Victim's father wants 9-11 memorial to read that son was murdered by "Muslim terrorists"

[Liberal_in_LA]

Connecticut 9-11 Memorial Halted Over "Muslim Terrorist" Row


As the Muslim community reels over the Fort Hood shootings committed by Major Nadil Malik Hasan, a devout Muslim, news emerges over a Kent, Conn. 9-11 memorial which has been derailed. The reason is that the father of the victim insists the memorial says his son was murdered by "Muslim terrorists."

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At the same time, however, town leaders want to be sensitive to Muslims, noting that saying such a harsh message on a public memorial plaque would be wrong and that most criticism has come from non-locals. The town has received about 150 emails and many phone calls on the issue, and that many of them were obscene and threatening. One person hoped Ruth Epstein, outgoing town First Selectwoman, and her family, were killed by terrorists.

http://www.huliq.com/3257/88561/connecticut-9-11-memorial-halted-over-muslim-terrorist-row

[vadawg]

1. erm i guess the father is right, if they allow a message on the memorial

and hes got a say in it, or even if hes not got a say i guess hes allowed his opinion... also the only people who should be offended are terrorists if thats who is being called out....

[aquart]

11. And use it as the excuse for massacre or war 100 years from now?

Should his hatred really be his son's memorial? Is that all there was to the man?

[SemiCharmedQuark]

2. Well, they *were* terrorists and they *were* muslim.

It doesn't say that all terrorists are muslims nor does it say that all muslims are terrorists. It says that the terrorists that hijacked the plane were muslim terrorists. They were.

I'd support a memorial plaque for Dr. Tillman that said "Dr. Tillman: Murdered by Christian Terrorist".

[DemBones DemBones]

3. That one should say

"Murdered by Lone Christian Terrorist."

The Muslims acted together, the guy who killed Tiller did it on his own.

Unless there are facts not yet known about Nidal Hasan, a memorial to his victims should say "Murdered by Lone Muslim Terrorist."

[SemiCharmedQuark]

4. I thought the fact that it was singular and not plural was sufficient to indicate that one person

acted as the murderer.

[B Calm]

9. Memorial plaque for Dr. Tillman that said "Dr. Tillman: Murdered by Christian Terrorist".

I'll support that!

[thunder rising]

13. Christian Terrorists - must be plural to heighten the fear. Otherwise the problem is solved when

the one is caught.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

22. Who are you referring to?

[thunder rising]

14. How about Saudi Arabian Terrorists? The attackers were more concerned about US in Saudi Arabia

than about Islam. bin Laden used the Taliban as a means to an end. The spin to equate terrorism to Islam is a fucking christian lie.

How do you keep a Babtist from drinking all your beer? (Invite two of them)

[timeforpeace]

20. If you asked Muslims, they would say that is an accurate description. So why should we be afraid of

saying the truth?

[MrModerate]

5. The point here is that Muslim is only one of many things they were.

They were all men, for one thing. They were mostly Saudis. Why not mention those things on the memorial?

Because where do you stop? And because a memorial that will deliberately stir up hatred and pain -- as opposed to honoring the lost -- is bad policy and morally wrong.

[vadawg]

6. pretty big part of what the self identified as was islamist whether you want to admit to it or not

the reason they did what they did was for their religious beliefs, i think the thing that bound them together and made them carry out the operation was their belief that their religion demanded it of them. So its pretty fair to called them moslem. I go tno problem with memorials that state what, who and why, as the WW2 memorials would look pretty weak if they didnt mention who the enemy was and why the slain fought....

[MrModerate]

7. Mainstream Islam does not countenance the killing of innocents.

And so if you're going to call them Muslim terrorists, that is an error of fact (as well as being damaging to social order). They were Islamic heretics, criminals, fanatics, whathaveyou.

The simple phrase "Muslim terrorists" is bigoted, inaccurate, and provocative, and deliberately hurtful without delivering any benefit save satisfying someone's notion of vengeance. It's roughly equivalent to calling US soldiers who went to Iraq "Christian Terrorists." While I've heard that language thrown around, it's simply not true.

[vadawg]

8. not disagreeig with you at all, i think its the choice of words that one would have to be careful

with, i would go with islamist fanatics myself...

[MrModerate]

10. And, let's not forget that this is a public monument, which doesn't perform the same function . . .

As a newspaper or documentary film.

Which is to say, its purpose isn't to capture historical truth with footnotes and a long list of references, but to express public sentiment about an event, a person, or a community belief.

The wording is very important indeed, and needs to meet the needs of a community -- usually to draw them together, as opposed to set them at each others' throats.

[Obamanaut]

16. I agree with this. I teared up every time I visited the Arizona memorial

at Pearl Harbor, even though I was not evem born when it was sunk.

I also teared up at Nagasaki, even though I was still in diapers when it was bombed.

I saw others around me with specks in their eyes as well - at both places.

What you said is true.

[excess_3]

17. Qur'an 9:5

But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them

[MrModerate]

18. a.) Pagans, not regarded as "innocents" because of their supposed . . .

traficking with djinn and similar spirits. b) The Bible is full of insane bronze-age crap that is wisely elided by mainstream Christianity. I think we can afford Islam the same courtesy.

Don't get me wrong, I'm an atheist and consider all religions equally fantastical (except for Scientology, which I consider dumb-as-dirt fantastical). Consequently, I view religions primarily as institutions, and world Islam doesn't (at least as I see it) consider the murder of non-Muslims morally acceptable.

[mmonk]

15. That would complicate the intent. The intent is to push the idea

it happened in a vacuum obliviously to world politics thus being only related to one's religion.

[SoCalDem]

12. m'kay, then let's change the Oklahoma City Memorial too

These people were killed by a White-Christian, Racist-Xenophobic Militia Wacko Terrorist

[Liberal_in_LA]

19. +1

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

21. You have some evidence that McVeigh was a christian when he bombed the building.

[Odin2005]

23. "Millitant Islamist Terrorists" would be more accurate and less incindiary.