The real power of prayer

On Nov. 5, Major Nidal Malik Hasan entered his workplace at Fort Hood, Texas. He sat alone at a table for a few seconds, jumped on a table to yell “God is Great” in Arabic, then proceeded to pull out a semi-automatic pistol and revolver and began to open fire. By the time the bullets had fallen, 13 were dead and 30 injured.

No one is sure why Hasan did what he did. He was an Army psychologist, undoubtedly faced with the emotional strain of working with individuals who had seen and done horrendous things. He was soon to be deployed, and loathed the idea. He was the constant target of harassment for his Middle Eastern descent. No doubt, when and if the facts come out, it’s going to be a combination of all of these.

Yet, in the tragedy of this event, an important element is ignored — Hasan’s religion. He was a devout Muslim, claiming to be “a Muslim first and an American second.” While his colleagues were lecturing on how to treat soldiers, Hasan was presenting on suicide bombers and the Muslim faith. Later, he even allegedly told a colonel “maybe Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressor.”

So why does this matter? The Council on American-Islamic Relations has already condemned his actions; other Islamic groups have and will follow. Hasan will be labeled an extremist — but I don’t buy it. Perhaps the problem isn’t that Hasan was an extremist, but rather, that he took his faith quite seriously. And that, dear readers, is even more terrifying.

In 2005, a Danish newspaper published a blasphemous cartoon of Mohammad. The result was more than 100 dead by the time the worldwide riots stopped. In 1988, Salman Rushdie published “The Satanic Verses,” a blasphemous book inspired by the life of Mohammad. Riots broke out soon after, Rushdie was the victim of multiple attempted murders and translators of the book were targets of violence as well. And then there’s the violence that’s commonplace in many Islamic theocracies against women, homosexuals and others. At some point, we have to examine if the religion itself is part of the problem.

All it takes is a cursory glance at the Qur’an to see the calls for violence. “Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not.” How should one fight? The Qur’an has that answered as well in verse 8:12. “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.” Later, there’s even a call to “fight with them until there is no more persecution and religion should be only for Allah.”

While I’d never make the claim Hasan was soley motivated by his faith, how could this not contribute to an already unstable man?! This “religion of peace” makes at least 109 calls for violence throughout the Qur’an. The Islamic faith is part of the problem.

Already there are calls from pundits to purge the armed forces of all Muslims, and those of Middle Eastern descent are already harassed. I do not condone either of these actions. I’ve always believed one should attack ideas and not people. That said, it’s time to end the apologetics for Islam. Not all Muslims support mass murderers - but it’s their holy text does. That’s the problem.