Unfounded Accusations Base Motive of Ft. Hood Shooting on Religious Extremism

Barbara Ferguson |

Arab News, November 9, 2009  

WASHINGTON:

Less than one percent of America's 1.4 million troops are Muslims, and the military says the percentage of enlisted Muslims who are outstanding, competent or misfit soldiers is proportional to that of every other ethnic group.

But that logic is increasingly hard to hear in the aftermath of Maj. Nidal Hasan's killing spree at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.

Already, without any evidence, many newspapers, TV shows and blogs are coming out against what they have determined are Hasan's "terrorist links" or his "extremist Muslim" religious views.

Federal investigators say they are examining any possible links between the Fort Hood shooter -- who went on a rampage Thursday, killing 13 people and injuring dozens more -- and an American-born imam who US authorities say has become a supporter and leading promoter of Al-Qaeda since leaving a northern Virginia mosque.

Investigators say the real challenge is trying to figure out whether the attack was psychologically, ideologically or religiously motivated. As of yet, investigators report they have found nothing that links Hasan to any terrorist connection.

Investigators say it is important to figure this out before making any link to questionable ties that could damage US outreach to the Muslim world or provoke an overreaction that could divide Americans.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey said Sunday that it was important for the country not to get caught up in speculation about Hasan's Muslim faith. The general has instructed his commanders to be on the lookout for anti-Muslim reactions to the killings at the Texas post.

He said focusing on the Islamic roots of the suspected shooter could "heighten the backlash" against all Muslims in the military, adding diversity in the military "gives us strength."

Casey declined to answer questions about the investigation into the shooting, but said evidence to this point showed that Hasan acted alone.

"I think the speculation could potentially heighten a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers, what happened at Fort Hood is a tragedy, but I believe it would be an even greater tragedy if our diversity becomes a casualty here."

But even as Gen. Casey warned against guessing at a motive, Independent Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman called the Fort Hood massacre an act of "Islamist extremism."

"There are very, very strong warning signs here that Dr. Hasan had become an Islamist extremist and, therefore, that this was a terrorist act," Lieberman said Sunday on Fox News, without elaborating what the "signs" were.

The committee will also examine growing suggestions that the Army might have ignored signs that Major Hasan was under enormous stress caused by his religious beliefs, his views on the war in Iraq and being constantly exposed to people who were mentally damaged by their service in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The FBI and the Army have said they are investigating whether the military psychiatrist suspected in the Ft. Hood shooting rampage had an association with militants at a mosque in Virginia or in cyberspace.

Authorities are still scouring hard drives, e-mail accounts and website trails "to see what's out there, and to see what it all means," said a senior law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. "There's a lot of work being done."

The official said investigators were looking into Hasan's association with the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va., in early 2001, about the same time that a radical Islamist prayer leader and two of the Sept. 11 hijackers attended the mosque. The mosque is one of the biggest in the United States and the official cautioned that thousands of people go there for prayer services and other events. The funeral of Hasan's mother was held there on May 31, 2001, the Associated Press reported.

Authorities also are focusing on whether Hasan more recently had been following the fiery online sermons and blog postings of the imam, Anwar Al-Awlaki, the official said.

Investigators are looking for every possible clue about his background - searching his home, talking to the people at his mosque in Killeen, Texas. The FBI and other agencies say they have conducted over 200 interviews so far.

Hasan was allegedly very unhappy about the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was dreading his deployment to Iraq at the end of the month. His boss at Fort Hood said he was a good psychiatrist and a valued member of her team.

What is evolving is that Hasan's behavior in the month and weeks leading up to the shootings shows a troubled man full of ambiguity. He earned over $100,000, yet lived in a one-bedroom flat in a dilapidated apartment building. He was described by neighbors as being polite and kind, yet he complained bitterly to people at his mosque about the oppression of Muslims in the Army.

Too many Americans overlook the heroic efforts of Muslims in uniform, Capt. Eric Rahman, 35, told reporters.

Rahman, an Army reservist, won the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq, cited the example of Petty Officer Michael Monsoor, a Navy Seal, who died after pulling a team member to safety during a firefight in Iraq.

Petty Officer Monsoor, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, a Muslim who died while saving a fellow American, yet he will not be remembered like Major Hasan, said Captain Rahman.

Crime experts and fellow psychiatrists familiar with the military question whether Hasan's actions compare with those of George Sodini, who is accused of shooting 11 women in a Pennsylvania gym this summer, or Seung-Hui Cho, the shooter in the 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre.