Rush to judgment: Media reporting or making the news?

Nothing Esposito says can be taken seriously. He is a well-known apologist for Islam whose livelihood depends on Arab oil money. If he were to be honest and take a critical look at the facts instead of immediately denying any relationship between Islam and the myriad attacks done in its name, he would anger his Saudi masters and the money would stop coming. This man has absolutely no intellectual integrity.

How much wahabi money has Mr. Esposito received over the years. It is pretty clear at this point that Hasan's actions were inspired by his Islamic faith-a faith that places anyone outside of Islam as less than human.

And then, what is the point of rushing (or, limbaughing!), to judge. Mr. Esposito makes some good points, and there is in fact far too much that is unknown about this event. We do not know, in fact, the causes. But everyone just is drooling at the opportunity to prejudge, and to condemn.

It is a condemnable crime. There is plenty of time to do so. We should do so with good and full knowledge of that specifics as opposed to assumptions of them, and of motive.

Yes, let us not judge too quickly. Yet in Seattle a police officer is killed and the media quickly reports the suspect is a "lone domestic terrorist." Where is the outrage on this rush to judgement? If Major Hasan was Major Hank belonging to a fundamentalist sect of Christianity and had a Bible and a copy of Glen Becks book by his nightstand, the media would be gleefully rushing to judgement with no concern.

"Why immediately rush to brushstroke Islam, Hasan's religion, by linking it to this tragedy?" Perhaps because hasan was shouting "Allah Akhbar" as he was murdering non-muslims? This is exactly the same phrase shouted by suicide bombers and other muslim terrorists. Mr. Esposito is working hard to redirect the blame to the victims and make excuses for hasan and other terrorists. He is part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Esposito is an ignorant hypocrite who cannot even spell "sura" correctly.

The only thing he has ever promoted is himself.

A man went on a murderous rampage; and should pay the price. Dr. Esposito's point is simply that his religion -- one shared by a billion and half people from secularists to extremists -- shouldn't be defined by a headline as somehow associated with the crime. No more than Saudis -- who exceed 20 million in number -- fit in a convenient, derogatory box of oil-selling, terrorist-sponsoring "towel heads."

It would be no less ridiculous to hear David Duke speak then say that's what Republicans or Americans believe.

To disrespect Esposito for his analysis by labeling him a defender of tyranny is a gross oversimplification. He has just as often criticized Muslim groups -- both political and social -- for their shortcomings, as he has urged restraint in passing judgement on them too quickly. He clearly sees Hasan as "the bad guy"; but doesn't extend that to his religion.

This debate would instead be better served by focusing on the families who've lost loved ones; and punishing the man who caused this tragedy.

CORRECTion to previous posting:

Esposito defends a country in which Mullahs
refused to allow firemen to remove burning girls from a burning building for fear that they might exit in disarray, where women are treated like garbage, where even professionals cannot DRIVE.

A Bit of Background on John Esposito and Patrons

"Esposito founded the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University and is its current director. The center has received a $20 million endowment from Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal "to advance education in the fields of Islamic civilization and Muslim-Christian understanding and strengthen its presence as a world leader in facilitating cross-cultural and inter-religious dialogue."[4]"

Esposito also headed the Mid-East Studies Association which continues to accept enormous funding from the Saudis and the oil companies.

Esposito defends a country in which Mullahs
refused to allow firemen to remove burning girls from a burning building for fear that they might exit in disarray, where women are treated like garbage, where even professionals cannot work.

Esposito's benefactors, the Saudis, funded the nororious Pakistani Islamist despot, Zia, built the Madrassahs in Pakistan, trained and armed the Taliban, radicalized Pakistan. What happened in Peshawar last week is the doing of Mr. Esposito's benefactors.

9/11--Mr. Esposito's benefactors.

Esposito cries croccodile tears for the Palestinians who are treated as "dirty" in Saudi Arabia, where they are guest workers.

In Egypt, the Palestinian Egyptian children cannot attend school.

In Jordan, where Palestinians are the majority, they continue to suffer discrimination.

The Saudi-loving Esposito has defended the requirement that women be forced to wear hageb, even when countered by male Muslim academics.

Thus far, Esposito has not commented on that favorite Saudi pastime of men trekking to Cairo on weekends to avail themselves of male child prostitutes.
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More to follow on the "Catholic" Esposito. He is Roman Catholic, not Protestant, although most Catholics I know do not consider him one of their own.

Religions...ALL religions...are evil.

Hasan is simply a contemptible coward, one deserving of a dishonourable death. His religion, granted a violent and anti-humanist cult, probably had a small role in the self-justification of his actions. His basic character flaws as a human being are the true reasons for this event. Hasan is weak...

FarnazMAnsouri,

"Here is a quote from Wikipedia on the Saudi loving Esposito:
"Esposito founded the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University and is its current director. The center has received a $20 million endowment from Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal "to advance education in the fields of Islamic civilization and Muslim-Christian understanding and strengthen its presence as a world leader in facilitating cross-cultural and inter-religious dialogue."[4]"

**************************************************************************************

Dearie Me~! So any Christian trying to build bridges between Islam and Christianity becomes an enemy of the Jews~! Nice Try Farnaz!

As Fort Hood Tragedy Unfolds, Obama Is Politician in Chief

Friday, November 6, 2009 9:19 AM

By: Frank Gaffney Jr.

Perhaps the president publicly handled this attack as he did because he was unsettled by the fact that the alleged shooter is a devout Muslim, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who evidently adheres to the theo-political-legal program authoritative Islam calls “Shariah.”
Actually, Shariah not only justifies such violence but also demands it.

To cite but one example of the requirement for individual Muslims to wage jihad, Shariah expert Andrew Bostom observes that the influential Ottoman cleric, Sheikh Shawish, wrote in 1915:

“To whoever kills even one single infidel of those who rule over Islamic lands, either secretly or openly, there is a reward like a reward from all the living ones of the Islamic world. And let every individual of the Muslims in whatever place they may be, take upon him an oath to kill at least three of four of the ruling infidels, enemies of Allah, and enemies of the religion. He must take upon him this oath before Allah Most High, expecting his reward from Allah alone, and let the Muslim be confident, if there be to him no other good deed than this, nevertheless he will prosper in the day of judgment and we ask the Most High to extend the People of the Faith by the favor of their Lord.”

In short, the Fort Hood “outburst of violence” (to use the president’s formulation), looks like the first successful incident of jihadist mass murder in America since 9/11. This could not be a message happily conveyed by a chief executive committed to “outreach to the Muslim world” and so deprecating of his predecessor, who had managed for seven years to prevent such incidents here in America.

Although Esposito is correct about the rush to judgment, his analogies are racist. No "Jewish fundamentalists" gunned down a prime minister. As for Israel and the Palestinians, note how he associates Jews with Israel, but not Muslims with Palestinians. Further, he somehow omits the thousands of Jews killed by Muslim terrorists, school buses blown up, a little boy lured to a cave, is remains smeared on the walls. How about the eleven-year-old girl shot in the head at point blank range? Cheered, the animal was, in Syria.
Then there was Sbarro's, Jerusalem University, the beaches, the synagogues, the car bombings in Tel Aviv.

It is interesting to visit the universities and see the "burned boys." These are young men, some of them professors, who suffered serious burns, at Mulim hands while trying to assure that no innocents were harmed.

Perhaps, a glane at Wikipedia will help to explain who pays Esposito's bills. I will say more on this later.

Here is a quote from Wikipedia on the Saudi loving Esposito:

"Esposito founded the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University and is its current director. The center has received a $20 million endowment from Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal "to advance education in the fields of Islamic civilization and Muslim-Christian understanding and strengthen its presence as a world leader in facilitating cross-cultural and inter-religious dialogue."[4]"
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I wish we had a cable news channel which presented information the way C-Span does. No banners, no title, no competing video(s), no logo crowding the screen: just whatever is happening at that moment. The news.

Screaming Allah Akbar when killing over a dozen people, posting pro-suicide bomber literature on his computer, and refusing to stand with female colleagues for pictures or work with them at the hospital, well, yeah, I think religion enters into it.

Let us not forget that when the psycho went nuts in the Holocaust museum, the media blamed it on talk radio and identified the guy as a White Supremicist. There was no proof he was inspired by talk radio, but it fit the Washington Post anti-Rush Limbaugh angle. When the the census taker was found hung, the media blamed the anti-government tea party crowd. We now find out the guy committed suicide.

The media is being very cautious about this. They are more concerned about a "backlash" when they should be concerned that radicals like the Ft. Hood jihadist will try this again.

He looks more influenced by Hollywood then Islam~!

I don't see any "rush to judgement". Major Hasan's religious beliefs appear to have played a major role in his decision to kill his fellow soldiers.

Although we in the West would prefer to homogenize religion and naively like to believe that every world religion preaches toleration and peace, that is not the case. Although the majority of Muslims may not follow the teaching of radical immans, a fairly sizable minority do. Another sizable minority of Muslims (maybe even majority in foreign countries) find themselves sympathetic to the al Qaeda cause, if not outwardly supportive.

The reality is that this is now the second time that a Muslim wearing a uniform has taken it upon himself to kill fellow soldiers.

Does this mean every Muslim wearing the uniform is a terrorist? Of course not.

However, the media would be remiss if it didn't report the fact that Hasan was a Muslim as his religious identity appears to have been a large (if not the only) motivation of his attack.

As mid-grade officer, Major Hasan was certainly not powerless to address any incidents of harassment of which he may have been a target. A junior enlisted soldier might feel intimidated or might simply be ignorant of how to report such incidents. The same can not be said about a major.

I do feel badly for the majority of Muslims in uniform that are loyal to the United States and face increase scrutiny because of events like this. But hopefully, the can understand the reason for the scrutiny.

I don't personally like having to go to x-ray machines in an airport, or on occasion, be singled out for further screening in one of the machines the blow air at you in the airport. But I can at least understand why it's being done.

John, you are wrong.

Hasan is the bad guy here. He is the perpetrator. He is not some poor defenseless victim, driven to a completely understandable act of senseless violence by the cruel, cruel military. I find your attempts to empathize with this dirtbag repulsive.

Jeesh.