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Fort Hood incident unrelated to Islam: Activist
The shooting spree at Fort Hood where army psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly killed 13 fellow soldiers and injured 29 others, has nothing to do with Islam, says Muslim activist. "What we saw right after the Fort Hood shooting was a statement by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas that essentially implied that the US military had been quote and quote infiltrated," said Ibrahim Ramey from the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, Press TV's Washington correspondent reported. "We think that that was something that was a criminal act. It was clearly something that was done by a person who, we believe, had some very serious mental issues. But it had nothing to do with Islam. It had nothing to do with anything that was sanctioned by any responsible Muslim organization." Ramey maintained that prejudice against Muslims in the military is reflective of prejudice against Muslims in general in the United States. The Pew Research Center shows nearly six out of every ten Americans believe Muslims are more discriminated against than other religious groups including evangelical Christians, Mormons, Jews and even atheists. "The US military is involved in wars in both in Afghanistan and Iraq that would mean that Muslims, despite any of their credentials or affiliations or political ideological beliefs, who are in the military can be on occasion looked at as being suspicious," Ramey added. Officials allege that Maj. Hasan, who was due to be deployed to Afghanistan, opened fire on soldiers who were filling out paperwork in the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood. Maj. Hasan could face capital punishment if the charges brought against him are proven. Maj. Hasan's case has been described as the highest-profile court-martial in at least a generation. Posted by: Fred 2009-11-19 |
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