Prejudice Overheard


Today I heard someone speaking on the phone about the massacre at Fort Hood yesterday.

“…the fact that he is a Muslim doesn’t even come up.  It’s ridiculous.  They try to make it sound like it was some psychological problem…”

This person was convinced that Major Hasan’s motive was simply that he was a Muslim and that Muslims are inherently violent.  And this person clearly is not alone in that belief.


No matter how badly the media try to spin it another way, or to ignore the religion ghost in this story, Hasan’s religion was to all appearances a key factor in the mass murder he committed. You don’t have a Muslim shouting “Allahu akbar!” as he executes people one by one, and conclude that religion is incidental to his crime. You have to be a moral idiot to draw that conclusion, a politically correct nitwit.

So: how should we regard the role of Hasan’s religion in this infamy?

John Infidelesto:

This was jihad.


(links courtesy The Daily Dish)

It’s hard to combat this type of prejudice and marginalization when it seems to come directly from our country’s own foreign policy.  Our president for the previous eight years, not-so-subtlely claimed that this war was a “crusade,” evoking pretty stark images of Christians versus Muslims in a holy war.  That wasn’t lost on many Americans.  While some found it cringe-worthy and blasphemous, others found it justified.

Even if Hasan turns out to be some radical Islamic fundamentalist, it doesn’t confirm the belief that Islam is evil, Islam is dangerous, or that all Muslims are homicidal maniacs waiting in the wings.  It just means that this particular Muslim was disturbed – for a multitude of reasons, including his fundamentalism – and snapped.

It’d actually be much easier to just blame Hasan’s actions on Islam.  Most people would like that idea because it sums up a very complex situation into a nice, little box to point your anger and frustration.  From the information so far, it just doesn’t seem like this is the whole story for Hasan and the tragedy at Ft. Hood.

While people like Dreher cry about people ignoring the Muslim aspect of Hasan, it’s equally as irresponsible to neglect the affect the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have on our troops, no matter what creed, race, ethnicity, or religion.

And for those people like the one I overheard today on the phone, it’s helpful to place this deadly rampage in the right context of history.  Case in point, just today, a man opened fire at work in Orlando killing one and injuring five others.

He wasn’t Muslim; he was just pissed off about being fired.


  1. “It’s hard to combat this type of prejudice and marginalization when it seems to come directly from our country’s own foreign policy.”

    Hey, jerk..

    He screamed Allahu Akbar while he mowed down our sons and daughters. He was a fan of suicide bombing and posted on the net about it. He said his goodbyes to his acquaintances, gave away his possessions and went to the base to claim his 72 virgins.

    He was muslim from birth. ‘Very devout’ says his Imam. He was/is a terrorist psychopath. Many muslims are, maybe you’ve noticed.

    Now, your brain is full.

    • Thanks, Ed, for that very insightful explanation. I never said the guy wasn’t a fundamental Islamist. The fact is not all Muslims are homicidal maniacs.

      And the fact is, Muslims are Americans. Americans are Muslims. You say “he mowed down our sons and daughters.” I’m assuming you mean “our” to mean American. This guy was American. He was serving OUR country.

      And I’m also not condoning this behavior nor the fundamental mentality behind it. Merely that we can’t use this event to justify a war on an entire religion. You proved my point that people want to just blame this on Islam. It makes you feel better. You can use it to justify your prejudice. Many Muslims are not terrorists. Maybe you should notice.

    • Ed,

      Yes, his religion may have played a part in his fundamental beliefs, but it’s not the reason why he picked up a gun and went on a shooting massacre. If that were the case, there would me millions of people shot dead in the streets of America by American Muslims everyday. You don’t find millions of American Christians bombing clinics and shooting doctors who perform abortions. Normal people don’t go on killing sprees to enforce their fundamental beliefs.

      Yes, Ed, he may have been “very devout,” and I’m sure there are many “very devout” Ameican Muslims that have been living in the United States for years and where are all the shootings, Ed? Well, that fact gets in the way of your logic. So, you disregard is and take this one incident and come to a conclusions that “Many Muslims are…” despite the fact your only number seems to be one. Then again, you’re probably are not using this incident to come to a conclusion, but to reinforce what you already believe.

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