Muslims decry Fort Hood shootings
November 6, 2009
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November 6, 2009
North Texas Muslims called for calm and civility after shootings Thursday by an Army psychiatrist at Fort Hood.
Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was identified as Muslim - a detail that sent some in the Muslim community into a defense mode.
"I am so sad," said Nia McKay, the Indonesian-born president of Peacemakers, a Dallas-based nonprofit dedicated to events centered on peace. "Islam means Salaam. Its root word means peace. There are nonviolent resolutions." Others in the 150,000-strong Muslim community of North Texas called the Fort Hood situation evolving and full of nuance.
"A major is a big-deal officer, and there is something complicated in this situation and we need to let investigators do their work," said Mohamed Elibiary, president and CEO of the Carrollton-based Freedom and Justice Foundation. The nonprofit group works on public policy issues related to the Muslim community from state legislation to national security.
"There has been a clear pattern of soldiers snapping," Elibiary said. "There is an under-addressed issue in our armed forces that is the consequence of the stress of over-deployment."
Elibiary also emphasized that "there is a long tradition of Muslims serving in the armed forces, and many bases now have mosques."
The shootings at Fort Hood dominated chatter on the social network Twitter, with soldiers and military spouses sounding off. Some even said Fort Hood was now the war zone.
"Don't judge Nidal by his faith. I'm a Muslim soldier in the U.S. Army and my wife and son are at Fort Hood right now," wrote one.
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