Muslim groups decry rampage

By BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer - 11/7/2009


Muslims across the United States expressed dismay over the Thursday shooting spree that left 13 people dead and dozens wounded at Fort Hood, Texas. Muslim Nidal Malik Hasan is the suspected gunman.

The Tulsa Islamic community denounced the massacre.

"Tulsa Muslims send their heartfelt sympathy to the soldiers and their families who were victims of today's tragedy," said Sheryl Siddiqui, director of community relations and outreach for the Islamic Society of Tulsa.

"As Americans and as Muslims, we categorically condemn the shooting of the soldiers," she said.

"We value the voluntary service of all who serve in the military and the sacrifices they make in defense of our country. No words can express the sadness we feel . We trust that a thorough and fair investigation will be pursued and that the responsible parties will be held accountable."

The Washington-based Council on American- Islamic Relations issued a statement that said: "We condemn this cowardly attack in the strongest terms possible and ask that the perpetrators be punished to the full extent of the law.

"No religious or political ideology could ever justify or excuse such wanton and indiscriminate violence. The attack was particularly heinous in that it targeted the all-volunteer army that protects our nation."

Hasan was a lifelong Muslim and often attended prayers in his Army uniform, The Associated Press reported.



Bill Sherman 581-8398
bill.sherman@tulsaworld.com


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Tulsa World Reader Comments
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Basil, Tulsa (11/9/2009 9:47:40 AM)
"No religious or political ideology could ever justify or excuse such wanton and indiscriminate violence." They'll claim these are out of context, but they fit perfectly in the context of history and current events around the world: Qur'an (4:74) - "Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward." Qur'an (4:95) - "Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons. Allah hath granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who sit (at home). Unto all (in Faith) Hath Allah promised good: But those who strive and fight Hath He distinguished above those who sit (at home) by a special reward,-" Qur'an (5:33) - "The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement" "Qur'an (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" Qur'an (9:14) - "Fight them, Allah will punish them by your hands and bring them to disgrace..." These are just a few of the many verses from the Koran and writings from the hadith condoning violence. These aren't just suggesting self-defense, but offensive action to spread Islam.

Basil, Tulsa (11/9/2009 9:53:07 AM)
The quotes above are complied at thereligionofpeace dot com. Click on the "Got qur'an" link on the left side of the home page for a long list of quotes from the Koran and Hadith all about violence, along with other issues of interest.

Basil, Tulsa (11/9/2009 11:12:39 AM)
Qur'an (9:5) - "So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them."

Basil, Tulsa (11/10/2009 6:07:30 AM)
"Here you go again, bunch of brainless people who have nothing else to do but spread hate are here . . ." When you can't make a logical defense, make personal attacks.... Having objections to Islamic teachings isn't hate--there are valid questions we should ask about what Islam is spreading. Clearly it isn't peace, as some are claiming.

Basil, Tulsa (11/10/2009 6:56:28 AM)
"It was Christians who came to the New World looking to convert and enslave the native peoples, and to eliminate them if they were not willing to convert." A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing. To put this in context, while this happened, it was an isolated event in the 2000 years history of Christianity, carried out by only one branch, the Roman Catholic Church, which arguably had already become corrupted and broke away from the greater Church at large (1054 A.D. Great Schism). Also, there were political reasons behind these events--no one can defend them using the doctrines of Christ, even if some tried to do so at the time. Also, while it's true individuals can remove verses from the Bible to teach all sorts of strange things, the actual message conveyed by the scriptures, if you take them in their entirety, is one of great hope and love for mankind. To suggest the scriptures teach anything other than God's efforts to redeem mankind from his self-inflicted suffering is disingenuous.

Basil, Tulsa (11/10/2009 9:16:31 AM)
Taqiyya(pronounced tark-e-ya)--the Islamic teaching of "holy deception" dating back to the 6th century, which offically justifies deceiving others to conceal your true intent. This practice is firmly rooted in the Koran and Hadith. This totally violates our Christian value of honesty, but we've got to be wise enough to see through any deceit some Muslims may use against us. Who is the father of lies? It's satan himself--which should give us a clue as to from where Islamic teachings were derived. While it's true all men are capable of deceit and lies, including many Christians, it is actually officially justified within Islamic teachings, which reveals something about what's in the heart of Islam.

Basil, Tulsa (11/13/2009 10:13:04 AM)
"Thanks Pizzagirl & BarefootOkiegirl we need more citizens like you two in our country and less of others." One type actually intellecually rolls over and let's the false religion of Islam spread in the U.S., while the other type of person is willing to think critically and judge it by the fruit it produces in our nation, and in all the nations in which the majority are deceived by Islam.

Basil, Tulsa (11/13/2009 11:17:45 AM)
We don't need Islam to embrace the positive beliefs that are a part of it. None of the five "pillars" are original to Islam. 1. Faith. We confess faith in the One (read: one) true God every day when we recite the Nicene Creed in our daily prayers, although we don't believe that Mohammed is a prophet any more than Joseph Smith, who established Mormonisn. 2. Prayer. Christians, like the Jews before them, continued praying the hours of prayer (read Acts of the Apostles), and it is still a pious tradition among Orthodox Christians. Our monastics normally observe five prayer times a day, which is a tradition predating Mohammed by many centuries. 3. Financial obligation. Rather than only 1/40th of our income, we believe that Christians should strive to give 1/10th of their income as tithe, as an ascetic discipline, and means to financially support the church and its clergy. Above this offering money to charity is expected, because we are blessed with money, not to hoard it up, but to take care of our basic needs and give the rest to those in need. Charity is highly encouraged especially during our seasons of fasting before Pascha (Easter) and Christmas. We are commanded by Christ to give to the poor. 4. Fasting. Rather than just fasting during daylight one month of the year, Christians traditionally have fasted every Wednesday and Friday, as well as longer 40-day periods before Pascha and Christmas. Wednesdays in rememberance of the day Christ was betrayed and Fridays in remeberance of the day he willingly died to defeat the power of death over us. We also have a fast before the Feast of the Dormition of Mary and an Apostles Fast, so in all we fast nearly 1/2 of the year as part of our ascetic struggle to subdue our passions, as the Apostle Paul had exhorted us to do. 5. Pilgrimage. We also value religious pilgrimages (or hajj), of course not to Mecca, but instead to holy sites, like sites where Christ visited, places where miracles happened, or monasteries. So, in conclusion, you'll see that none of these teachings are original to Mohammed, and were borrowed by him when he established Islam from the many Christians he encountered. The idea of infidels and jihad, those were Mohammed originals, so we can give him full credit for those corrupt concepts.

Basil, Tulsa (11/13/2009 11:22:13 AM)
". . .isn't there a place called the Peace Academy in Tulsa that's a primarily muslim type agenda?" Yes, there is a Muslim school called Peace Academy in Tulsa. I do not know much about it, but we must remember Muslims aren't our enemy, just the belief system they've been fooled into believing. Hopefully Peace Academy teaches only the positive, borrowed, elements of Mohammed's teachings.

Few Clothes, America (11/7/2009 11:35:33 AM)
Hardwright. Sounds like the Moonies in the 1960's in every airport and street corners of cities.

Pizzagirl, Tulsa (11/8/2009 9:06:58 PM)
Why aren't they bringing up the other 2 men who supposedly joined Hasan? Is it because they weren't Muslims? Charlie, your little explanation can easily be fitted to a Christian. I know good Muslims who are good Americans. ;p

BarefootOkieGal, Sacramento (11/9/2009 4:20:00 PM)
You know, I could go through any version of the Holy Bible that I own and find scripture after scripture that could be quoted to "condone" violence. Over and over and over again, Jehovah commanded his people to go into a land and kill every male over a certain age and make slaves of the women and children. This "Christian" (I don't believe it to be in the spirit of Christ, to be perfectly honest) carried over in Europe and prompted the Crusades, the Inquisition, and all sorts of horrors which anyone who cares about history can look up. It was Christians who came to the New World looking to convert and enslave the native peoples, and to eliminate them if they were not willing to convert. The Ku Klux Klan has many websites - if you will visit the "Official Website of the Knights, USA," you will find the subtitle, "Bringing a Message of Hope and Deliverance to White Christian America" So, now you've got the Ku Klux Klan standing up presenting themselves as "Good Christians" - go google "Emmett Till" and look at the photos of his dead body and realize that this was done to this 15-year-old boy by a group of men WHO CONSIDERED THEMSELVES CHRISTIANS. No, I will not say that Muslims are dangerous - not when I compare them to the radical Christians in this country. And as far as the God they worship - if you call yourself a Christian, you worshop Him, too - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael. (Abraham's son, Ishmael, was the father of the Arab race. Yeppers - THAT Abraham.) I know why we can't get along. Posts such as some of the ones above show me that some people are too ignorant to do anything BUT hate.

peelumba, (11/7/2009 2:23:53 PM)
hey scringe how about everyone with brown skin and brown eyes also? if they dont look and act like "Us"....????? ignorance begets more ignorance. typical response from those whom are intolerant of anything or one different from them. sad day for all and even sadder post's showing disgrunteled and uneducated rednecks wonderful point of view.

faisamm, (11/9/2009 4:03:54 PM)
Here you go again, bunch of brainless people who have nothing else to do but spread hate are here to show how ignorant they are.

faisamm, (11/12/2009 5:42:08 PM)
Thanks Pizzagirl & BarefootOkiegirl we need more citizens like you two in our country and less of others.

lufkin, (11/7/2009 5:07:39 PM)
More pc propaganda from the Muslims.Radical Muslims are a major threat to this country.Issuing platitudes will not lessen the threat from a fifth column within our midst.The immigration policies of this country must be changed.To admit millions of Muslims makes no sense."Diversity and multicuturalism" will destroy this country.

DirtyWhiteHouse, (11/12/2009 6:18:13 PM)
Basil, the "religion of peace" you wrote....isn't there a place called the Peace Academy in Tulsa that's a primarily muslim type agenda?

DirtyWhiteHouse, (11/12/2009 6:19:44 PM)
faisamm - no, we need less people like Crazy Husseins, errrr.... Hasans.... whatever it is - in this country.

Charley, (11/7/2009 7:17:24 PM)
If you would like a good read on religion, try Diarmaid McCullough's book, "The Reformation". He doesn't pull any punches. I read this article below. It may or may mot be true, you have to ask yourself... Can a good Muslim be a good American? A friend of mine sent that question to a friend of hers who worked in Saudi Arabia for 20 years. The following is his reply: Theologically - no. Because his allegiance is to Allah, the moon god of Arabia. Religiously - no. Because no other religion is accepted by his Allah except Islam (Quran, 2:256) Scripturally - no. Because his allegiance is to the five pillars of Islam and the Quran (Koran). Geographically - no. Because his allegiance is to Mecca, to which he turns in prayer five times a day. Socially - no. Because his allegiance to Islam forbids him to make friends with Christians or Jews. Politically - no. Because he must submit to the mullah (spiritual leaders), who teach annihilation of Israel and Destruction of America, the great Satan. Domestically - no. Because he is instructed to marry four women and beat and scourge his wife when she disobeys him (Quran 4:34). Intellectually - no. Because he cannot accept the American Constitution since it is based on Biblical principles and he believes the Bible to be corrupt. Philosophically - no. Because Islam, Muhammad, and the Quran do not allow freedom of religion and expression. Democracy and Islam cannot co-exist. Every Muslim government is either dictatorial or autocratic. Spiritually - no. Because when we declare "one nation under God," the Christian's God is loving and kind, while Allah is NEVER referred to as heavenly father, nor is he ever called love in The Quran's 99 excellent names. Therefore after much study and deliberation....perhaps we should be very suspicious of ALL MUSLIMS in this country. They obviously cannot be both "good" Muslims and good Americans. Call it what you wish....it's still the truth. If you find yourself intellectually in agreement with the above statements, perhaps you will share this with your friends. The more who understand this, the better it will be for our country and our future. Pass it on Fellow Americans. The religious war is bigger than we know or understand.

Scringe, Tulsa (11/7/2009 5:15:03 AM)
Deport all of them, they do not want to be Americans they want to MAKE Americans into Muslims

Stratolifter, (11/12/2009 4:23:48 PM)
that sidiqui lady said: "We trust that a thorough and fair investigation will be pursued and that the responsible parties will be held accountable." thorough and "fair" investigation? there's no question who did it. "responsible parties" - how about saying it like it is - the crazed muslim terrorist will be held accountable!

Stratolifter, (11/12/2009 4:25:35 PM)
nearly 50 years ago i can remember my relative talking about his tour of duty in the middle east and how backwards they are and how they would just as soon stab you in the back even as they hug you. half a century later - what has changed?

D.Boone, (11/7/2009 6:28:01 PM)
So,the killer doesn't get his 72 Virgins? Now he's in a Coma,and I'm wonering if he gets a peek or a preview of the Virgins that is in waiting in case he doesn't make it.



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