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(Roanake Times) – The gunman that allegedly opened fire at a U.S. Army base at one point lived in Vinton and graduated from Virginia Tech.
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is the son of Palestinian immigrants and Vinton residents Malik Awadallah Hassan and Hanan Ismail “Nora” Hasan. Nora Hasan ran the now defunct Capitol Restaurant on the Roanoke Market. Hasan’s father owned the Mount Olive Grill and Bar and the Community Grocery Store on Elm Avenue. Both parents are deceased.
He is a graduate of Virginia Tech, where he was a member of the ROTC and earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry in 1995. He received his medical degree from the military’s Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001. At Walter Reed, he did his internship, residency and a fellowship.
Military officials said Hasan was a psychiatrist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for six years before being transferred to the Texas base in July. The officials who had access to Hasan’s military record, said he received a poor performance evaluation while at Walter Reed.
While an intern at Walter Reed, Hasan had some “difficulties” that required counseling and extra supervision, said Dr. Thomas Grieger, who was the training director at the time.
Grieger said privacy laws prevented him from going into details but noted that the problems had to do with Hasan’s interactions with patients. He recalled Hasan as a “mostly very quiet” person who never spoke ill of the military or his country.
“He swore an oath of loyalty to the military,” Grieger said. “I didn’t hear anything contrary to those oaths.”
Major Nidal Hasan’s medical profile on the Virginia Board of Medicine website.
(AP) – Hasan attended prayers regularly when he lived outside Washington, often in his Army uniform, said Faizul Khan, a former imam at a mosque Hasan attended in Silver Spring, Md. He said Hasan was a lifelong Muslim.
“I got the impression that he was a committed soldier,” Khan said. He spoke often with Hasan about Hasan’s desire for a wife.
On a form filled out by those seeking spouses through a program at the mosque, Hasan listed his birthplace as Arlington, Va., but his nationality as Palestinian, Khan said.
“I don’t know why he listed Palestinian,” Khan said, “He was not born in Palestine.”
Nothing stood out about Hasan as radical or extremist. “We hardly ever got to discussing politics. Mostly we were discussing religious matters, nothing too controversial, nothing like an extremist,” Khan said.
Hasan earned his rank of major in April 2008, according to a July 2008 Army Times article.
He served eight years as an enlisted soldier. He also served in the ROTC as an undergraduate at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg. He received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry there in 1997.
Looking at motivation, this is a hard case to distangle. That Hasan was expressing the frustration of the Palestinian people at the continuation of their ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and East Jeruslame is hard to conclude. The victims were not involved.
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Steven D diaried as if the suspect was a disgrunteld employee. His stay at Fort Hood since July is far too short. At Walter Reed he was employed for the past six years and earned a promotion from Captain to Major in 2008.
VINTON, Va (Roanoke Times) – But, more recently, federal agents grew suspicious.
Federal law enforcement officials say Hasan had come to their attention at least six months ago because of Internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other threats.
The officials say the postings appeared to have been made by Hasan. The officials say they are still trying to confirm that he was the author. They say an official investigation was not opened.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.
One of the Web postings that authorities reviewed is a blog that equates suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades.
“To say that this soldier committed suicide is inappropriate. Its more appropriate to say he is a brave hero that sacrificed his life for a more noble cause,” said the Internet posting. “ Scholars have paralled [sic] this to suicide bombers whose intention, by sacrificing their lives, is to help save Muslims by killing enemy soldiers .”
(CNN) – Staff Sgt. Marc Molano, based at Fort Knox, Kentucky, told CNN Hasan treated him for post-traumatic stress disorder earlier this year at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
“Dr. Hasan provided me with nothing but the best care,” Molano said. “He was a very well-mannered, polite psychiatrist, and it’s just a shock to know that Dr. Hasan could have done this. It’s still kind of hard to believe.”
Molano described him as “far and away one of the best psychiatrists I ever dealt with.”
A soldier who served two tours in Iraq and is awaiting medical retirement for chronic PTSD and severe mental disorders called Hasan “a soldier’s soldier who cared about our mental health.”
IMHO Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan “martyred” himself for the sake of Muslims and the Palestinian cause, also known as Islamic Jihad. From my diary – Fort Hood Shooting A Palestinian Issue? My educated guess: the FBI will find a jihad suicide note. My analysis of the Palestinian people, also from friends living in the States, when they are confronted with unjust policy toward their Palestinian homeland, they hurt. See the recent developments of Barack Obama and the failure to get Israel to freeze building illegal settlements. The recent Israeli violence on the Temple Mount of al-Quds added to the furor.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."It would be enlightening on the matter of motivation to know why he was given poor evaluations in Maryland, and then sent to Fort Hood from which he would eventually get transferred to Iraq or Afganistan.
Certainly Islamophobia might have been a factor and through that concept we could get to the Palestinians, and maybe in time we will get to the bottom of it.
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(AP) A neighbor says an Army psychiatrist suspected of opening fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas cleaned out his apartment in the days before the rampage.
Neighbor Patricia Villa says Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan came over to her apartment on Wednesday morning and told her he was going to be deployed on Friday.
She says he gave her some frozen broccoli, some spinach, T-shirts, shelves and a new Quran, the Muslim holy book. She says he returned on Thursday morning and gave her his air mattress, several briefcases and a desk lamp.
Villa says Hasan then offered her $60 to clean his apartment Friday morning after he supposedly was to leave.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Oh yeah! That Qur’an thing. Yep, that clinches it for sure.
GAWD!
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For a Christian, the bible is the holy book and would not be disgarded by handing it to an unbeliever. By handing the Quran to a neighbor is IMO Nidal Hasan saying good-bye. The personal Quran would never be handed over to a non-Muslim. I my estimate, the well educated suspect was performing his army duty in a conscientious manner and was appreciated: “A soldier’s soldier who cared.” He was alone, not married and on several occasions made it clear he would like a female friend/partner. He may have been unhappy with his personal situation, however there were no red flags raised in his professional work. I’m intrigued by his brother who returned to live in the Palestinian homeland in a village near Jerusalem. On many occasions, Nidal Hasan let it be known that he was a Palestinian. In fact he was born as raised a US citizen. The 2nd generation immigrants have a divided loyalty between the two countries. I suspect a political motive for his act, triggered by great disappointment in the Obama administration for not ending the Iraq and Afghan war in the short term. In addition, the Palestinian issue is far even from starting negotiations. The Muslim faith is secundary, he could just as well have been a Christian or agnostic with Palestinian roots. Faith may cause more zeal, but so does Internet web sites and media focused on Palestinian suffering. I call it as I see it, the difficulty is one always reads news opinions of journalists.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Copied and pasted from my reply to the same comment on the main page:
Oui, again with all due respect, you are in part talking in gross generalities, in part making conclusions based on very superficial, and often incorrect information, and at times just plain making stuff up out of whole cloth without a jot of evidence to support what is nothing but wild speculation based on generalized preconceptions about Palestinians and Muslims.
“For a Christian, the bible is the holy book and would not be disgarded by handing it to an unbeliever.”
This sounds like a pretty gross generalization to me. It also contains quite an assumption – that giving a Bible (why do you not capitalize the word?) to an “unbeliever” is necessarily seen as discarding it. There are lots of situations in which it might not be seen that way at all.
“By handing the Quran to a neighbor is IMO Nidal Hasan saying good-bye.”
I would suggest that by handing his belongings to his neighbor, including the Qur’an, he was saying goodbye.
“The personal Quran would never be handed over to a non-Muslim.”
Another gross generalization based on very thin, and inaccurate information. There are a number of reasons someone might give his personal Qur’an to a non-Muslim. We don’t really know what his relationship is to this neighbor. One might make such a gift to a friend, or to someone who has expressed an interest in the Qur’an or in Islam. In his case, perhaps this neighbor was one of a few people who showed him respect and/or support, and this was his way of honouring and thanking her. We have no idea. And do you actually know that this neighbor is not a Muslim, or are you just making a convenient assumption that serves your theory?
“He may have been unhappy with his personal situation, however there were no red flags raised in his professional work.”
What do you mean “he may have been unhappy with his personal situation”? It is 100% clear from the information we have that he was absolutely miserable being in the military, at least since Sept 11, that he was being tormented by others for being a Muslim (and probably also for being an Arab), that he had come to realize that he could not support U.S. military policy or actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that he was in despair over being required to take part in them. We know that he has been trying for years to get the military to discharge him, and that they had refused. We know that he was so desperate to get out of the military that at some point he had hired a lawyer for that purpose and had even offered to repay the military for the expenses of his medical education.
Oh – and I believe he was also suffering from PTSD, and didn’t I hear that he had a traumatic brain injury?
At this point all the information we have points very clearly to a case of a man who, already in a compromised mental state, felt trapped in an intolerable situation, was in a state of despair over both his present and his future, over the fact that he was being ordered to violate his principles. There is absolutely nothing here to suggest that he “did it all for Palestine”.
It is not surprising that there were no red flags raised in his professional work. The man was a trained physician, and evidently he was a very good one. Psychiatrists in particular are trained and disciplined to keep their professional work separate from the rest of their lives. Not to do so would be a serious disservice to their patients. The fact that he was able to continue to function professionally despite everything else that was going on is not unusual.
“I’m intrigued by his brother who returned to live in the Palestinian homeland in a village near Jerusalem.”
I’m not. That kind of thing is so commonplace as to be completely unremarkable to anyone who has much connection with Palestinians, or with Arabs in general. People choose to go back to their roots. Sometimes they go back and stay for good, sometimes they go back for a few years, sometimes they make an annual visit, and sometimes they spend their lives migrating between one place and another. It has no great significance in the overwhelming majority of cases. I know dozens of American-born Palestinians, Syrians, Egyptians, Jordanians, etc., etc., etc. who have chosen to return to the countries of their families’ origin, and some of them stay for good. The U.S.- born daughter of one of my good Jordanian friends has been living and working in `Amman for years, and this year her mother, my friend, decided to go back to live in Jordan herself after decades of living in the U.S. as a citizen, raising her family, and making her career in this country. Coincidentally, last night I saw a one-woman show by a young U.S.-born Palestinian Christian who returned to her family home city of Ramallah.
“On many occasions, Nidal Hasan let it be known that he was a Palestinian. In fact he was born as raised a US citizen.”
Yes? And so what? I have a colleague here who was born of an Italian-American mother and father. His grandparents immigrated to this country. He lets it be known often not only that he is Italian, but that he is Sicilian. His wife is half Italian herself, and both their kids have Italian first names. So what? I have another colleague, a British-born Indian, who lets it be known that he is Indian from such-and-such city. So what? I have another colleague who is U.S. born from Scots background who lets it be known that she is Scots. So what? And a U.S. born colleague whose parents immigrated from El Salvador who regularly lets it be known that she is Salvadoran. And then there is my Russian-Jewish-American colleague who lets it be known that he is Russian, and Jewish, and Zionist as well. So what?
“The 2nd generation immigrants have a divided loyalty between the two countries.”
Unless you are willing to say also that my colleagues of Italian, Indian, Scots, Salvadoran, and Russian/Jewish/Zionist backgrounds also have a divided loyalty I will be more than justified in suggesting that you are indulging in racism.
“I suspect a political motive for his act, triggered by great disappointment in the Obama administration for not ending the Iraq and Afghan war in the short term.”
Well, you have certainly managed to weave an interesting tapestry out of nothing but thin air, haven’t you? You have no basis for this except your imagination. None of this is even suggested by the information we have.
“In addition, the Palestinian issue is far even from starting negotiations.”
So what? We all know that, and most of us did not have very high expectations anyway, so what is happening is more or less what we expected. We knew it would be business as usual but with less of a Bush and more of a Clinton flavour along with lots of pretty, eloquent-sounding talk.
“I call it as I see it…”
It looks to me as if you call it as you hallucinate it.
Rolling it all back, the diary title was afterall Fort Hood Shooting A Palestinian Issue?. It ended with a question mark. It was not the assertion: is a Palestinian issue. It created discussion.
The human mind is largely hidden from view and we don’t necessarily or always give others clues as to how we feel or what we think.
Shergald, I’m surprised to see this comment from you. If you read the comment I was responding to, which I initially responded to under Steven D’s post on the main pagem it is unequivocally clear that Oui, the author of this diary, believes it IS a Palestinian issue. He says so explicitly. The diary title might not contain an assertion that the shooting is a Palestinian issue, but the assertion is unmistakable in Oui’s comments both under Steven D’s post, and this one.
I was not responding to the title of the diary, but to Oui’s words under that title. I would have thought that was clear.
Reread, and I guess you are correct. Sorry.
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Thanks for your thoughtful comment!
From personal experience I can relate to Nidal Hasan’s predicament being a second generation immigrant myself. Our family also split up between a clear choice for America (eldest son taking responsibility) and a brother who decides to return to the old country. In the case of the Hasan family, this was made easier after the death of their mother in 2001. Nidal’s parents objected to his signing up with the US Army. Nidal wanted to be successful thanks to the offers by his parents to emigrate from Palestine. After his mother’s death the brothers became more devout Muslims. The War on Terror by the Bush administration was seen by Nidal as a war on Islam. Nidal identified himself more and more as a Palestinian and felt the biased opinions and hateful resentment by his fellow “comrades” in the US Army. His job was to heal US soldiers who were destroyed physically and mentally by the US wars in the Middle East. He was a professional and did his job well, he is a man of responsibility. He also wants to have control over his life. What led to his anger to resort to violence, a contradiction to his upbringing and faith, is a question yet to be answered. One can refuse to be deployed to the war theater, this will destroy one’s Army career and make his personal life more difficult. Nidal made the wrong choice, what is the personal anger for a non-violent man to buy a gun and kill fellow human beings? A gun gives you a momentary delusion of power in taking control. Perhaps, as so many who choose violence, he expected to be killed in the act and not having to face any responsibility. In that case as a devout Muslim, what did he expect from above… praise?
Worthwhile read … Interview with Hasan family members in Ramallah.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."A few comments in response:
As you can see, Nidal, his family, and I have a lot in common. One of a number of critical differences between me, and the hundreds of thousands of others like me, and Nidal is that we are not psychologically compromised as he appears to be, we have strong family and community support systems that includes mostly people who share or at least support our principles, views and values,and we am not trapped in a situation day after day that contradicts our principles, views, and values, and forces us to violate them.
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are an asset in these troubled times made more complicated by the U.S. Government
faultycriminal reponse to the 9/11 attacks. Islamaphobia in Europe is very troubling and is exacerbated in times of economic downturn.It seems like Maj. Nidal Hasan was very much alone at the Army Base of Fort Hood. From the article in Huffington Post, he was contradicted by a American Muslim revert in his very “own mosque.” The issue of Israel was discussed and argued:
Richard described an incident where Hasan made some anti-Semitic comments about Jews as a nation being “cursed by God” in Islam. Richard responded that the Qur’an does not condemn any group of people collectively, and that no one is born “cursed” by their ancestry.
Indeed, even though there are verses that are critical of some Jews who were political opponents to Prophet Muhammad, the Qur’an states very clearly that it is speaking only in relation to those who do evil, not those who do good, and that God judges people by their actions. (3:75-76). Another verse is even more explicit:
“Those who believe (in the Qur’an), and those who follow the Jewish scriptures, and the Christians and the Sabians — any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.” (2:62)
When Richard made this point, Hasan became flustered and simply responded that as a “revert” Richard clearly did not know Islam as well as he did, someone who had been raised as a Muslim. But from Richard’s point of view, Hasan was simply regurgitating cultural attitudes and prejudices and cloaking them in the form of religion. And in the process he was blinding himself to what Islam actually taught.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Of course, I agree 100% with Richard in this argument. He is spot on. But I would not say that what Hasan regurgitated is “cultural” at all. That implies that those beliefs are part of Arab culture, which is nonsense. The majority of Arabs, both Christian and Muslim, do not hold such beliefs. A minority of Christians and Muslims
And this term “revert” is one of the most annoying things I hear from Muslims. It displays an insufferably smug, self-righteous point of view, and makes absolutely no sense in terms of reality. I dislike it intensely, and have trouble restraining myself from at least rolling my eyes when I hear it.
He apparently wanted out. That would probably be enough to get a poor evaluation if he constantly brought it up, particularly if he went above his immediate superior with his complaints.
It very much reminds me of the Post Office shootings from a decade or so ago.
nalbar
“It very much reminds me of the Post Office shootings from a decade or so ago.“
Muslims did all of those, too?! Who knew? Were they all also Palestinians?
It’s not me that framed it as a ‘muslim’ shooting. In fact I never used that word in my post. I think you are trying to find something that fits a predisposed outlook you have.
To those with little reading comprehension skills;
It reminds me of the Post Office shootings of a decade or so ago, in that it’s more likely someone unhappy with their work circumstances than a political outlook.
moron.
nalbar
Sorry, I did not make it clear that I was not snarking at you, but at those who are making certain types of knee-jerk assumptions despite evidence that tells a very different story. I understood your point 100%, and that was my sarcastic, inside-out way of agreeing with you.
By the way, Oui, the analogy between suicide bombers and soldiers throwing themselves on grenades is as common as dirt, as is the VERY apt analogy between suicide bombers and kamikaze pilots. There is nothing incriminating or alarming about someone using those analogies, nor is their use any indication of a propensity to violence. I have used the kamikaze analogy myself numerous times. I’m less keen on the grenade analogy, but many, many, many people who would never turn to violence themselves have argued for it.
Of course, we are talking about suicide bombings in the context of an occupation or other oppressive situation, and we do need to keep in mind that what happened at Fort Hood was NOT a suicide bombing nor did it have any of the elements of a suicide bombing. It looked virtually exactly like every other mass shooting we have seen in workplaces, on military bases, at schools (remember Columbine?), and, as someone else mentioned, at post offices. How many of those were done by Palestinian Muslims who had made very commonplace analogies comparing one type of violent act with another? Why is this one different from all the others simply because the shooter happens to be a Muslim and/or a Palestinian?
when did he lose his parents? losing both parents at his age, very difficult. I haven’t heard about any brothers or sisters, does he have any?
and two brothers; said to be “scarred by the loss of his parents”. losing both parents within 3 years, only one family member nearby – bereft of personal resources and supports
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See my comment in diary – Family Says Religion Was An Issue.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Well, look, the guy was an American of Palestinian descent, and a devout Muslim. Of COURSE what he did was a Palestinian issue. I mean, what else could it possibly be? Palestinians, and especially Muslim ones NEVER do anything that is not motivated by a combination of Palestinian rage and the Muslim propensity to violence.
Geeeeeeez.
Oh dear oh dear, another violent rampage! MUST be another case of religiously-motivated Muslim violence!
JASON RODRIGUEZ?!! WTF?! Jason? Rodriguez? Oh….well….ummmm….I guess HE wasn’t motivated by religion. Must have just been a mentally unbalanced disgruntled former employee. But if it HAD been a Muslim, especially if he was a Palestinian, then for sure it would have been ALL ABOUT religion, and Palestinian rage, and nothing else. I mean, for sure that’s true.
Hmmmmmm. Jason Rodriguez must have been a Catholic. I wonder if he gave his neighbor a new Bible before he did this thing.
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WASHINGTON – Born and reared in Virginia, the son of immigrant parents from a small Palestinian town near Jerusalem, he joined the Army right out of high school, against his parents’ wishes. The Army, in turn, put him through college and then medical school, where he trained to be a psychiatrist.
Major Hasan was not married and had two brothers, one living in Virginia and another in Jerusalem, his cousin said. The family, by and large, had prospered in the United States, with various members working in law, banking and medicine, Mr. Hasan said.
Nader Hasan, 40, a lawyer living in Northern Virginia, described his cousin as a respectful, hard-working man who had devoted himself to his parents and his career.
Did suspected gunman shout ‘Allahu akbar’?
Reports coming out of America suggest that soldiers who witnessed Major Nidal Malik Hasan gun down fellow soldiers in his crazed rampage at Fort Hood heard the him shout ‘Allahu Akbar!’, Arabic for God is great, before opening fire.
[See interview Lt. Gen. Robert Cone on NBC’s “Today” show]
Nidal Malik Hasan’s connection with Virginia Tech
By Mark Owczarski
BLACKSBURG, Va., November 6, 2009 — Virginia Tech has confirmed with the United States Army Human Resources Command in Alexandria, Va., that the alleged shooter at Fort Hood, Texas, once attended Virginia Tech.
According to Virginia Tech records, Nidal Malik Hasan first enrolled at Virginia Tech for Summer Session II in 1992, and completed coursework in spring semester 1995. He received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in biochemistry from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He minored in biology and chemistry.
Prior to enrolling at Virginia Tech, Hasan was a student and completed coursework at Barstow Community College in Barstow, Calif., and at Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke, Va.
Hasan was not a member of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, nor was he a member of any ROTC program at Virginia Tech.
The motive for the shootings isn’t clear. Military officials say they are still piecing together what may have pushed Hasan, an Army psychiatrist trained to help soldiers in distress, to turn on his comrades.
The base commander at Fort Hood says soldiers who witnessed the shooting reported that Hasan shouted “Allahu Akbar!” before opening fire at the Texas post.
Lt. Gen. Robert Cone told NBC’s “Today” show Friday that Hasan made the comment, which is Arabic for “God is great!” before the rampage Thursday that also left 30 people wounded. Cone says Hasan was not known to be a threat or risk.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."“ Did suspected gunman shout ‘Allahu akbar‘?
“Reports coming out of America suggest that soldiers who witnessed Major Nidal Malik Hasan gun down fellow soldiers in his crazed rampage at Fort Hood heard the him shout ‘Allahu Akbar!‘, Arabic for God is great, before opening fire.”
“The base commander at Fort Hood says soldiers who witnessed the shooting reported that Hasan shouted ‘Allahu Akbar!‘ before opening fire at the Texas post.
“Lt. Gen. Robert Cone told NBC’s ‘Today’ show Friday that Hasan made the comment, which is Arabic for ‘God is great!’ before the rampage Thursday…
“
Well, now, THAT’s really, really significant……NOT. You see, guys, religious Muslims say Allahu Akbar all the time in situations that are not directly related to religion. Of course for any deeply religious person of any faith, everything that happens, and everything they do is connected to, if not due to God.
In particular religious Muslims are likely to say Allahu Akbar any time they are about to do something particularly important, or difficult, or dangerous, or when they feel they might be in danger. It is a quick prayer, giving oneself up to God, and putting the situation in His hands. You might hear it from an athlete about to undertake a competition, for example. You also might hear it when someone is on an airplane that is about to take off. Or a sky diver who is about to jump, or a student about to take a test, or a person about to go into surgery – or the doctor about to perform the surgery. It means exactly nothing in particular about the reasons behind the shooting at Fort Hood that he said Allahu Akbar.
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His relatives in the West Bank said they had heard from family members that Hasan felt mistreated in the Army as a Muslim.
“He told (them) that as a Muslim committed to his prayers he was discriminated against and not treated as is fitting for an officer and American,” said Mohammed Malik Hasan, 24, a cousin. “He hired a lawyer to get him a discharge.”
Mohammed Hasan said outside his home in Ramallah that he heard about the shooting from a relative. “I was surprised, honestly, because the guy and his brothers are so calm, and he, as I know, loves his work.”
Nidal Hasan is the eldest of three brothers. One brother, Annas, lives in Ramallah with a wife and daughter, and practices law. The youngest brother, Eyad, lives in Virginia.
“We don’t mix with them a lot,” Mohammed said. “Nidal like to stay alone, he was very calm. He minded his own business.”
Hasan graduated from medical school at the Uniformed Services University in 2003, said Sharon K. Willis, speaking for the school.
He then entered a psychiatry residency program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which he completed in 2007. He returned to the university for the disaster and military psychiatry fellowship in 2007.
Hasan appeared less forgiving to Dr. Val Finnell when they were classmates in a 2007-08 master’s public health program at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md.
He said that at a class presentation by public health students, at which topics like dry cleaning chemicals and house mold were discussed, Hasan talked about U.S. military actions as a war on Islam. Hasan made clear he was a “vociferous opponent” of U.S. wars in Muslim countries, Finnell said.
“He made himself a lightning rod for things,” Finnell said. “No one picked on him because he was a Muslim.”
Hasan told classmates: “He was a Muslim first, and an American second”
His anger was noted by a classmate, who said Hasan “viewed the war against terror” as a “war against Islam.”
Dr. Val Finnell, a classmate of Hasan’s at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, attended a master’s in public health program in 2007-2008. Finnell says he got to know Hasan because the group of public health students took an environmental health class together. At the end of the class, everyone had to give a presentation. Classmates wrote on topics such as dry cleaning chemicals and mold in homes, but Finnell said Hasan chose the war against terror. Finnell described Hasan as a “vociferous opponent” of the terror war. Finnell said Hasan told classmates he was “a Muslim first and an American second.”
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
Meanwhile, CBS News has learned that the gun used in the attack was a FN Five-seveN, a semi-automatic pistol popular with Special Operations and SWAT teams that can be used with special armor-piercing bullets.
Investigators have located a shooting range near Fort Hood where Hasan practiced in his spare time as well as the gun store where a few weeks ago he bought the murder weapon. Records indicate Hasan bought the weapon at a store called “Guns Galore ” in Killeen, Texas, well before the Fort Hood shooting. The pistol has been dubbed a “cop killer” by those who have tried to stop its use.
The most powerful type of ammunition for the gun is available only to law enforcement and military personnel.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
RAMALLAH, West Bank (The Telegraph) – In the house next door, Hasan’s brother Anas had locked himself indoors with his wife, refusing to speak to anyone, including his relatives.
According to his cousins, Hasan was badly scarred by the deaths of his parents in 1998 and 2001. Along with his two brothers, he became increasingly devout, they said.
“They became very religious after their mother died,” Mohammed Hasan said. “They were very observant. They prayed a lot.”
Mohammad Hasan, cousin of U.S. Army Major Malik Nadal Hasan, watches the news about his cousin from the family home in Ramallah, West Bank Photo: DEBBIE HILLYet the two cousins insisted that the major’s religion was not tinged with political fanaticism, although they said he had become increasingly withdrawn and uncommunicative in recent years. Even so, they had little reason to believe that he was a man on the edge.
“Nidal is a very stable minded person,” Mohammed Mohammed said. “Why would he kill? He was against violence.
“His actions could have been in self defence – we don’t know. Maybe they angered him to the point of cornering him and he felt he had no option.”
They angrily rejected suggestions that their cousin’s shooting spree had been motivated by a hatred for America or as an act of terrorism.
“My cousin is not a terrorist,” said Mohammed Hasan. “He was born in America, he graduated from Virginia (Tech) University. He was proud to be graduate. He was always preaching about the US education system. He was an optimistic person. He loved life.”
Although he had always wanted to follow other members of his family into the army, Nidal Hasan was shocked that he was never accepted as a true American, the cousins said.
He was constantly taunted and provoked until six months ago, he hired a lawyer to sue the army, the cousins said, explaining they kept in touch with developments in Hasan’s life either through telephone calls to him and his family or from Hasan’s brother, who returned to the West Bank four years ago.
They heard that he had become increasingly unhappy, both at the treatment of his peers and also because he had been ordered to deploy “in Iraq and Afghanistan”. But the two cousins insisted that Hasan’s opposition to being sent abroad was as much because he was planning to marry.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
Religion was an issue, furthermore found first possible link to political activism on Israeli occupation and attack on Gaza by Olmer administration.
(CNN) – Mohammad Hasan remembered his cousin’s trip to Jerusalem, 6 miles from Ramallah, 15 years ago to learn about his roots. “He acted normal.”
More recently, Nidal Hasan may have attended a lecture in January at George Washington University involving the Israeli U.S. ambassador Sallai Meridor and other officials discussing Israel’s offensive into Gaza last winter. Video from the lecture shows a person who appears to be Hasan dressed in military fatigues seated in the audience taking notes.
CNN's Paula Hancocks talks to the cousin of Nidal Hasan, the alleged gunman in Ft. Hood shootings.CNN interview with Mohammad Hasan in Ramallah
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
ROCKVILLE, Md. (Reuters) Jan. 6 — Elected officials, community leaders and hundreds of supporters of Israel will gather to assert Israel’s right and responsibility to defend its citizens from terrorism and hold Hamas responsible for the current war and encourage Americans to stand by Israel.
Confirmed speakers include: Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Sallai Meridor; Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD); Members of Congress Shelly Berkley (D-NV); Eliot Engel (D-NY); Mark Kirk (R-IL); Robert Wexler (D-FL); Frank Wolf (R-VA); Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and others.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRC) is the public affairs and community relations arm of the Jewish community representing 210 Jewish organizations and synagogues throughout DC, Maryland, and Virginia. The JCRC focuses on government relations, Israel advocacy, inter-group relations, and social justice.
Sallai Meridor speech Part 2
Sallai Meridor addresses the National Press Club during Israel’s Defensive Operation in Gaza
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
While the bloggers focused on peace rallies to end the Gaza war atrocities, Israel rallied support across the United States with their utter propaganda of one millions Israelis under siege from Hamas rocket attacks.
CHICAGO (JUF) – Sponsored by the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago (JUF/JF), the “We Stand With Israel Community Rally,” was one of 200 rallies all across North America organized as part of a Week of Solidarity in early January. To help educate and mobilize the community in Chicago, two community gatherings were held in advance of the rally at North Shore Congregation Israel and Anshe Emet Synagogue.
In addition to the thousands of community members who waved Israeli flags and held signs proclaiming “Stop Hamas Terror” and “Let Israel Live in Peace,” many Chicago-area synagogues and Jewish organizations gathered at the rally, some arriving by the busload. Also attending were Illinois State Senator Jeff Schoenberg, Illinois State Comptroller Dan Hynes, Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley and Alderman Robert Fioretti, representatives from several Christian organizations and members of the Chicago Police Department.
These are not advocates for a just peace between two peoples, on the contrary they support contraterrorism and eternal strive for short term political goal.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
With a video clip of Major Nidal Hasan present at George Washington University lecture by Israeli ambassador Sallai Meridor.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
(FP) – I spent the morning at a lecture organized by GWU’s outstanding Homeland Security Policy Institute’s Ambassador’s Roundtable Series featuring Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Sallai Meridor. It was a profoundly dismaying experience. Because if Ambassador Meridor is taken at his word, then Israel has no strategy in Gaza.
Asked three times by audience members, Meridor simply could not offer any plausible explanation as to how its military campaign in Gaza would achieve its stated goals. Indeed, he at times seemed to offer this absence of strategy as a virtue, as evidence that the war had been forced upon Israel rather than chosen: “we have no grand political scheme… we were forced to defend ourselves to provide better security, period.” With current estimates of 550 Palestinians dead and 2500 wounded, and the region in turmoil, the absence of strategy is not a virtue.
Meridor’s narrative is assuredly familiar to anyone who follows the op-ed pages. He argued repeatedly that “this was not a matter of choice, not something we picked or were hoping for”, but rather a war launched by Hamas to which Israel was forced to respond.
MSNBC Video clip of Maj. Nidal Hasan attending lecture at GWU
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Being a Muslim in the military is not going to be easy. Whether or not this was wholey or partly the motivation who knows? However, I am sure there are those in the media who will stress this angle, which will in turn make it more difficult to be a muslim in the military.
The looking for a partner thing stood out in the reports to me plus how he was unremarkablke and never spoke about much. Forget the muslim side and he sounds like any gun crazy serial killer. Still that doesnt sell news where as such nonsense as al quaeda lunatic third column in the military does whether spoken openly or just implied to work on nice white folks hiddeen fears
“Forget the muslim side and he sounds like any gun crazy serial killer.“
Exactly. If he were not a Muslim and a Palestinian, this would be reported, investigated, and analyzed as every other case is in which a psychologically disordered person with significant life pressures reaches a tipping point, and shoots up his workplace. Because he is a Muslim and a Palestinian people are knee-jerking all over the place, making assumptions, and insisting that it is a case of “Islamic terrorism”.
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(Huffington Post) – As Richard got to know Hasan better over the next several months, he found the major to be a pious man who was at the mosque daily. But Richard also began to garner a sense of Hasan’s political views that troubled him. A black-and-white outlook on Islam and life that had no room for nuance or debate. Hasan had apparently attended a mosque led by an imam named Anwar Al-Awlaki, a Yemeni scholar whose political views Richard disagrees with.
Awlaki is a controversial figure among Muslims, and has been accused by the Congressional Joint Inquiry on 9/11 of serving as a “spiritual advisor” to two of the September 11 hijackers. While Richard is careful to say that he respects much of Awlaki’s historical scholarship, he rejects his political ideology, which posits a black-and-white, us versus them, view of America’s relationship with the Islamic world.
Richard and Nidal Hasan would often pray together, and during the last 10 days of Ramadan, the two men secluded themselves inside the local mosque for a period of reflection and worship.
And, fatefully, Richard and Hasan prayed side-by-side at the mosque the morning of the massacre, after they had engaged in a friendly competition to see who could recite the azan, the call to prayer, first. After prayers that morning, Hasan left while Richard and a few others remained behind to recite the Qur’an. Hasan appeared relaxed and not in any way troubled or nervous.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
(New York Times) – It was Major Hasan, though, who increasingly felt let down by the military, and deeply conflicted by his religion, said those who knew him through the mosque. Duane Reasoner Jr., an 18-year-old substitute teacher whose parents worked at Fort Hood, said Major Hassan was told he would be sent to Afghanistan on Nov. 28, and he did not like it.
“He said he should quit the Army,” Mr. Reasoner said. “In the Koran, you’re not supposed to have alliances with Jews or Christian or others, and if you are killed in the military fighting against Muslims, you will go to hell.”
Mr. Benjamin, who worked as a private contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan after leaving the Army in 2000, said the military should have let Major Hassan resign. “They should take more consideration of the human beings in the uniform,” he said, “rather than simply say, `We invested our money in you and need to get our money’s worth.’ ”
Still, Mr. Benjamin added, Major Hassan had overlooked an important, and peaceable, tenet of Islam. “We do have the right to retaliate,” he said, “but he who does not is twice blessed.”
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."“In the Koran, you’re not supposed to have alliances with Jews or Christian or others…“
This is pure bulls***. Mr Reasoner is dead wrong, and clearly has not studied the Qur’an or the Hadith even remotely adequately or well, but has listened to some ignoramuses spouting nonsense. There is absolutely no prohibition against having alliances with Jews, Christians, or anyone else, and to suggest otherwise is to grossly misinterpret the Qur’an. Mohammad and the early Muslims had such alliances. They had valuable alliances with Jewish tribes, for example.
I guess it should not be surprising that there are Muslims who have very ignorant ideas about their own religion. There are certainly plenty of Christians and Jews who have wrong ideas about their religions.
I agree. The Koran actually discusses how such alliances should be conducted, so it could hardly prohibit them.
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Read some of the comments and articles on his own website – Anwar al-Awlaki. We’re not speaking of Muslims and terror, as so many I’m seeking the motive and trigger why a calm and peaceful person can unleash such anger and brutal violence. Maj. Nidal Hasan is not a student or schoolboy but by all accounts a professional psychiatrist. I do come to understand the anger was fed by Islamic fundamentalist teaching. The family of the victims do want and answer: “WHY?” After the death of his mother in 2001, Hasan become more “devout” according to family members.
≈ Cross-posted from my diary — @EuropeanTribune ≈
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."You are assuming that his anger was “fed by Islamic fundamentalist teaching” because that supports your prejudices, and you are looking everywhere for ways to support those prejudices no matter how unrelated it might be – Shari`a in Somalia?! Come ON! How far are you going to reach here?
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From your own bias you continue to make accusations of prejudice. The teachings mentioned above are from the website of Anwar al-Awlaki. From your personal beliefs you cannot accept there are Muslims who become extremists based on their focus on fundamentalist teaching of Islam. Madrassas in Pakistan and Indonesia are schools of thought educating children and teenagers on Islam and violence against infidels. From your knowledge of the regions on the Arab peninsula, you could confirm the presence of extremism and terror (al-Qaeda) in Yemen and parts of Saudi Arabia. Anwar al-Awlaki is seen as an extremist/terrorist by both nations. Someone like Nidal Hasan could very well have indulged himself into fundamentalist thought of Islam along these lines. Just like the murder of Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam five years ago, the anger and violence was brutal and extreme. The murderer Mohammed Bouyeri was a well liked social worker amongst youth in the burroughs. Of course any willful murder has a form of insanity, the same can be said of a war of choice or any violent conflict. I am searching for an answer … WHY? However, harassment and so-called ‘disgrunteld employee’ will not suffice to explain the brutality and violence. BTW I do not put blame on religion for this personal act of violence. Similar extreme violence is present in Christianity, Hindu, agnosts and Judaism.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Not only that, one of the types of alliances discussed in the Qur’an is marriage between Muslims and other believing people, such as Christians, Jews, and Sabeans. Later Zoroastrians were added to the ever-lengthening list of believers.
How about non-believers?
Just for the record, I’m not asking that to be a schmuck. I’m genuinely curious.