Local Muslims react to media coverage of Fort Hood shootings
"The way (they) are attacking Islam, it's hurting us. Islam had nothing to do with that," Imam Osama Hassan, with the Victoria Islamic Center, said of the Fort Hood shootings.
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PUBLIC OPINION BY THE NUMBERS
According to a September report by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 68 percent of Americans believe that Muslims face more discrimination than other major religious group.
Questions about perceptions of Islam show ...
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PUBLIC OPINION BY THE NUMBERS
According to a September report by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 68 percent of Americans believe that Muslims face more discrimination than other major religious group.
Questions about perceptions of Islam show that a plurality of the public (45 percent) says Islam is no more likely than other faiths to encourage violence among its believers. Only 38 percent of those who responded believe Islam does encourage violence more than other faiths do.
Local Muslims reacted to the Fort Hood shooting with shock, questions and concern over media coverage of their faith.
"We love to live in this country. We love that everyone is the same," said Imam Osama Hassan, with the Victoria Islamic Center. "The way (they) are attacking Islam, it's hurting us. Islam had nothing to do with that."
Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is charged with shooting and killing 13 people on Nov. 5, during a shooting spree at Fort Hood in Killeen.
Last week, President Barack Obama ordered a review of government documents that existed prior to the shootings, but especially information shared by Hasan.
The FBI revealed that it secretly monitored a series of Hasan's e-mails sent to a radical Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born Muslim living in Yemen, in December 2008. A subsequent FBI investigation at the time, led authorities to believe Hasan was not a threat, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.
Although the Victoria Islamic Center has released no official statement on the issue, members are in agreement with the stance of national moderate organizations.
"We condemn what happened definitely," Hassan said.
Dr. Shahid Hashmi, president of the center, added that the community was saddened by the event that took place.
"We regret the loss of life, no matter where it is," he said. "As far as we believe, the person who acts this way is not a true Muslim. If he did this because of his religion, he committed a major sin."
Victoria Muslims say they are happy with the decry against the incident from national organizations such as the Council on Islamic-American Relations and other moderate national organizations.
But the heart of the issue is the backlash of negative coverage of Islam in the media.
"To be honest with you when somebody who is a non-Muslim does this, there is no mention of his religion, he is a Christian killer, he is a Mormon killer, he is a Jewish killer," Hashmi said. "And when a Muslim does something, then everywhere in the media we hear more about the religion of Islam than the person who is committing the murder."
For Victoria Muslims, the incident is more about Hasan's state of mind than his religion.
"I consider it someone who is going nuts," said Razan Rifaai, a Muslim and Victoria resident. "It has nothing to do with religion."
Sarina Vasquez, Hassan's wife, a Victoria resident and practicing Muslim, also agrees.
"It's easy to blame. People always want to find an answer . people always want to point fingers," she said. "Because he's a Muslim, I believe it just added more fuel."
Hassan said neither he, nor members of the mosque have received any type of negative reaction from local non-Muslims and believes it is because Muslims are prominent in the community.
"Because you know that most of our Muslims are doctors or engineers and they have business shops here," he said. "All the people in Victoria deal with us."
If someone who is Muslim does something bad, it doesn't mean that all the Muslims are bad, he added.
"Unfortunately people are exposed to a lot of negatively in Islam," Vasquez said. "If they only knew how beautiful this religion was."
Comments
I say to the Muslims, get over it! You are not being discriminated against, the media and the president went to great lengths trying to portray Hasan the terrorist as a emotionally disturbed and distraught being. When eyewitnesses reported that he called the Muslim warcry, prior to the shooting. You want to see discrimination try standing up for Biblical morality in this politically correct society. Who are the enemies of America according to Obama and his minions,why its the Christian church and those that didn't vote for Obama. I am sorry when the Muslim religion can stop slaughtering Christians in Africa and stop dropping bombs in Israel and stop flying planes into buildings in the U.S. then we will stop with much of the suspicion until then sane people will always be leary of your motives and actions. You have no right to cry discrimination when it was the Muslims worldwide that were celebrating the Sept. 11th tragedy. And I know that every Muslim wasn't celebrating those events, but you cant blame people for being apprehensive, If Hasan superiors would have booted his sorry behind out of the military when they found out about his webpage and e-mail contacts they probably could have saved innocent blood, but because of our p.c. society nothing was done. I also would like to call the murderers family out for immediatly defending him and telling every one he was being picked on because he was a Muslim, they offered no apology for his actions only a motive (excuse) Pathetic!
November 21, 2009 at 11:36 p.m.One doesn't have to be a Christian to protest outside an abortion clinic or be pro-life, PE.
There are pro-life Jews, pro-life Muslims, and some pro-life leftists who, by their own admission feel "left out" because people usually single out he conservatives as pro-life.
Jen Roth's Leftout Jen Roth is founder/webmistress of Leftout, an online organization for left-leaning, progressive pro-lifers who tend to feel "left out" of both liberal and pro-life groups.
You can check out an entire host of pro-lifers who aren't Christian at-
http://www.godlessprolifers.org/links...
As for pro-life groups not condemning the murder of late-term abortionist George Tiller, that's not accurate. Major pro-life groups such as American Life League, Human Life International, and Priests for Life were very quick to say that killing was not a "pro-life" action, and that the man was mislead.
It was a tragedy what happened to Tiller, even though he killed over 60,000 late term babies, the man himself had a soul to save.
As for women making a "legal" choice for themselves, perhaps. But slavery was once legal too. The United States Supreme court ruled at one time with Dred Scot that African Americans were not persons, put property. Thankfully, that was reversed several decades later. Also, that "choice" doesn't just affect the woman, but also affects an unborn human who had no choice in the matter.
November 21, 2009 at 10:53 a.m.Exresident: MY deleted post carried the point about McVeigh.
BUT. You don't see, hear, and read about local METHODIST, CATHOLIC, ETC. calling for the extermination of a country, a people, or filled with such hate as INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC LEADERS.
I have zero sympathy for the Muslim pity-me movement. It is a testament to the tolerance of Christians, even those redneck Christians in little of Victoria, that nothing has been done to harm these people in todays climate.
November 20, 2009 at 7:44 p.m.I would like to add that it is unfortunate how quickly everyone overlooks Christian terrorism... Murder is tragic no matter the killer or their cause.
So why do we not hear more from more "Christian Leaders" denouncing the use of force in the name of their religion?
How quickly we appear to have forgotten:
http://www.answers.com/topic/irish-re...
http://www.answers.com/topic/timothy-...
Timothy McVeigh was fresh from a Christian commune in Oklahoma
http://www.nbcactionnews.com/media/li...
I don't remember too many christians apologizing for the actions of Scott Roeder either.
Or what about Jim D. Adkisson?
http://www.chicagofreepress.com/files...
I wouldn't expect Christians to feel any obligation to apologize for the actions of a few self-righteous individuals with no respect for life. Why should anyone expect any different from Muslims?
The fact is that most people don't. Those who do just tend to be really vocal about it.
November 20, 2009 at 5:07 p.m.Poor Muslim's, they are so mistreated by the media. If a white man attacks a black man because of his "faith" in white superiority; I guess they don't get treated as bad, by the media?
Of course the media comes down on white people, that are preceived in the slightest as white supremist or racist that attack other Americans, hard! Have these Muslims been sleeping under a rock, duh, the Republicans are being hammered by the liberal media; for just standing aganist Obama, because he is black.
These Muslims suffer from "believing their own crp" complex, they think the media is sooo darn hard on them; and people cimminalize them unfairly.
horse malarky!
Muslim extremist are hiding among other Muslims, Muslim extremist are using the resources of other Muslims; and a "Muslim" killed the unborn child of a Hispanic American at Fort Hood.
To say the media is treating Muslims to hard, is an insult to the death of that unborn child. The fact, that the Imam that promotes Anti-American rhetoric is still breathing, is a testament to Gods grace.
Muslims are being treated extremely fair, at least every time I think about the unborn child that died as a Muslim said,"God is Great".
November 20, 2009 at 4:22 p.m.So, I call out the quoted local Islamic leader as being disingeniuos and get deleted. No secret about who the censor protects.
November 20, 2009 at 3:26 p.m.Great post BHJ.
When you have someone that's just looking for an excuse, they'll probably find one. Religion, politics, envy, the greater good™, whatever.
November 20, 2009 at 3:20 p.m.Being a Democrat in Victoria is bad enough. I cannot imagine how it would feel as one of a community that is the object of nationwide prejudice...
November 20, 2009 at 12:43 p.m.One of the reasons the Victoria Muslim community is seeing little to no backlash is because, generally speaking, there isn't any backlash, in Victoria or anywhere else in North America. There's much ado about nothing on this topic. Muslims aren't being besieged, they aren't running for the exit because of discrimination or persecution. Not happening. There is concern among the broader public about why someone yelling "Allahu Akbar!" is, in the name of his faith, mowing down 13 innocent people. He's a Muslim. He did yell "Allahu Akbar!" He apparently sought guidance about how to serve Allah better in the context of Jihad. So, yes, this is a Muslim thing. It is not surprising that there'd be concern about it. But the Muslim community hasn't (even immediately after 9/11, when Bush raced out and reassured everyone that Islam is this big wonderful religion of peace) suffered any major "backlash" much aside from some understandable suspicion from this majority non-Muslim continent. I don’t know if it’s the press or the Muslim community or organizations like CAIR, but the greatest reaction to all the non reaction seems to be coming from them.
November 20, 2009 at 9:30 a.m.Just wondering how the local muslims feel about the attempts of world muslim leaders to get the UN to vote to disallow any criticism of their religion by ANYONE. If the US were to sign on to such a UN treaty, the First Amendment to our Constitution would be voided.
November 20, 2009 at 8:01 a.m.This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
November 20, 2009 at 3:26 a.m.I am not religious but every time one of these Islamic terrorists pops up there are always links to Imams that preach terror. Sorry for sounding not politically correct but this guy was chanting Allah Akbar and he attended the same mosque whose video tapes were found with the Toronto terrorists. A random nut? Sure doesn't look like it. I can't remember the last time time I turned on the TV and there was a Christian, or a Catholic or any other religion that was planning to fly planes into buildings, building fertilizer bombs or blowing up subways. I can understand how a few nuts can ruin a cause but show the last time a radical Imam was removed or even had a demonstration outside their mosque. I have travelled the mideast and have many great Islamic friends but is time for the "state" of Islam to clean up their own act. You can not turn a blind eye and hope it goes away. The terror that we see being committed in the name of Allah is much more than a few random nuts. It's not my problem, it is the problem of Islam and they need to solve it. I sure dont like sending troops into Afghanistan and watching our young die cleaning up the "bad pockets" of Islam. Hassan was not acting alone, he was well hooked up and so have been many others. Condemning it is not enough, Muslims need to take action and I sure dont see any peace marches happening.
I sure hope this doesn't get censored. There is no harm intended, it is just an opinion.
November 20, 2009 at 1:46 a.m.