Duane or Sgt. Kamal?

(Bumped up from Sunday morning.)

The Fort Hood shootings will take some time to unravel. While we can justifiably revel in the courage and skill of Sgt. Munley and wonder about what drove the psych major to murder his fellow soldiers (is it PTSD by association or Islamic radicalism?), there are other stories out there as well.

NYT has a piece about the Fort Hood area mosque Hasan attended and its response to the shootings.

Leaders of the vibrant Muslim community here expressed outrage on Friday at the shooting rampage being laid to one of their members, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who had become a regular attendee of prayers at the local mosque.

But some of the men who had befriended Major Hasan at the mosque said the military should examine the policies that might have caused him to snap.

OK, nice to see the mosque does not condone the killings, but terrifically disappointed they used a “but.” You know, “we hate the act, but you caused it” kind of parsing. Why not just say they hate it?

“Ultimately it was Brother Nidal’s doing, but the command should be held accountable,” Mr. Benjamin said. “G.I.’s are like any equipment in the Army. When it breaks, those who were in charge of keeping it fit should be held responsible for it.”

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“The Islamic community strongly condemns this cowardly attack, which was particularly heinous in that it was directed at the all-volunteer army that protects our nation,” Dr. Farooqi said.

Dr. Farooqi is identified as a “mosque leader.” (I use quotations because I don’t know if “deacon” is a similar position or not.) Another mosque attendee had some similar words.

Among those attending Friday prayers at the Killeen mosque was Sgt. Fahad Kamal, 26, an Army medic who wore his Airborne uniform, and later he said he was angered on several levels. “I want to believe it was the individual, and not the religion, that made him do what he did,” said Sergeant Kamal, who returned to the United States last year after a 15-month tour in Afghanistan. “It’s an awful thing. I feel let down. We’re better than this.”

Interesting that Sgt. Kamal hopes Hasan’s was an individual act and unrelated to his religion. Apparently he’s not sure.

Then two blogs, biased-bbc and the jawa report, posted audio from a bbc interview where another mosque member expressed no sympathy with the injured.

The Jawa Report transcribed a portion of the interview:

Duane : I’m not going to condemn him for what he did. I don’t know why he did it. I will not, absolutely not, condemn him for what he had done though. If he had done it for selfish reasons I still will not condemn him. He’s my brother in the end. I will never condemn him.

Gavin Lee : There might be a lot of people shocked to hear you say that.

Duane: Well, that’s the way it is. I don’t speak for the community here but me personally I will not condemn him.

Gavin Lee : What are your thoughts towards those that were victims in this?

Duane : They were, in the end, they were troops who were going to Afghanistan and Iraq to kill Muslims. I honestly have no pity for them. It’s just like the majority of the people that will hear this, after five or six minutes they’ll be shocked, after that they’ll forget about them and go on their day.

Interestingly enough, BiasedBBC wonders if this is the same “duane” that the NYT quoted in the first piece I linked to. If so, the guy must be happy getting his 15 minutes as jihadi-by-association. Does a guy get the virgins for that ??

Most people have some sort of respect for the dead. Whether enemies or friends, generally speaking, people are taught that death settles all accounts. Most, if not all people, then at least espouse some respectful sensibility even for those they didn’t like. Something like “I did not like him a bit, but I hope he’s at peace.” Not everyone rates respect – some people are so horrible that it’s hard to be anything but happy they’re gone. But for the most part, people still do not “speak ill of the dead” – even the unlikable.

But none of Hasan’s victims were child molesters or mass murderers (except Hasan), so one might expect some sympathy for their deaths or at least a recognition these people deserve some kind or gentle thoughts. “Duane” apparently thinks otherwise – that these people deserve no pity at all. Not even in death. That’s quite cold.

So, while the mosque leaders condemn Hasan’s actions, a member says the dead GIs “had it coming.” You know, if mosque leaders are genuinely horrified, then this young man is a sign they’ve got issues to address. If the young man is just expressing a consensus opinion of those attending the mosque, then that’s another matter. Maybe Sgt. Kamal is onto something.