I have been getting beat up on the blog, in the email, on facebook, etc. over my commentary on the net and on CNN because I refuse to accept that Maj Hassan was anything less than a killer and a traitor who betrayed his oath to this nation and his oath to God.  Because I refuse to accept that 1 billion Muslims worldwide somehow understand Islam to be peace and never commit any crimes, I am attacked by some because they use foolish logic that would suggest that because terrorists like Maj Hassan, are more representative of my faith than 1 billion believers.  I will continue to voice my opinion and those of other Muslims without biting my tongue because I know it’s the truth.  If Islam was what many of the naysayers claim it truly is, than you have 1 billion Muslims who are ignorant of their faith and only the terrorists and of course the naysayers know more about Islam than we do.

Does anyone beside me find it comical that the critics of Islam agree with the terrorist explanation of Islam over the interpretation of 1 billion Muslims a host of scholars, Fiqh councils etc.  The only “Muslims” you will ever find that support Hassan are terrorists and of course those non-Muslims who are anti-Islam, some of them have already commented on my blog, meanwhile I have 1 billion behind me.

The reality is that as it says in the Qur’an never will they accept you unless you reject your faith.  Well don’t hold your breath.

Islam had about as much to do with this tragedy as Christianity had with the trans-atlantic slave trade and the persecution of blacks.  Terrorists isolate versus in the Qur’an ignoring scholars and accepted Tafsir to “justify” their actions, and Christians of old isolated verses in the Bible to justify enslaving and mistreating us “cursed” blacks, you know because Ham saw his father Noah (as) naked.

Religion has been used for throughout the ages to justify both good and of course evil.  No one can deny that.

What we should be discussing is what is next, how do we support the victims of this murderer, and what can we do to address the increased suicide rates, depression, PTSD, etc. that the troops are having to deal with because of our continued involvement in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

I know I know, I’m being too logical, it’s more important to discuss how we should expel thousands of Americans many of them servicemembers because they pray differently.  I know, I know, we are not to be trusted because Maj Hassan is a murderer and because there are many like him across the globe who also claim to be Muslim.

Funny thing is, I go to the same Mosque Maj Hassan went to while he lived in the DC Area.  I happen to believe and act on the Imam’s sermons when he calls for Muslims to be good citizens, neighbors, etc. and Hassan did not.  But then again I attended many church sermons where the Pastor talked about the evils of adultery and fornication, and somehow members of the congregation did that very exact thing.

Do we blame the entire church, Pastor, or religion?  Nope.  In America, the only religion that is blamed in totality for the actions of a few is the Islamic religion. Ironically, the Islamic religion is never recognized for the actions of the many who haven’t harmed another soul ever.  Fair is fair, if my entire religion is guilty for the actions of some then other religions, ethnicity, etc. should be held to the same standard.  You know what they call someone who will hold another to a standard they are not willing to be held to?  Hypocrites.  Imagine that?  Whatever happened to treat thy neighbor as thyself?  Those non-Muslims who feel it their duty to insult me and other Muslims because of Hassan and the other terrorists, would you be willing to be accused based on the actions of your fellow believers?

It should be no surprise that some of these radical non-Muslims who insult my faith on this blog and elsewhere agree with the same interpretation of Islam as do the terrorists.  I mean afterall, they use the same tactics.

The non-Muslims say all of Islam and Muslims are evil because of the actions of terrorists.

The terrorists say the entire West is evil because of the actions of some Westerners.

Surprise, surprise….

On to some articles on the subject…..enough of my rant….

Fort Hood Tragedy… Muslim Soldiers Speak Out

WASHINGTON – Several Muslims who have served or are currently serving in the military say the tragic deaths of 13 soldiers in Fort Hood, Texas, at the hands of Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan is an individual action that does not represent them, insisting that Muslims remain an integral part of the US military.

“There’s nothing we [in the military] can do about it,” Robert Salaam, a former Marine who reverted to Islam after 9/11, told IslamOnline.net.

“What Maj. Hasan did does not represent us,” he told IOL confidently.

Some 13 people were killed and 30 wounded late Thursday in Fort Hood military base when Major Hasan, an army psychiatrist, opened fire at fellow soldiers.

Hasan, who was born in the US to Palestinian parents, was shot and taken into custody after the attack.

James Booth, a 26-year-old private serving his first tour in Iraq, was shocked and horrified by suspect Maj. Hasan’s shooting spree in Fort Hood.

He said the news spread fast amongst the soldiers stationed all around Iraq.

As he vehemently condemns the shooting, Jameel Malik, a lance corporal in the Marine Corps currently stationed at Camp Pendleton in California, says Muslims must stop being apologetic.

“Why should we apologize for something someone else did that does not represent Muslims in any way?” he told IOL.

There is no official count of Muslims serving in the 1.4 million-strong US armed forces because recruits are not required to state their religion.

But according to the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affair Council, there are more than 20,000 Muslims serving in the military.

Feared Backlash

Qaseem Ali Uqdah, a 21-year Marine Corps veteran and a chaplain in the Air Force, says the tragedy must be treated as a criminal one.

Uqdah, who now heads AMAFVAC, is worried about a “witch hunt” following the Fort Hood killings.

Salaam, the former Marine, also fears many would not disassociate Maj. Hasan’s criminal actions from his faith.

“Starting today, it’s going to be hard,” he believes.

Though his experience when serving in the army was positive and though he believes that Muslim service members are a vital and loyal part of the military, Salaam fears the tragedy will cause problems of public perception.

“When I was serving, there were isolated incidents of people making offensive comments, but they were swiftly reprimanded,” he recalls.

“But when something like this happens, it’s hard to explain to people outside of the military that one man’s twisted motives do not speak for the thousands of Muslims serving their country.

“In the Marine Corp we say ‘God, Country, Corp.’ Those are concepts very synonymous with Islam. And when something like this happens, it’s like a major setback in [public] relations, because [people think] that we can’t even trust those who have given an oath to his country.”

Booth, who converted to Islam six months after joining the army and is serving in Iraq, does not share the fears of violence and a backlash.

“I am confident that my brothers and sisters in the army will react calmly and rationally to this terrible incident.”

He says the army has always been respectful of his faith.

Initially, he admitted, he was nervous to let on that he was Muslim.

“I would say I was going to the restroom when it was time for me to pray to avoid being detected,” he told IOL.

“Eventually I got tired of that and just told [my unit] that I was Muslim. Other than a few curious questions at first, I am treated just like everybody else.”

A Muslim Soldier’s View from Fort Hood

Major Nidal Malik Hasan is a murderer and has brought great shame upon every American Muslim in the armed forces.

There are currently over 10,000 Muslim soldiers in the U.S. military, men and women who are patriotic and love their country and their fellow service members. Hasan’s evil actions, the murder of his fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, have now brought those honorable soldiers’ loyalties into question.

The Islamophobe community on the Internet is trumpeting how Hasan’s behavior is reflective of the threat Americans face from their Muslim neighbors, and how radical Islamists have infiltrated the ranks of our military. Calls for purging the military, and perhaps even the United States, of its Muslim members have already begun.

Today there are dozens of families mourning the attack on their loved ones by a fellow-in-arms. And there are hundreds of Muslims at Fort Hood who knew Hasan and are stunned that he would betray their country and their community with such cold, calculated ease. Hasan’s rampage has truly shattered many more lives than we can begin to imagine.

I spoke today with a friend who is a Muslim soldier stationed at Fort Hood. He is a 22-year veteran of the U.S. Army and a recent convert to Islam. He agreed to share his perspective with me if I granted him anonymity. So we will call him Richard.

Richard is exactly the kind of soldier we need to protect our country from those that seek to do us harm. A combat veteran who has served in Iraq, Richard became interested in studying Islam initially as a strategic means of understanding his adversary in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. But as he began to study the religion’s teachings, he became struck by how different they were from what was being claimed by men like Osama Bin Laden.

Instead of a religion of hatred and misogyny, he found an Islam of love, wisdom, and human empowerment. His strategic analysis blossomed into spiritual identification, and Richard embraced Islam just over two years ago. As a “revert” (as Muslim converts like to call themselves, since Islam believes everyone is born a Muslim), Richard was faced with the added challenge of being a soldier in a conflict in which members of his new faith were on the other side.

Richard decided that the best way he could be true to his military oath and his religious convictions was to use his position as an American Muslim soldier to build bridges of understanding. He currently works as a liaison between the U.S. military and Muslim leaders in the Middle East to garner their support against the common enemy – the Islamist radicals who oppose both the American military and the mainstream Muslim community that wants nothing to do with their extremism. Richard has very much been in the forefront of our military’s efforts to win hearts and minds in the Muslim world.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kamran-pasha/a-muslim-soldiers-view-fr_b_348973.html&cp