Some U.S. Muslims fear backlash after Army base shooting

[struggle4progress]

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

... Andrew Grant-Thomas, deputy director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University, said reporting about the incident had unduly emphasized Hasan's ethnicity and religion ...

Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations, urged "American Muslims, and those who may be perceived to be Muslim, to take appropriate precautions to protect themselves, their families and their religious institutions from possible backlash" ...

Ray Hanania, spokesman for the Association of Patriotic Arab Americans in the Military, told a Chicago radio show the incident would exacerbate existing prejudice. "It's going to get worse. They are going to go after us," he said.

Abed Ayoub, legal adviser for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said his group receives about 400 complaints a month ranging from employment discrimination to racial profiling to verbal and physical attacks. After 9/11, such complaints peaked at thousands per month, he said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5A55IS20091106

[Cha]

1. I thought of that yesterday and

this morning where I work we had someone come in ranting and raving about "towelheads" and whatever else he heard on hate radio.

[kestrel91316]

2. In America? Gosh, I can't imagine why........

:sarcasm:

I live in an area with a large Muslim (AND Jewish immigrant) population, mainly Persian. I hope none of the businesses with signs in Arabic are vandalized like after 9/11.

[Bobbieo]

3. It is the right wing extremists who will stir up this hornet's nest and

everyone in America will pay for it.

[Titanothere]

4. then maybe he shouldn't have yelled Allahu Akbar before his murder spree...

if he was so concerned about how Muslims would be treated in the aftermath. This just in, if you don't want people of your ethnicity and religion to get harrased, don't murder a bunch of people in cold blood in it's name. Pretty simple really. All these guys you quoted need to do is jump up and make a statement that this guy is a dirtbag and is going to burn in Islamic Hell for what he did and American's wouldn't have much grievance with Muslims, as most don't. But if they do say that, we don't hear it much, so they need to say it a lot louder and quit worrying about whether they're going to get picked on.

[kestrel91316]

5. Two wrongs don't make a right, as we all were taught in FUCKING KINDERGARTEN.

Anyone who thinks it's ok or tough shit that INNOCENT Muslims suffer consequences because of the actions of a BAD Muslim is seriously deranged.

I get it - you're a COMMUNIST, because you obviously believe in COLLECTIVE punishment.

[darkstar3]

6. Interesting. And where will I find you counter-protesting Fred Phelps? n/t

[struggle4progress]

7. I prefer to get facts straight before drawing conclusions. Yesterday, we were told this was

a shoot-out with a criminal gang with sniper rifles; we were told two suspects were in custody and one was dead; today, we are told it was a deranged loner with handguns, who is alive, unconscious, in hospital. I have at present no way to know whether or not the current suspect is guilty of these crimes. He is a twenty-year Army professional)

... "I know he told me once that he joined the military because he wanted to do something for America in the aftermath of September 11" ... http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/06/fort.hood.suspect.muslim/

Nevertheless, soon as the suspect's name was released, wingnuts were frothing on the TV:

... Fox News host Shepard Smith asked Senator Hutchison on air: "The name tells us a lot, does it not, senator?" Hutchinson's response? "It does. It does, Shepard" ... http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/493148/horror_at_fort_hood_inspires_horribly_predictable_islamophobia

According to some reports, he had been harassed repeatedly by fellow soldiers for his Muslim beliefs. Perhaps the same idiocy, that leads to the views that a person's name "tells us a lot" and that it is OK to damage the property of people with different religions, might also lead "witnesses" to lie about what they witnessed: in any case, the supposed witnesses are all anonymous so far, and their testimony is supplied only indirectly through the Brass

So I don't think we know yet what happened

And, by the way, anyone -- who thinks it's OK to harass somebody because somebody else of the same ethnicity or religion) did something crummy -- is a shithead

[Titanothere]

12. Just want to follow up

It's being reported that Hassan's superiors didn't want to file written complaints about his raidical views and attempts to convert people to Islam for fear that they'd be labeled racists...by the very type of organizations and people that were originally quoted at the biginning of this thread. So they let him slide on by and he wreaked mass destruction.

That's why it's so irritating to hear the whining start up immediately about how nobody can breath a word against Islam or Muslims becuase everyone's just picking on them. That doesn't mean it's ok to unfairly target people because of their beliefs but it sure as heck means people can offer an opinion about a Muslim person without the constant fear of being labeled a ractist or bigot.

[Meshuga]

13. That's a valid complaint

I mean, if people are allowed to address the specific cases dealing with radicals without being attacked as anti-religious then these kind of problems could be avoided.

Consequently, Muslims would not have to deal with this backlash. I'm sure the Fox News people had orgasms when they learned the fact that the shooter was a Muslim. As opposed to the James Von Brunn's of the world whose ideals were played down since I am sure he would be in agreement with most of the Tea-baggers.

[timeforpeace]

8. You think many Americans who work with devout US Muslims fear worse than backlash?

[struggle4progress]

9. Huh?

[WVRICK13]

10. Violence Because of Religion

Nah, certainly that would never happen.

[Meshuga]

11. I saw the interviews with members of Hasan's community here...

in DC metro. I feel bad for them because they are going to be paying for it by being harassed.

An unemployed friend of mine just recently was complaining that he had to remove his first name (Muhammad) from his resume in order to receive calls for interviews.

The shooter's actions make things even harder for people like my friend and other American Muslims.