Ft. Hood

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I'd like to offer my two cents as a Muslim. I've lived here most of my life and I consider myself an American Muslim. Islam is not a religion that preaches violence. It does give Muslims the liberty to engage in self defense though. The Quran must always be read in context of history. It was never meant to literally interpreted in the absence of an understanding of Islamic history. Unfortunately uneducated illiterate and ignorant folk do exactly that and then misinterpret this religion. In the time of Prophet Muhammad (Islam's last prophet), there was much fighting between certain groups of people - disbelievers against Muslims, Jews against Muslims, etc.... God (arabic word for God is Allah)said it was permissible to retaliate if necessary those who threaten or have harmed you in self defense only. However, if they let you practice your faith in peace and let you live in peace, you have no right to harm them. If you still do, God promises you will be put in Hell-fire. Killing an innocent person is akin to killing a thousand people - according to Islam. No Muslim can ever force another person to convert because it says in the Quran, "There is no compulsion in Islam." It also says in the Quran that God created different nations "so that you may know one another." This implies He wanted people of different nations, different backgrounds, to live peacefully with one another, not to kill each other.

I've read the Quran at least four different times. I studied the transliteration and simultaneously started learning it's contextual history. I promise you if Islam was a religion that preached violence, I would not be a Muslim. If Islam were a religion that preached violence, I'd probably convert to Judaism. Judaism is the most similar religion to Islam. They have similar dietary restrictions as Muslims do. They believe that Moses was a prophet as do Muslims.

Muslims do not really consider themselves as a separate religion from Christianity or Judaism. They believe that God sent only ONE religion to mankind. It came through different Prophets though. Jesus was one. Moses was another. Muhammad was another. So we believe there is just one God, one religion, but different people delivered the message at different times. We believe people changed parts of the religion as time went by. We do not believe Jesus declared himself to be God, for example.

Islam also believes that the gates of heaven are open to all Jews, all Christians, and all Muslims SO LONG AS THEY DO GOOD IN LIFE. It is even open to those who say they don't belong to a particular religion so long as they believe in God and do good in life. All misinterpretations about God and religion will be clarified to us on the day of judgment.

NOW - there is definitely a subgroup of Muslims in this world that are violent. Those are Muslims who have misinterpreted the Quran completely. Like I said, it is impossible to interpret the Quran properly without an understanding and education of history. Most people who have violent tendencies and are Muslim are relatively uneducated or ignorant of how to interpret Islam in it's historical context. But blaming all Muslims or saying our religion is to blame is like saying all Germans are bigots because Hitler was. It's a sweeping generalization and demonizes our entire faith and people, the vast majority of whom are peace loving.

The violent Muslims are those whose hatred, I think, is fueled by the U.S.'s international policies, particularly their alliance with Israel, because they feel Palestinians are displaced and oppressed and the U.S. supports Israel. Why is this significant to Muslims all around the world? Because Jerusalem is a holy place for Muslims (just as it is for Jews and Chrisitans too) and an important mosque (a Muslim church) is there.

I do think that there will eventually be peace in that area and the climate of mistrust and hate will cease eventually. I do think Jerusalem will become an international city.

So please do not say that Islam is a violent religion or preaches violence. You really have to take a few courses in history before you can even open the Quran to interpret it correctly.

Beautifully said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if Cho and Columbine killers were reacting to being bullied.How did the 'suicide bombers'originate?From "Opression"my friends.The Palestinians are bullied by Jews day and night.Go visit Israel and live the life of a muslim just one day!It will boil your blood.Am not condoning Hassan or suicide bombing but we have to reach the grass roots for cure.We should not forget the fact that Muslims are also dying for this country in Iraq and Afghanistan as U.S.soldiers.

here come the defenders ....

[Anonymous]

Defender of what?Killing innocent people?You must be a defender of the acts of Israel!!!!!

[Anonymous]

why can't the Palestinians let Israel live in peace? works both ways you know. there is NEVER a rationalization for taking innocent life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why can't the Palestinians let Israel live in peace? works both ways you know. there is NEVER a rationalization for taking innocent life.

Yes -- there is never a rationalization for taking an innocent life. I agree. Suicide bombing is wrong and counterproductive.
Now will Israel give back all the water it has stolen from the Palestinians in the West Bank? Or even just distribute evenly per capita? Without water, the Palestinians lives and livelihoods are being squeezed out of them. Really hard to see how water hoarding is a defensive measure like building a wall.

[Anonymous]

Thank you 12:18.Poster 12:15 needs to be educated!

[Anonymous]

OP here. Funny how some guy commits an atrocity in Ft. Hood Texas that may or may not be religiously motivated, and who may or may not have warranted deeper investigation before events unfolded--but apart from all that we reach this point... that it is 'all Israel's fault'. Whatever. My heart goes out to the victims of this evil murderer in Ft. Hood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Funny how some guy commits an atrocity in Ft. Hood Texas that may or may not be religiously motivated, and who may or may not have warranted deeper investigation before events unfolded--but apart from all that we reach this point... that it is 'all Israel's fault'. Whatever. My heart goes out to the victims of this evil murderer in Ft. Hood.

You know, you started out with such a great post. And now you have turned into such a wingnut. Nobody said Israel caused Ft. Hood. That kind of overreaction does not do Israel any favors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Funny how some guy commits an atrocity in Ft. Hood Texas that may or may not be religiously motivated, and who may or may not have warranted deeper investigation before events unfolded--but apart from all that we reach this point... that it is 'all Israel's fault'. Whatever. My heart goes out to the victims of this evil murderer in Ft. Hood.

You know, you started out with such a great post. And now you have turned into such a wingnut. Nobody said Israel caused Ft. Hood. That kind of overreaction does not do Israel any favors.

Israel/Palestine is difficult to discuss without descending to irrationality. From the centuries of pogroms to the Holocaust, and from the Crusades to the exploitation of Arab oil by the West, there is such a history of suspicion that it's nearly impossible not to touch a nerve. Being a Jew who has had Palestinian students of whom I was very fond, part of me feels it should not be difficult for Jews and Arabs to live in peace. But having visited Israel once, I have seen hatred and mistrust that can explode at any moment.

How do you say "Oy vey" in Arabic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Funny how some guy commits an atrocity in Ft. Hood Texas that may or may not be religiously motivated, and who may or may not have warranted deeper investigation before events unfolded--but apart from all that we reach this point... that it is 'all Israel's fault'. Whatever. My heart goes out to the victims of this evil murderer in Ft. Hood.

You know, you started out with such a great post. And now you have turned into such a wingnut. Nobody said Israel caused Ft. Hood. That kind of overreaction does not do Israel any favors.

Israel/Palestine is difficult to discuss without descending to irrationality. From the centuries of pogroms to the Holocaust, and from the Crusades to the exploitation of Arab oil by the West, there is such a history of suspicion that it's nearly impossible not to touch a nerve. Being a Jew who has had Palestinian students of whom I was very fond, part of me feels it should not be difficult for Jews and Arabs to live in peace. But having visited Israel once, I have seen hatred and mistrust that can explode at any moment.

How do you say "Oy vey" in Arabic?

Yaa weeli.

[Anonymous]

this is 0:27. I agree and respect everything you wrote, especially the bolded part. It is obvious that Hasan was motivated by his political and religious views, but that does not mean Islam as a whole, or all Muslims, share those twisted beliefs. My question to you is how do leaders of Islam root out this violent subgroup? Who has the moral authority to do this?


01:00 here. There is no one leader of Islam in the world, but some countries have their own religious leaders or council. These religious leaders are influenced by culture and just their age-old way of thinking. For example, the fact that some countries don't severely punish people for honor killings is proof that these religious leaders have looked the other way for the sake of culture. No where in Islam or in the Quran are honor killings justified. Unfortunately these religious leaders do influence the people of their country. So the only way to transform the ignorant thinking of the masses is to begin to interpret the religion in a new way and begin to disseminate this new interpretation of Islam through the educational system also. Many poor children in Muslim countries do not even get an education, however. So establishing schools for all children, especially in the remote villages, is a must. I think Greg Moretenson of Central Asia Inst. is already doing that though. There needs to be more organizations doing that though. And schools can be the vehicle necessary to enlighten and educate the new generations. An educated population is a more productive one. And a productive population sees an increase in it's quality of life and it's standard of living. Eventually when these countries prosper, we will see the cessation of hard-line interpretation and violent extremism. Because when the young minds are educated, they understand the world view, they can compare their thinking with the thinking of others in the world, they can be taught to think critically. And when their countries prosper, they will appreciate life....for the first time in their lives. The man who has a lowly job earning meager wages is cast aside by the world has no motivation to live. To him life has little meaning. It is he who is most likely to volunteer his life for what he thinks is a better afterlife. This is not to say all violent Muslims are poor. All of them are ignorant and some are uneducated. But it is the easiest I'm sure to recruit the poor who have no love for life.

Eventually I believe the government will begin to influence the young minds of their country and these young minds grow up to govern the country, establishing an entirely new view of Islam. There needs to be tremendous international pressure on these governments, especially the govt of those countries that practice a more hard-line interpretation of Islam, to change their interpretation of Islam. Few countries will change on their own because many people and their religious council are in agreement on the hard line interpretation of Islam. Many Muslim countries, however, will not want to be told by non-Muslim countries how to interpret their own faith. This is why moderate Muslim countries must also join the effort to influence and help transform strict Muslim countries also. And this is why Muslims on an internaional scale need to participate in this effort also. There should also be an international forum on Islam consisting of the religious council members from all Muslim countries as well as others who wish to participate, such as other government officials and human rights officials.

I am sure the U.S. is doing as much as it possibly can already. Other countries need to step up and pressure these Muslim countries more too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Completely out there, I know. But why wasn't he married? A doctor, Arab, and (devout) Muslim. 39 and not married? Do you know how unusual that is? It makes me think of all sorts of issues he may have had that could have led to his breakdown.

He was in the military, traveling a lot. What woman wants to marry a military guy? Most Muslim parents will not give their daughter to be married to a military psychiatrist who travels a lot. He did not want to be in the military anymore. He was conflicted. As a psychiatrist he was probably hearing more than he could also bear. This is what I heard...so I think he just wanted out of the military and couldn't get out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Completely out there, I know. But why wasn't he married? A doctor, Arab, and (devout) Muslim. 39 and not married? Do you know how unusual that is? It makes me think of all sorts of issues he may have had that could have led to his breakdown.

He was in the military, traveling a lot. What woman wants to marry a military guy? Most Muslim parents will not give their daughter to be married to a military psychiatrist who travels a lot. He did not want to be in the military anymore. He was conflicted. As a psychiatrist he was probably hearing more than he could also bear. This is what I heard...so I think he just wanted out of the military and couldn't get out.

Why is that?

[Anonymous]

Well there you go. I'm the poster who said, without more details, I wasn't chalking it up to religious extremism (yte). But apparently he tried to make contact with Al Qaeda months ago and our government KNEW about it. (!!!!! Whole other huge issue !!!!! )

I still think he was sick before, but then I think all terrorists are sick. Anyway, it's enough to convince me he's a religious extremist.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/fort-hood-shooter-contact-al-qaeda-terrorists-officials/story?id=9030873

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well there you go. I'm the poster who said, without more details, I wasn't chalking it up to religious extremism (yte). But apparently he tried to make contact with Al Qaeda months ago and our government KNEW about it. (!!!!! Whole other huge issue !!!!! )

I still think he was sick before, but then I think all terrorists are sick. Anyway, it's enough to convince me he's a religious extremist.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/fort-hood-shooter-contact-al-qaeda-terrorists-officials/story?id=9030873

thank you.

I think the rush to not "jump to conclusions" is nothing but a disservice to Muslims. What we need to do is root out the violent extremists. All of the 9/11 murderers were sick as well, so that makes their religious fanataicism a "secondary" factor? Come on.