The memorial service for those who lost their lives at the hands of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is being held in Ft. Hood today. The President is scheduled to speak in honor and remembrance of the 13 fallen men and women from the deadliest incident to take place at an Army Base on U.S. soil in history. It’s shaken up a large portion of the population and has brought the military back to the front page of the media machine from months of headlines regarding healthcare and the economy.
The incident itself may be newsworthy due to the unprecedented number of casualties, but two big wrinkles have given this story pretty long legs to run on. As the story continues to unfold, we now know a few details from the assailant. First, he was a licensed Army psychiatrist, someone professionally trained to help soldiers readjust to life after a tour in Afghanistan or Iraq. Second, according to eyewitness accounts, he shouted “Allahu akbar” just before opening fire. As you may know, this is an Aramaic phrase loosely translated as “God is great”. It’s become a calling card of sorts for Muslim terrorists who believe they are acting on God’s behalf. Let’s start with the latter.
Every major American Islamic organization publicly condemned the attack as immoral and anti-Islam. A few angry members of the community in Ft. Hood took it upon themselves to call in death threats to area mosques, as if that would change the past or help the future in some way. I agree with the sentiment of Arsalan Iftikhar, who wrote a fine editorial on the double standard of Muslim ties to terrorism and hate crimes compared to those who commit similar acts from a Christian upbringing.
Is religion the cause of this act? It’s a fair question to ask, and it seems to come up every time there is a notable incident of murder in the name of God, be it Allah or Elohim. But with the histories of nearly all major religious traditions involving some sort of divinely sanctioned homicide, should we be surprised when modern day believers act in such a way? If it was ok to commit genocide on the Philistines, the Nephites, the infidels, or some other group in the past, because of the greater good that God had planned, is it so difficult to comprehend the state of mind of today’s “holy warrior”?
One of my favorite quotes from Lou Tice, Chairman of The Pacific Institute, is:
We act not according to the truth, but the truth as we believe it to be.
If someone believes that God is speaking to them, and that God has a plan much larger than current circumstances, then ANY moral beliefs can be compromised to achieve obedience to that plan, including the value of human life. Our internal beliefs about something’s legitimacy have much more to do with our corresponding actions than any sort of external “proof”. Unfortunately for those closest to the Ft. Hood community, Major Hasan believed that he was doing God’s will at the time of his attack, despite “proof” of the evils of murder that many in society simply take for common sense.
This is a pretty volatile topic, so let’s see if anyone is interested in discussing it further, here. Just leave a comment and let’s talk about it!
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