Saturday, November 07, 2009

Nidal Malik Hasan

Yesterday afternoon I heard of the incident where a man opened fire at a military base. First I thought it was just another soldier suffering from PTSD, a very common disorder among many US soldiers who've been to Iraq. Then the name showed up. It was an Arab one. Worse, he was an Arab doctor. Another one. Same story.

I don't have any problem with the press crucifying this guy, totally ripping him off and showing him as the most evil man in the world. But I still have a problem with how America is responding to an incident like the one that occurred yesterday and that we all know will happen in the future.

There is an assumption that he was driven to kill soldiers by his religion, which may turn out to be true. However that assumption was based on the fact that he distributed copies of Quran to his neighbors before the incident. That assumption was reinforced by the knowledge of him screaming "Allaho Akbar"-God is Great while he was shooting.

It's very clear that Hasan was planning in advance on what he was doing. He knew he was dying. It's very normal for a practising Muslim to plan on doing something that serves his religion before their death, regardless of the reason they're dying. If a cancer patient is about to die it's normal for him to donate money for an Islamic school or to build a mosque and distributing Qurans on people is another act of virtue.

The other part -the Allaho Akbar one- is another reason that makes me extremely disgusted with the bias and retardation the American media continues to practise. Nobody seems to get that Allaho Akbar is just a expression that Arabs and Muslims say when they get excited over anything. It's a Muslim version of Jeez, or a PG-rated WTF. When Jameel Al Batouti, the co-pilot of EgyptAir flight 990, was screaming religious phrases seconds before his jumbo jet crashed into the ocean, everyone freaked out thinking he brought the plane down, as if someone should be singing Kumbaya or reciting the constitution when they're dying.

There are a few crazy people like Hasan, but there are thousands of not-as-crazy people who can hold themselves from a shooting rampage. They are in the army right now and they are exposed to emotional traumas that no physician can treat and no medication can control. Nobody gives a shit about them. They are so much hated overseas for many reasons, and their country forgets them once they're back for many other reasons. They won't a turn a gun against strangers but they might turn it at themselves or loved ones one day. They become very angry or very quiet, very shy or very disinhibited- abnormal to say the least. War completely destroys their brain, and nobody told them about it in those shiny commercials about how awesome it is to go and fight the bad guys in Iraq.
Mental disorder results from something, usually. It's the a loss from any war that chases a country for decades after its end, and I don't think America gets it. I'm sure that Nidal Malik Hasan, the psychiatrist, would have agreed with me on that one.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't know what you folks have already seen-----but anyway.

Here was much enthralled that the mild compared to Iraq, etc. conflicts, the conflict in Palestine results in thousands of Israeli ex-soldiers taking off for India to bomb out on marijuana.
Studies show that this self-imposed therapy usually lasts 18 months.

Now our major had a conflict from 2001, which was heightened by the ordered posting to Iraq. Myself I got a heart attack for less. No wonder he freaked out and went over the top.

Anonymous said...

"But I still have a problem with how America is responding to an incident like the one that occurred yesterday and that we all know will happen in the future."

Didnt know that all 300+ million were responding in the same way. Here is an article from huffingtonpost.com from a man who knew Hassan. Of course info. will continue to come out in the coming weeks but read this article and I'd like to hear your comments about Hasn's motivation

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kamran-pasha/a-muslim-soldiers-view-fr_b_348973.html

Dee said...

I know this is a very serious subject but i'm in this mood that i couldn't stop laughing at this:

'as if someone should be singing Kumbaya or reciting the constitution when they're dying.'

Hilarious! hehe
I needed that :)

Hareega said...

Anonymous 1... it's not the intensity of what you see, it's the shock that you get. Nobosy was expecting Iraq to become such a painful war for the US, well some did but they were not heard, and that shock is what hit soldiers the most.

Anonymous... interesting article> I wasn't discussing his motives, but was discussing how most American concluded what his motives were just by knowing he was screaming allaho akbar at a time he was shooting people.

Anonymous said...

And I was discussing how did you conclude what "most Americans had concluded." Where is the evidence of what 300+ million Americans had concluded?

Within 48 hours of the attack many more reports were being broadcast that went way beyond the "screaming allaho akbar". I linked one based on an interview with someone who apparently knew Hasan quite well. There is a lot more evidence of his motivation (and more will be revealed as time goes on, some groundless, some revealing) beyond "allaho akbar."

Hareega said...

CNN, Fox News, NBC, and ABC radio news reported the Allaho Akbar part. Some local newspapers only mentioned that part. I wouldn't say 300 million, but it's safe to assume it's the majority of Americans

Anonymous said...

all of those stations (except probably Fox/Faux news) reported more than the allaho akbar. Safe to assume a majority of Americans? Based on what? Your gut instinct?

Lead story in ny times today is that investigators believed he "acted out under a welter of emotional, ideological and religious pressures." http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/us/08investigate.html?hp

Seems that Americans are responding to the incident in a fairly even handed manner. Facts and info. are being gathered and released to the public, there doesnt seem to be mass violence or retribution in the streets (maybe there are some isolated incidents), officials aren't jumping to conclusions nor fanning hatred. If you have any evidence of how people are responding other than assuming that the majority of Americans jumped to conclusion that its religious based because of what he was screaming, I'm all ears.

Hareega said...

the evidence is having the lead story titled, "Nidal screamed God is Great as he was shooting" in several local newspapers and CNN. If this was insignificant nobody would have reported it. Besides living in America and listening to its news and reading opinions from people over the country everyday which kind of suggests what their reaction is.

Anonymous said...

Let him rotten in hell this another mother fucker. We can't afford losing another arabic nation (though it sounds awesome now) because a mother fucker went crazy and killed innocent people there. Btw I am Arabic and I say it with disgust and tail between the legs.

Shaima said...

when i first heard about the incidence i cried like hell cause thats another proof that arabs are dangerous,

the first thing that went thru my mind is how in hell an arabian doctor is insude a base of iraqi soldiers , really i was amazed of this idea and it was a point for america !!

about why did he do that?
it can be for many reasons pressure, racisim, or religion a they said but more important reason to me was pressure cause we all know that arabs are persecuted there , how if its inside a base full of arab-hating soldiers going to kill arabs or been treating from war related diseased against arabs !

too much of what my mind can stand :)

loved ur post ! amazing