The shooting spree at Fort Hood in Texas this week raises so many questions and ironies it is hard to know where to begin. It is too soon to speculate about anything specific because the facts are still muddled. Some things are clear, though, and they are puzzling to me.
Major Nidal Hasan, the shooter, is a Muslim, an American citizen born in Virginia to Jordanian parents. One report says he is a life-long Muslim, another says he is a recent convert. In either case, the obvious question is how militant is his belief. At his mosque in Maryland, he listed his nationality as Palestinian. A retired colonel who worked with Hasan says he has been making anti-American remarks for several months, at least. Hasan was openly opposed to the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He likened suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save their fellows.
Should there have been some inquiry into the major's beliefs given the strong correlation between terrorist ideology and Muslim religion? Not all Muslims are terrorists to be sure, but 99.99% of terrorists are Muslim. I wonder if there is a way our P.C. distracted military can asses this factor in its estimate of a person's worthiness to wear the country's uniform. Major Hasan was investigated because of his radical statements, but nothing rose to the level necessary to sanction him or relieve him of duty.
A glaring irony in this situation is that Major Hasan was trained as a psychiatrist. His responsibilities included counseling soldiers who were having difficulty coping with the inevitable stress that is the military life. Apparently the doctor needed a good dose of "physician heal thyself." It may be that he became so troubled by the dissonance in his own mind that he snapped. We don't know and may never learn the deep struggles the major endured, but at least we can say that he, of all people, should have been equipped to deal with them.
Then there is the public reaction to analyze. I am as stricken as anyone by the sad irony that soldiers in our own country, supposedly safe at an Army base, were gunned down mercilessly. The families of the victims deserve our prayers and sympathy. Yet many days there is a similar number of military personnel killed in Afghanistan and/or Iraq. These brave men and women who fall in service to their country do not receive non-stop pre-emptive coverage on the news channels. The Congress does not pause for a moment of silence at each casualty report from the battle theater. Why is more attention paid to the casualties of a mental break than to the deaths caused by the cultural break that is radical Islam?
If we truly are Christian soldiers, we should expect casualties. Certainly the early church experienced deadly persecution. We Americans are only since September 11, 2001, finding out what religious persecution is. Make no mistake, this is a religious struggle we are fighting. If we fail to see the war on terrorism as a holy war, we will never understand it. We don't know if Major Hasan murdered because of his religion, but we know thousands have died around the globe at the hands of people who share his faith.
If there is such a thing as a just war, as Augustine proposed, this is surely one. Christians everywhere are being murdered daily because radical Muslims see it as their holy duty to kill them. As Christians we must stand behind our valiant troops who are attempting to hold the line against a vicious threat. We should mourn every fallen soldier, sailor and marine who has given the ultimate sacrifice so that we can remain free from terror. The Fort Hood incident shows that terror may strike closer to home than we would like. Our "luck" at being free from deadly persecution may be running out.
Major Nidal Hasan, the shooter, is a Muslim, an American citizen born in Virginia to Jordanian parents. One report says he is a life-long Muslim, another says he is a recent convert. In either case, the obvious question is how militant is his belief. At his mosque in Maryland, he listed his nationality as Palestinian. A retired colonel who worked with Hasan says he has been making anti-American remarks for several months, at least. Hasan was openly opposed to the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He likened suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save their fellows.
Should there have been some inquiry into the major's beliefs given the strong correlation between terrorist ideology and Muslim religion? Not all Muslims are terrorists to be sure, but 99.99% of terrorists are Muslim. I wonder if there is a way our P.C. distracted military can asses this factor in its estimate of a person's worthiness to wear the country's uniform. Major Hasan was investigated because of his radical statements, but nothing rose to the level necessary to sanction him or relieve him of duty.
A glaring irony in this situation is that Major Hasan was trained as a psychiatrist. His responsibilities included counseling soldiers who were having difficulty coping with the inevitable stress that is the military life. Apparently the doctor needed a good dose of "physician heal thyself." It may be that he became so troubled by the dissonance in his own mind that he snapped. We don't know and may never learn the deep struggles the major endured, but at least we can say that he, of all people, should have been equipped to deal with them.
Then there is the public reaction to analyze. I am as stricken as anyone by the sad irony that soldiers in our own country, supposedly safe at an Army base, were gunned down mercilessly. The families of the victims deserve our prayers and sympathy. Yet many days there is a similar number of military personnel killed in Afghanistan and/or Iraq. These brave men and women who fall in service to their country do not receive non-stop pre-emptive coverage on the news channels. The Congress does not pause for a moment of silence at each casualty report from the battle theater. Why is more attention paid to the casualties of a mental break than to the deaths caused by the cultural break that is radical Islam?
If we truly are Christian soldiers, we should expect casualties. Certainly the early church experienced deadly persecution. We Americans are only since September 11, 2001, finding out what religious persecution is. Make no mistake, this is a religious struggle we are fighting. If we fail to see the war on terrorism as a holy war, we will never understand it. We don't know if Major Hasan murdered because of his religion, but we know thousands have died around the globe at the hands of people who share his faith.
If there is such a thing as a just war, as Augustine proposed, this is surely one. Christians everywhere are being murdered daily because radical Muslims see it as their holy duty to kill them. As Christians we must stand behind our valiant troops who are attempting to hold the line against a vicious threat. We should mourn every fallen soldier, sailor and marine who has given the ultimate sacrifice so that we can remain free from terror. The Fort Hood incident shows that terror may strike closer to home than we would like. Our "luck" at being free from deadly persecution may be running out.
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