US Army Major Nidal Hasan, an American born Muslim of Palestinian descent, has been charged with 13 counts of murder after the shootings that occurred at Ft. Hood in Texas. Investigators are pursuing various leads in trying to determine Major Hasan’s motives. It doesn’t seem like it should be that hard of an investigation. Allegedly, he yelled “Allah Akbar” (Arabic for “God is great”) before he opened fire. Associates say he was opposed to the War on Terror, and he has allegedly advocated the decapitation of infidels. Hasan had also previously been a member of a mosque with a radical cleric in charge.
Because of his Islamic beliefs, Major Hasan allegedly had faced harassment, which reportedly consisted of a neighbor keying his car and tearing off Hasan’s “Allah is love” bumper sticker.
President Barack Obama has urged Americans not to jump to conclusions. Presumably, he doesn’t want a lot of violence against peaceful Muslims in America. Similarly, former President George W. Bush urged restraint after the 9/11 attacks. Overwhelming, Americans are in agreement. There has been very little religious persecution of Muslims in this country. And that is good–we value freedom of religion here.
But I am left to wonder about the Army’s investigation into Major Hasan’s motives. There will be a temptation on the part of some to portray him as mentally unstable, as if he must be insane to do what he did. Maybe he is. There will be some who say that self-professed Christians sometimes engage in terrorist activities, too. And there have been. Still, when a so-called Christian kills a bunch of people, is he accurately conveying the writings of the New Testament in the process? Are there Christian leaders (who aren’t cult leaders) who applaud the massacre? The answer to both of those questions is “No.” Conversely, when Muslim terrorists kill in the name of their religion, are they accurately following what the Koran says?
Perhaps it is time to go ahead and accept that when some people say they want to kill all the infidels, they actually want to kill people for being infidels. They aren’t driven by rage over things like a vandalized car; they’re driven by religious conviction.
For many Muslims, Islam is a religion of peace. For some, it isn’t. Right from the beginning, Muhammad used the sword to advance his cause.
Jesus didn’t.