Rumors, Lies, Innuendo, Fear, Uncertainty, and Despair

On Thursday, November 5, 2009 Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist stationed at Ft. Hood, Texas murdered 13 people and wounded another 30. Both soldiers and civilians—some men, some women—were among Hasan’s victims.

US Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan

Immediately after Hasan was identified, his name and anecdotal information about him left little doubt that he was a Muslim.

Yet for several days most news, government, law enforcement, and military spokespersons either ignored the fact entirely or soft-pedaled it, claiming there was nothing necessarily connecting Hasan’s Islamic faith with his murderous rampage. This story floated fairly well until Sunday morning when Sen. Joe Lieberman appeared on Fox News Sunday and called the massacre an act of “Islamist extremism.”

While Lieberman was on Fox calling Hasan an “Islamist extremist,” US Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey Jr. was running damage control over at ABC telling George Stephanopolous that “we are a very diverse army” and that “this terrible event would be an even greater tragedy if our diversity becomes a casualty.”

When confronted by Stephanopolous that complaints made by Maj. Hasan’s fellow officers about his anti-American tirades generally were ignored, Casey was forced to admit that officials feared offending a Muslim member of the military.

People whose job it is to follow the truth, wherever it leads, continued to duck the issue apparently for fear of being tagged as racists or reactionaries (or perhaps themselves becoming victims of Islamist extremism). Finally, however, the tortoises began ever so slowly extending their necks and asking in the most discreet tones possible if there was, just perhaps, a connection between this officer, these murders and maimings, and Islam.

While Hasan apparently is going to recover from shots fired into him by others, it’s unlikely that we’ll get many satisfactory answers from him. We do not know if Hasan’s killing spree was part of some larger plan. We do know that, if it was, it was not a conspiracy in which the world’s one-and-a-half billion Muslims secretly got together to bring pain and suffering on a few dozen Americans.

But we also have to admit that there’s a lot of evidence which, just like the pre-9/11 evidence, is pretty damning in retrospect. And there’s enough that happened on and before November 5 to convince the most compassionate ecumenical that Hasan was a very sick Muslim whose perceptions of the teachings of Islam underpinned his actions.

In the years and days leading up to his psychological disintegration, we know that Maj. Hasan:

• Delivered what can only be described as a bizarre presentation on Islam to fellow officers at Walter Reed Hospital in 2007. (See The Washington Post for Hasan’s presentation slides).
• Was a loner
• Was well-educated, largely at the US Army’s expense
• Was divorced
• Had two children whom he apparently rarely saw
• Did not come from an impoverished background
• Said the Army “discriminated” against Muslims, though he filed no formal complaints
• Shouted Allahu Akbar (God is Great) as he shot his victims
• Put multiple shots into individuals to try to ensure they died
• Enjoyed strip clubs (for up to eight hours at a sitting)
• Said Muslim soldiers should be allowed to leave military as conscientious objectors
• Attended a Virginia mosque headed by Anwar al-Aulaqi, whom the FBI identified as a “senior recruiter for al Qaeda”
• Maintained contact with al-Aulaqi after al-Aulaqi’s departure for Yemen
• Told fellow soldiers that he “feared deployment” to Afghanistan
• As part of his duties counseled combat returnees, particularly those who had been seriously wounded
• Despite his relatively high military rank, had never seen combat.

So why is the Muslim connection relevant? Because Islam seems to have pervaded and guided Hasan’s life, particularly during the most recent years. Somehow, he saw these killings as a necessary expression of his religious beliefs.

Does this mean we should single out Islam as a breeding ground for mass murderers and serial killers? No. But when there’s more than a casual connection between a murderer’s espoused religious beliefs and the crimes he commits we have a right to know.

Wichita’s notorious BTK (Bind, Torture ,Kill) serial murderer, Dennis Rader, was a member of Christ Lutheran Church for about 30 years and had been elected president of the Congregation Council. Why didn’t the headlines scream:

Crazed Lutheran Murders Ten!

Or How about George Jo Hennard, the mass murderer who killed 23 people at a Luby’s restaurant in Killeen Texas (not too far from Ft. Hood)? Where was the headline:

Apparently Agnostic Gunman Assassinates 23, Wounds 20

You know the answer: Because in neither of these cases did the perpetrator’s religious faith (or lack thereof) seem to have much of an impact on his horrible crimes.

In Hasan’s case, Islam was central to his motivation for murder. Let’s not pretend it’s a coincidence. Nor should we presume that this behavior is tolerated by the majority of the Muslim community.

The current leader of the Virginia mosque where Hasan once worshipped, Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, publicly condemned the Fort Hood attack. “While accepting the fact that Major Nidal Malik Hasan practiced the Islamic faith, we offer no justification for his ungodly and heinous, cowardly act of violence,” Abdul-Malik said.

Maj. Hasan has lawyered up. His attorney, retired Colonel John Galligan, doubts that Hasan can get a fair trial. (Note to Hasan: At least you’re getting a trial). He can get a fair trial almost anywhere in the United States. No jury is going to give a shit whether he was a Muslim or a Scientologist. The central question will be “Did he, or did he not, kill 13 people and wound 30 more?”

The real trial will come after Hasan is convicted. He will be tried in a military court and will be subject to the death penalty. If the court martial recommends death, the final order will have to be signed by (guess who) Barack Obama. Suppose Barry will have the balls to do it?