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THE QUESTION
Islam and the Fort Hood shootings
What effect will the Fort Hood shootings have on the American public's perception of Islam?
Posted by
Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham on November 6, 2009 2:05 AM
FROM THE PANEL
On being a patriotic and faithful Muslim American
Hasan's alleged actions have made it loud and clear to me that the Muslim American community needs to stand up and take responsibility for extremist views within its midst. Even if individuals like Hasan represent a fringe minority, we need credible religious scholars to unequivocally denounce such acts and demonstrate how and why such acts are a violation of God's law.
Posted by Hadia Mubarak, on November 13, 2009 10:40 AM
An act of bad faith
Islamic people and nations contributed to the formation of the West, to the creation of modern science, and have produced works of enduring beauty and importance. The violent forms of Islam have produced nothing but misery and ugliness. It is time to end the confusion between the two and protect our nation, including its Muslims, from the wicked.
Posted by John Mark Reynolds, on November 6, 2009 6:32 PM
Act of one man, not an act of faith
There are those who will use this tragedy to seek to divide us and create a sense of fear and apprehension, but It would be unfair and wrong for anyone to judge Islam and Muslims based on the motivations of a minority of lunatics.
Posted by Salman Ahmad, on November 6, 2009 4:31 PM
Rush to judgment: Media reporting or making the news?
Why immediately rush to brushstroke Islam, Hasan's religion, by linking it to this tragedy?
Posted by John Esposito, on November 6, 2009 3:36 PM
Senseless shootings violate Islamic faith
What this unfortunate Army major did was against the laws of Islam, even though news accounts said he was an observant Muslim. It is too early to understand his motivations and mental stability. He obviously was violating his faith when he undertook this act. Killing is as much a sin in Islam as it is in Christianity, Judaism and all the major religions. Taking the law into one's own hands is against Islamic teachings.
Posted by Feisal Abdul Rauf, on November 6, 2009 3:18 PM
Avoid temptation to connect shootings to faith
Hasan's actions no more represent Islam than the killer of an abortion doctor represents all anti-abortionists or a pedophile Baptist preacher represents all Baptists. People of faith rightly understand that it is unfair when those outside their faith assert that the misguided individual represents their house of faith.
Posted by Robert Parham, on November 6, 2009 1:26 PM
Muslims condemn violent acts at Fort Hood and offer condolences
I grieved for my community and country. Nothing is more damaging to American attitudes towards Islam and Muslims than senseless acts of violence such as that carried out by Hassan. Nothing. I am, however, encouraged by the restraint shown in the media, not immediately assuming Hassan's motives were religious per se.
Posted by Daisy Khan, on November 6, 2009 12:55 PM
Shootings will promote more bigotry
I hear people say all the time that Islam is a religion of violence. Really? Is their history of violence any more so than the history of violence in Christianity?
Posted by Susan K. Smith, on November 6, 2009 12:12 PM
We're all stereotypes
Not only must we be careful about stereotyping, we must also be careful about marginalizing or ignoring large segments of our population. Responding to this latest tragedy, leaders are calling for us to come together as a nation, which I support. But they need to be cautious when they claim to speak on behalf of Americans.
Posted by Herb Silverman, on November 6, 2009 11:38 AM
The murderer at Fort Hood
A Muslim did not do this. The man who killed brave American soldiers deserves one name only: murderer.
Posted by Eboo Patel, on November 6, 2009 11:16 AM
Question Islam, but don't indict
We must not cast aspersions upon Islam and all its followers, but those followers must ask some tough questions.
Posted by Brad Hirschfield, on November 6, 2009 9:51 AM
Fort Hood: Trauma is contagious
The trauma of war is like a huge stone thrown into a pool; the ripples go out in wider and wider circles, catching those who serve, hitting their families, flowing into the lives of those who are supposed to care for them and help them, and finally into our whole nation. As our thoughts go out to Fort Hood today, let us really see war in its ever widening effects and really count the cost.
Posted by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, on November 6, 2009 9:46 AM
This about Islam or Islamophobia?
Until we know more about Maj. Nidal's motives we should not jump to conclusions, and certainly we should not declare that he had religious/political motivations simply because he was Muslim.
Posted by Pamela K. Taylor, on November 6, 2009 8:51 AM
Fort Hood shooting a flashback to 'fragging'
If the reports are accurate, it seems the Fort Hood shooter broke, choosing murder rather than the nonviolent forms of resistance he might have chosen. In that sense he replicated the violence of the war he abhorred and the violence that kept him in the Army against his will -- replicated the violence instead of resisting it in a deeper way.
Posted by Arthur Waskow, on November 6, 2009 8:05 AM
Random violence, shared responsibility
We grieve today as Americans, and we have added to our national debt gratitude to the brave American soldiers of Fort Hood and everywhere. Our sorrow is boundless. But fighting a just war in Afghanistan will entail more sacrifice; we can only pray that the madness of collateral damage measured in stress, grieving families, separated families, broken homes and senseless murder will soon end.
Posted by Aseem Shukla, on November 6, 2009 1:15 AM
FEATURED COMMENTS
GaryPernice: At the moment, the public does not yet have enough detailed facts to truly understand what happened at the Fort Hood shootings. Preliminary...
khyber900: These actions may not be consistent with mainstream Islam, but they are very consistent with fundamentalist Islam. The problem is that for ...
daniel12: Unfortunately this just brings more and more forward the question of whether Muslims--really anyone who takes religion in a fundamentalist m...
