Horror at Fort Hood Inspires Horribly Predictable Islamophobia

Thursday's shootings at Fort Hood army base in Texas -- which have left
at least 11 people dead and 31 others wounded -- were of course the
"horrific outburst of violence" that President Obama bemoaned and
condemned Thursday.

But, because a soldier identified as the gunman had a name that led
to the presumption that he was Muslim, the incident inspired an
all-too-predictable outbreak of Islamophobia.

News reports named the man who used two handguns in the assault on his
fellow soldiers at a base that is a prime point of departure for troops
headed to Iraq and Afghanistan as Major Malik Nidal Hasan. The major,
who was wounded during the incident, was reportedly a psychiatrist who
had served in the Department of Psychology at the Center for the Study
of Traumatic Stress at the Bethesda Naval Facility in Bethesda,
Maryland, before his transfer to Fort Hood. Hours after the incident,
and hours after news anchors and politicians cited his religion as an
explanation for the shootings, a family member told reporters Major
Hasan was indeed a Muslim.

But that was hardly the only relevant detail about the major.

For instance, according to Texas Senator Bailey Hutchison, preparing
to deploy to Iraq. However, the senator said, "I do know that he has
been known to have told people that he was upset about going (to
Iraq)." Several new reports suggested that the major saw a deployment
to Iraq as his "worst nightmare" and recounted how he had treated victims of combat-related stress and was upset about the war.

Military officials at the base and in Washington refused to speculate
about motivations or intents. And Paul Sullivan, executive director of
the group Veterans for Common Sense, noted that the incident
might well be the latest in a series of stress-related homicides and
suicides involving soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan or
are being dispatched to those occupied lands.

No one knew on Thursday whether stress, fear, anger over
mistreatment, mental illness or a warped understanding of his religion
might have motivated Major Hasan. The point here is not to defend the
soldier or his alleged actions. Rather, it is to question the rush to
judgment regarding not just this one Muslim but all Muslims.

It should be understood that to assume a follower of Islam who
engages in violence is a jihadist is every bit as absurd to assume that
every follower of Christianity who attacks others is a crusader. The
calculus makes no sense, and is rooted in a bigotry that everyone from
George W. Bush to Pope Benedict XVI has condemned.

But that did not stop right-wing web sites from exploding with incendiary speculation about a "Jihad at Fort Hood?" and a "Terrorist Incident in Texas."

Fox News host Shepard Smith asked Senator Hutchison on air: "The name tells us a lot, does it not, senator?"

Hutchinson's response? "It does. It does, Shepard."

Neither Smith nor Hutchison had any information to suggest that
Major Hasan's name offered even the slightest shred of information
regarding the incident at Fort Hood.

What could Hutchinson have said that might have been more responsible response?

She could have emphasized that the investigation of the shooting spree has barely begun.

She might also have noted that thousands of Muslims serve honorably,
indeed heroically, in the U.S. military; that American Muslim soldiers
have died In Iraq and been buried at Arlington Cemetery; that some of
the first condemnations of the slayings at Fort Hood came from Muslim
veterans such as Robert Salaam.

"I'm sad for those killed and wounded by a traitor to both God and
our country, and I regret that I even feel that I have to write
something on the subject. Words cannot express my emotions and the
instant headache I received when notified by my dear sister Sheila
Musaji over at The American Muslim (TAM) concerning the alleged
culprit," wrote Salaam,
who served in the Marine Corps, within minutes after learning the
gunman's name. "They have not yet released further details such as the
motive but I will state for the record that no true Muslim could ever
commit such a crime against humanity. As Muslims we are reminded that
to take one innocent life is as if one killed all of mankind. Muslims
are also commanded to keep their oaths when given."

Salaam is not alone in regretting that, as a Muslim, he feels a need
to respond to the incident with an explanation of his religion.

But the conversation between Fox's Smith and Senator Hutchinson reminds us why it is necessary to respond.

And so Muslim groups have responded quickly and unequivocally.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations,
the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, issued a
statement that read: "We condemn this cowardly attack in the strongest
terms possible and ask that the perpetrators be punished to the full
extent of the law. No religious or political ideology could ever
justify or excuse such wanton and indiscriminate violence. The attack
was particularly heinous in that it targeted the all-volunteer army
that protects our nation. American Muslims stand with our fellow
citizens in offering both prayers for the victims and sincere
condolences to the families of those killed or injured."

Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council,
declared that, "Our entire organization extends its heartfelt
condolences to the families of those killed as well as to those wounded
and their loved ones. We stand in solidarity with law enforcement and
the US military to maintain the safety and security of all Americans."

Those are sentiments that are worth noting, especially by news
anchors and senators who are in a position to inform the discussion of
a horrific incident -- rather than to inflame it.