of Islam for every negative action taken by Muslims, certain people will say that his comments only confirms his true leanings towards Islam.

[billhodges]

04:25 PM on 11/06/2009

I on the other hand suspect that had he not been Muslim the Army would have removed him before the incident could have happened. There were many signs of a problem but it may very well be that the Army was being too PC and afraid of offending the Major and being accused of being intolerant to his religion. Something that has got to stop if we are to be able to take action prior to such horrific incidents.

The core issues with this person were by his actions and words all related to his religion.

[Anonani]

09:04 PM on 11/06/2009

Goodness gracious..I am being blinded by the omnipresence and omniscience of these words.

[Chana]

10:27 PM on 11/06/2009

There's no indication that the Army was bending to political correctness. Rather, it appears from all reports that he was not screened out because of the army's severe need of mental health professionals. He still should have been screened out, because of his history of inappropriate behavior toward the clients he was counseling, but there's no indication the army's decision had anything to do with his religion.

[GHO]

01:19 PM on 11/06/2009

And another sad aspect of this tragedy the MSM won't be reporting on - the way talking heads on both sides of the aisle are lining up, despite the total absence of factsand answers in this event, to fold it into their own personal narratives on issues ranging from gun control to the war to multiculturalism.

Most of these mass shooters end up dead at thier own hand or the hand of others. I hope this A$$h0le lives long enough to at least tell us why he really did it and put an end to the overblown, politically myopic speculations.

[sarabono]

01:12 PM on 11/06/2009

Another messenger from the "Religion of Peace" against the filthy heathens.

[morganhoyle]

12:55 PM on 11/06/2009

I am glad that we (as Americans) are getting past the social stereotyping, and as a society can judge this tragedy for what it truly is... one mentally disturbed man going off the deep end and completely loosing it. It was not a crime of religion, it was not funded by or plotted by extremists, and it was not an attack on Christians or "Christian values" in any way. I'm glad people are looking at this objectively and holistically.

[old lady]

12:51 PM on 11/06/2009

In a prior post I extended my sympathy to the Arab-American community and received several narrow-minded replies saying my concern and empathy is misplaced . To these people, whether they responded to me, or to others let me say that we are all concerned about the front line victims of this horrendous incident, but that needn't blind us to those that were not in the line of fire who are potential victims of this incident.. This article speaks to the potential collateral damange the Arab-American community might have to suffer. This article does not talk about the front-line victims. Tunnel vision will not make a backlash or discriminatio go away. We are as humans perfectly capapble of analyzing a story from its many facets, empathize with both immedate and collateral victiims. One does not diminish the other. My concern for the Arab_American community does not erase my concern for the victims and their families. Many replies leave me wondering if these people understand what they are reading, or just troll all articles looking for remarks that go against their narrowminded stance.

[strangiato]

12:41 PM on 11/06/2009

Blaming a soldier's breakdown and AWOL rampage on his religion is pure racism and bigotry. This is not the first incident of a soldier losing his mind and it certainly won't be the last. A prerequisite for joining the military is passing basic training. A lot of people break at that point (see Academy Award nominated, critically acclaimed film - Full Metal Jacket). For some, it happens years later - either after multiple tours of duty or in possibly in this case - dealing with a lot of people returning from multiple tours. The military cannot function with soldiers that think and question their orders. The indoctrination process is designed to eliminate this problem. Unfortunately, it creates other problems. Some would say - it creates mental basket cases - particularly after multiple tours of duty. No doubt, Hasan had to treat some "mental basket cases" - so he was essentially a point man for fixing what some might say is unfixable. Don't prejudge this situation from 50,000 feet - know the details before jumping to conclusions. Regardless of whose truth you believe, understand that this kind of thing has always happened in the military and in war - and it always will.

[Harrier]

12:39 PM on 11/06/2009

I know I will be called a racist, but dealing with Muslims seem to cause the most problems with anyone who deals with them. No country gets a long with them and they go out of their way to hurt innocent people to enrich themselves and forward their cause. I will grant you their are good Muslims...very good ones, but my experience in dealing with them is when push comes to shove, any Muslim, including the best of intentioned will help and assist another even if they know the other has killed another in the name of Allah. A non believer, "infidel" is an infidel and never on better terms than a fellow Muslim. We can be told the religion does not promote killing from their view, yet you see ignorant Muslims rejoicing when the planes attacked this country. When ever I'm on a plane, the first I look for is where all the Muslims are and what I would need to kill them if the moved beyond the lavatories toward the pilots cabin. I don't trust them as far as I can throw them...even the good ones as their alliances will turn on a dime.

[Ithamer]

09:03 AM on 11/07/2009

There is apparently nothing wrong with being a racist, the US supports the racist people who maintain that if you are not one of us then we can destroy you figuratively and literally.

[thecid]

12:39 PM on 11/06/2009

I hate to say it: "Gun Control" He sure as hell did not get his weapons from the Base Armory, and niether were they issued to him. I wasn't a gun control advocate, but it's looking pretty interesting to me now.

[IndependentBadger]

12:22 PM on 11/06/2009

There's a cowardice at work here. I'm noticing a lot of so-called liberals keeping very quiet about islam here, or pretending there's some huge difference between "radical" islam and "normal" islam, whatever the hell that means. I think it has a lot to do with guilt.

A lot of liberals here are christians, or jews. And they don't want similar questions posed about their religion. Or the fact that they pretend to adhere to some "soft" or "harmless" or even "progressive" version of their theological cult. So they act all "tolerant" and pretend it's an outrage to mention islam as a culprit, even though PBS (not Fox, mind you, but PBS) reported this very morning that the man's colleagues had been forced to sit through a religious lecture this man gave at a psychiatric conference where he detailed islams need to behead non-believers and pour hot oil down inifidel's throats.

If some mormon nutbag opened fire on forty people, and later on we learned he had been preaching bigamy at a conference where he was supposed to be grand-rounding army shrinks, you're gonna tell me with a straight face that his religion had nothing to do with it?

Hipocrites.

[BlackWidowPilot]

11:57 PM on 11/06/2009

There is a huge difference between the two. You studied Islam where again? No?

OK. Start here:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/gods-terrorists-by-charles-allen-475310.html

I happen to be a Military Historian, and it is indeed my business to know of what I speak.

We don't know all of the facts - yet. So best IMHO hold off on accusing others of hypocrisy before you have some actual empirical information under your belt, and go conflating a radical, heretical fringe with the millions who do not share that radical view of their faith.

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen