American Muslim Terrorists

By Mike McManus
November 11, 2009

Two American Muslim terrorists are in the news. John Allen Muhammad was executed Tuesday for killing 10 people in Metro Washington in 2002. Last week Army Major Nidal M. Hassan killed 13 people and wounded 31 in Fort Hood, TX.

Muhammad expressed no remorse for his wanton killings. His accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, then 17, hid in the trunk of a car, and fired a stolen .223 caliber Bushmaster rifle at indiscriminate random targets: someone buying gas or sitting at a bus stop. Malvo was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

The killings of Hassan were particularly malevolent and traitorous. An Army Major sworn to protect the United States, deliberately killed U.S. soldiers being processed to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan. Every soldier was a volunteer, putting his life on the line for others. One signed up for the most dangerous duty - defusing bombs, the major killer of U.S. troops.

Many aspects of this case demonstrate an unwillingness by government and the news media to face the basic fact that Hassan was a Muslim extremist.

The New York Times' first report on Maj. Hassan never mentioned the words Muslim or Islam. ABC's Martha Raddatz' only comment was, "as one officer's wife told me, 'I wish his name was Smith.'"

Why? Before he started shooting, he shouted in Arabic, "Allahu Akbar," which means "God is great." Within minutes 13 people were killed. Is that not proof he was as acting with the same extremist passion demonstrated by the suicide bombers who took over airplanes on 9/11, or that drove John Allen Muhammad to murder?

A man named Smith would not do what Hassan did to fellow soldiers.

In June 2007 Hassan was supposed to discuss a medical issue during his training as an Army psychiatrist. Instead, The Washington Post reported "he lectured on Islam, suicide bombers and threats the military could encounter from Muslims conflicted about fighting wars in Muslim countries"

I studied the 50 slide show, called "The Koranic World View As It Relates to Muslims in the U.S. Military." It offers an important education to the rest of us, trying to understand what we are fighting against. An initial slide defined an Islamist as someone who believes in "Sharia law with no separation of church and state." Not an American idea.

On slide 11 he said, "It's getting harder and harder for Muslims in the service to morally justify being in a military that seems constantly engaged against fellow Muslims."

Had this U.S. commissioned officer not heard that Americans fought against Saddam Hussein to liberate Kuwait, a country of Muslims, which Saddam had taken over? Or that our bombing of Serbs saved Muslims who were being attacked in Bosnia? We fought FOR non-violent Muslims in Iraq, and seized no territory or oil for the U.S.

Indeed, Hassan attended a Mosque in 2001 led by an Imam named Anwar al Awlaki, who also inspired two of the 9/11 bombers. Awlaki is now a recruiter for Al Qaeda in Yemen. Yet Hassan recently sent two dozen e-mails to Awlaki, who praised Hassan on his website for his shooting mayhem as "a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against fellow Muslims."

Most Muslims are non-violent and quote verses of the Koran showing peaceful intent. But Hassan explained that early Koranic verses were from a time "Muslims were not permitted to defend themselves/fight." But after the Muslim emigration to Mecca, "Then offensive fighting was allowed."

More important, "Later verses abrogated former, ie, (sic) peaceful verses no longer apply." On slide 44, headlined "Offensive Jihad," he quoted the Koran's Sura (Chapter) 9:29: "Fight those who do not believe in Allah."

Slide 48 had bullets on Osama Bin Laden, Taliban, Suicide Bombers, and Hassan wrote, "If Muslim groups can convince Muslims that they are fighting for God against injustices of "infidels"; ie enemies of Islam, then Muslims can become a potent adversary, ie suicide bombing, etc.

Then Hassan wrote: "We love death more then (sic) you love life."

Finally, he recommended that because loyal Muslims will not want to disobey Allah and kill believers, the "Department of Defense should allow Muslim Soldiers the option of being released as 'Conscientious objectors' to increase troop morale and decrease adverse events."

I agree with that, but also agree with Sen. McCain that it was "especially galling" that Hassan had volunteered for military service and received taxpayer-supported training and medical schooling. "The depth of his ingratitude is really remarkable."

More astonishing, the military officers who heard Hassan's lecture, did not report him.

No one saw the man for what he was.


---Michael J. McManus is a syndicated columnist writing on "Ethics & Religion". He is President & Co-Chair of Marriage Savers. He lives with his wife in Potomac, MD