Comments

• By Mrs. H. on 11/13 12:05 PM

  @Arielle, you're absolutely right. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that why he did it is not important. I'm just saying that while it's still under investigation all the general public can do is continue to guess. Though he acted alone and was said not to have any direct ties with any terrorist organization, beyond his talks with the radical Imam, which even with that, the conversation was not seen as suspect beyond who he was talking to- even though all of this has been said, it's believed that the man truly just could not handle it (and yes, part of it had a lot to do with him not wanting to fight people over there, even though this is something he should have been prepared for going into the military). I just think that while it's being investigated we should focus equally if not more on the people who tragically were injured or lost their lives. This man is up for 13 murder charges, which I think is fair because no matter what religion he was, no religion tells you to kill innocent people so he will receive an even more just punishment in his afterlife for what he did. It is most definitely important to examine the warning signs, and I do believe that anyone that noticed his behavior should have reported him. But he was being watched already, I don't know if he wasn't reprimanded because of people trying to be politically correct, I think it was more so the fact that no matter who you are, if you are not doing something illegal, they can arrest or detain you, but would not have evidence enough to hold that person when it came to a court trial. So at that time, he had not done anything illegal yet, they were watching and waiting, unfortunately, it ended in this tragedy. He spoke to the radical Imam, which was something they paid close attention to, but as of now they are reporting that there was no suspicious talks between them, if he had said something then it would have been a red flag and I think they would have definitely picked him up. So that's why right now it's hard for the general public to say what is and isn't because we only know thus far, what has been released to us. I would hope that the fact the man killed anyone, let alone 13 soldiers (plus the wounded), that the government would care less about being "politically correct". The DC Sniper was put to death a few days ago, at 9:11pm, the people connected to 9/11 are being tried this week, I don't think that the government is being so politically correct as not to punish those who are breaking the law and killing people because they are muslim. I really do appreciate your post. I just want people to understand that we want them gone too. We try by teaching the right way to practice, but just with anything that is taught, the teachers are not always with them and what they do at home is beyond the control of the teacher. And if that student no longer comes around to be taught these lessons and the teacher never hears from or sees them again, then it's a lost cause for the teachers beyond anyone else that may interact with that person. Here, it was important that everyone, muslim and non reported these things beforehand, now we're hearing that people saw signs but didn't report them, and that didn't help. So sometimes, it is a community effort all the way around to bring these types of things to light. Thank you for your response, I really appreciate your insight. You didn't come up here trying to bash me and you spoke truth and facts. You have no idea how refreshing that is. You seem like a really great person Arielle. Thank you.

• By Arielle on 11/13 11:02 AM

  I am tired of it all too, but the only way to prevent it from happening again is to understand why or how it was done and why or how it was allowed to happen. This is exactly why the US Senate is investigating all the warning signs this man showed of islamic beliefs out of control and that it was ignored by so many in order to be politically correct. That makes me very sad and very upset for the victims and families. As with 9/11, it would have been a mistake for investigators to ignore that aspect of it and try to prevent it in the future.

• By Mrs. H on 11/12 09:35 PM

  @Arielle, no, I don't believe muslims are the victim at all. Americans are the victims, no matter the religion, any innocent person that loses life over the inappropriate action of someone else is a victim. What I wrote previously was nothing more than responses to someone (whoever it was) that decided to send me personal emails and also to answer questions that were posted here. I respect your opinion and just as you respect my religion, I respect anyone else's. I'm not looking to point fingers or say who the victims are, certainly not saying it's muslims. Just saying there are some crazy people who were taught another way that need to be sought out and dealt with by whomever is able, whether it's a muslim or nonmuslim. Radical beliefs and actions make no sense and it's not something that I support. We're not victims, there are few people who act out against us- just a few, so for that I am not making us victims and saying those people make up the whole of the population. Just said it happens, but that's with anyone who is angry enough to express it. The only victims here were the soldiers that lost their lives. I appreciate your comment, but please do not judge me or peg me to be some activist because I'm not. I'm just a mother, student, childcare attendent, american born and raised, chose to be muslim way before all this terrorism stuff, and I know my actions are different from those who have chosen to be "radical". I only spoke on what was spoken to me about, that's all I can do. If people have questions then I answer, they comment, I comment back. Again, the only victims here were the people that died at the hands of someone else, that is my main concern, after everything, I don't even care to try to explain much anymore. The main thing that matters is that, and I think it's sad that more focus has directed to this man's religion than time has been taken to truly appreciate and give condolences to the people who were involved. Not directing that at anyone, just saying that I care more about who was hurt right now than why or how it was done. I just feel that another crazy person, especially one claiming lives in the name of their dimented version of "islam", has taken lives. I'm tired of people dying, anyone, everyone. I'm just tired.

• By Arielle on 11/12 07:34 PM

  clarification - boys (non- Muslim)ate a salami sandwich during lunch, while Muslim boys saying it was made of a pig and it was wrong to eat that, and beat and harassed the non-Muslim children. These Muslim children cannot beat and harass another child for such things. It is ridiculous. Now I am sure your response will be defensive and discuss how often this discrimination happens to Muslims. I am all for respecting all beliefs but am more than tired of hearing people say it's all in one direction. It is not.

• By Arielle on 11/12 07:31 PM

  Mrs. H, while you may have some points, it all sounds like you are portraying Muslims as the victim. I read an article where a group of 10 year old Muslims were harassing young boys and hurting them in Australia because those boys (non-Muslim) ate a salami sandwich during lunch. This kind of behavior does not come from nowhere. These boys are in Australia, not the Middle East, so they certainly must have learned this from parents or others. I am not saying you are doing anything wrong, Mrs. H, but there is far too much of this going on in Muslim communities and it is unacceptable.

• By 2much2do on 11/09 12:50 PM

  @George, you are absolutely right.

• By George on 11/09 12:26 PM

  On the philosophical ground, most Americans are not driven by revenge. Whether we like it or not, this is rooted in Christianity on which America is built. Therefore, I am not concerned about any significant backlash. You can always find people who despise Christian philosophy and follow their own. Fortunately, such people are still in minority in our country.

• By George on 11/09 12:18 PM

  On the philosophical ground, most Americans are not driven by revenge. Whether we like it or not, this is rooted in Christianity on which America is built. Therefore, I am not concerned about any backlash although you can always find people who despise this philosophy and follow their own.

• By Mrs. H. on 11/08 07:31 PM

  @Sickofitall, you are absolutely right. Most americans have been extremely tolerant considering the circumstances. I am so grateful for that. I am american (Fort Hood born actually), as are all of my family and friends and I don't think any of us should be seen as "evil" by anyone. So I truly feel that anyone that has a problem with americans shouldn't be here. As you said, there are rare cases like the recent situation at, I believe, a Durham mosque that was vandalized. It's not everyone, it's individuals, and it's not often. We're not trying make generalizations about americans or being treated a certain way. I love my friends and family dearly and I love my life. The problem as you mentioned, with converts like the beltway snipers, is that there is a radical group out there claiming Islam and teaching an extreme version of it to anyone that will listen. So for people who know any better (I take that back, people are old enough to know better so I don't know what excuse they have for justifying extremism), but for people dumb enough to listen, they do, and they follow. As a muslim community our problem lies in the fact that extremists hide from us too. Even if they are right in front of our face, they may say they believe one way, but may practice something else at home, or not even show themselves to us at all. So it's hard to correct those who you don't know are doing wrong. As far as Dems, I hope that this was not a victory for them but who knows. It was a tragedy and lives were lost. And I can honestly say that I don't care whether this man is treated nicely or not because he showed no compassion for who he killed that day. His actions were unexcusable and horrendous and I pray that we don't experience anything even remotely similar to this again. Condolences again to the friends and family involved.

• By Sickofitall on 11/08 06:17 PM

  Yep...those evil Americans. What the Muslims don't understand or even realize is that since 9-11, we have been mostly tolerant. Sure, there have been some minor incidents here and there, but Americans, overall haven't gone on a "revenge" backlash against these psychotics who see us as the "Great Satan" and, have, time and again, said they want to get rid of us "Zionists". Then we had the beltway snipers...converts to Islam...and yet...Americans held their wrath. Of course, with a President in office who seems more friendly with Muslims than hardworking Americans (who he sees as being evil and has to apologize for worldwide)...I'm sure we'll see this gunman get a presidential pardon. If not...Pelosi and the rest of the Dems (who seem to be happy whenever a soldier gets killed), will make sure this psychopath witll be treated "nicely". In the meantime, America's rage at the fifth column that has built up (and now influences our leaders) is starting to build... Trust me...it's only a matter of time.

• By Mrs. H. on 11/08 03:27 PM

  @Elizabeth, I only referrenced you in the beginning because of what you said, which, you may not have been writing to me, but when you mentioned my explanation of passages pertaining to war- "You can explain that that was in wartime or whatever you like, but no part of the Christian Bible says to stay away from Muslims and not to befriend them." I thought that was in reference to one of my previous replies so that is what made me mention you at all when I said you will think and feel what you want about it, and I included Nasserine in that as well. So I wasn't referring to you negatively at all, I was only responding to what you said. The rest of my post was not directed at you at all, only the first sentence where I mentioned that we are entitled to our opinions. From the point where I mentioned not trying to argue with people all day about it, that was in reference to previous conversations. Sorry again for that misunderstanding.

• By Mrs. H. on 11/08 03:16 PM

  Excuse my typo with your name, Jonathan.

• By Mrs. H. on 11/08 03:11 PM

  @Johnathan, someone prior to you mentioned comdeming people, you just didn't see the post because I guess it was pulled. So no need to read it all, I did, I actually only respond to responses. And condemn means to say that someone or something is wrong, evil, or guilty. So regardless of the person who said it no longer being in this post, people have still been condemning the religion. Not sure what you thought condemn meant. @Elizabeth, I was only referring to you when I said that you will think and feel what you want about the situation, as will I. The rest was for the person(s) that were fighting with me previously about the issue. So I apologize that I did not clarify who I was referencing with that and that you misunderstood. You all have a good day.

• By Jonathan on 11/08 02:44 PM

  Typical Rant. Half of it doesn't even make sense. No one responding, anywhere in this thread, said anything about condemning anyone. Period. Read it. This H person is now coming across as crazy. Hopefully NBC17 will pull her posts.

• By Elizabeth on 11/08 02:40 PM

  Mrs. H, are you crazy? Who is even writing to you? I'm certainly not. No one asked you to change your religion. No one even referred to you.

• By Mrs. H. on 11/08 01:30 PM

  @Elizabeth and Nasserine, you will think, feel, and believe what you want. As will I, if we continue trying to say who's better than who (which is an arguement that I refuse to be engaged in) or whatever point you want to argue against me- we'll be here all day. I'm not looking to change minds. What is the purpose of arguing with me about my religion here? The story refers to local muslims being concerned about backlash- hmm...could reactions and words like yours be the reason why? How do you try to change someone's religion, that is your purpose here, writing me, venting about my religion to me whom you don't even know as a person, just because I am here and I am muslim and you can get a reaction from me. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but when you speak to me about why my religion is bad it is just funny that I am supposed to see it differently than if I were the one trying to get you to change yours. You justify actions that would not be justified for me because the only thing that is different about me is my religion, but it is enough for me to be an outcase in your mind. When has any one religion become so "holier than thou" that you are the one who makes judgements on other people and what they do and don't deserve in this life- extremists think that same way do they not? It's not right and one day people will remember as they are passing judgements and condemning those who do not deserve it, that no matter what our religion we all have someone to answer to in the end, will he be satisfied with your ways? I do not drink, kill, steal, smoke, I pray five times a day- that does not make me better than a peacefully and rightfully practicing person of another religion just because they are a different religion. Should I condemn all Catholic preists because of incidents of child molestation? No. Should I condemn Jews because there is a Holy War with them in the middle east? No. I have nothing to do with that war, nor do any Jews here, so I'm not supposed to be okay with them because of violence somewhere else. Christians that have done things extreme, am I to hate them all? So technically speaking, is every white middle aged man with money and a mistress and murderer of his wife and children? NO! Do I hate all white people because one killed my CHRISTIAN father because he was black- or because of decades that white people felt that blacks were inferior, lynched, mobbed and hanged them because of their SKIN COLOR? No.(please try to justify those actions to me, say it was so long ago and "we're over it", it was an era and it happened to innocent people, it was a group- white EXTREMISTS who felt it was okay to kill people they did not like- it was as sick as what Hitler did and what these terrorists are doing today, it's not about religion, radicals bred a radical group in an area and that area happened to be an Islamic state) Is every black person ghetto or a thug? NO! That is no different than the mindset people are trying to justify when it comes to my religion. So you may know people who were not satisfied with it, fine, we don't know whether they practiced it as they should have- either way, not everyone was meant to be Christian, Catholic, a Jew, a Buddhist, a Muslim. We are not taught to hate you, if you read the Quran then you would know that it speaks of tolerance and no ill-will towards other people. It simply says not to follow the disbelievers, and if we are fought because of our religion then we will not be condemned for protecting ourselves when APPROACHED with a fight, we are condemned if we fight for any other reason or go looking for a fight. I answered questions, I was not preaching or trying to convert anyone. I could care less what you feel about what I practice because I know who I am and that I'm not taught violence. I practice my religion as an individual and my actions are my own, just as yours are yours-not your religion's, same with anyone else. If you want to blame and condemn a group of people based on the acts of individuals I can't do anything but pray for you. There is one God, we just call him Allah, nonetheless he will judge you for your judgements against others and he will judge me just the same. May he help you and anyone/everyone with hate, intolerance, or ignorance in their hearts and minds.

• By Elizabeth L. on 11/08 12:39 PM

  I personally am horrified by the parts of the Koran that say not to befriend Christians and Jews because they are bad people (they're not). You can explain that that was in wartime or whatever you like, but no part of the Christian Bible says to stay away from Muslims and not to befriend them. This is not the Middle Ages nor the Crusades. I've looked at the Koran directly and am shocked by it.

• By Nasserine on 11/07 11:43 PM

  I'm going to clear this up once and for all. I STOPPED being a Muslim because of some of the alarming things that were happening....... The following report is narrated by Aisha, Muhammad’s favorite young wife, whom he married when he was in his fifties and she was around nine or ten years old (they were betrothed when she was six, see this article for details). The context of the line shows Muhammad sneaking out of the house, to visit a graveyard and pray over the dead. Aisha followed him. She returned just before he did, but he noticed she was out of breath and he asked her why. She told him, and apparently fearing for his life as he saw her in the shadows, he punished her. Says Aisha: “He struck me on the chest which caused me pain” (Muslim, vol. 2, no. 2127). So Muhammad committed domestic violence on his young wife. The hadith collection Sunan Abu Dawud is also considered reliable. This passage records Muhammad first saying that husbands should not beat their wives (vol. 2, nos. 2139 and 2141), but Umar, one of his chief companions, informed him that the wives were becoming “emboldened towards their husbands.” So now Muhammad changed his mind: ... “[H]e (the Prophet) gave permission to beat them.” However, the women complained to Muhammad’s family, but he retorted: “Many women have gone round Muhammad’s family complaining against their husbands. They are not the best among you” (vol. 2, no. 2141). This passage is very revealing. First, it shows that Muhammad chose a bad path at the behest of one of his companions. To be blunt, what kind of leader is this?

• By Mrs. H. on 11/07 07:14 PM

  @Dave, I'm not pushing religion down anyone's throat. To be completely honest, I would not want people who think like you to be muslim because you would be the type of person to misuse Islam and do something crazy. Islam is a choice, not obligatory, I'm not here trying to convert anyone, simply giving information. If someone asks why something is a certain way, I simply provide answers, nothing more. I'm not going to get as deep into this with you because I can already see that your mind is made up about what MY religion believes in, despite the fact that I have been living it for years. I am a wife, don't see anything wrong with men being providers, it just means they make sure the family has a roof over their head and food to eat- why is that wrong and is this different in your household? Is it not "normal" or "american" for a man to provide for his family? I still work and have that choice to do so just like any other woman here. I am not oppressed, I do not get beat up, as you said, this is the US and we are "in tune" with the "US views and beliefs", if anyone is shoving anything down someone's throat you pretty much did it yourself in that one statement. Middle eastern beliefs are not our beliefs and people need to learn to separate that fact. If that were the case incidents like this would happen all day every day and they don't. We don't have to be of any religion and we will all believe what we will and no one can change your belief but you, same as with me. You're telling me despite being American and living normally before and after my conversion to Islam that because I don't have the same religion as you then I don't belong here? You don't even know me. So don't direct things to me, say radicals, extremists, whatever, but you don't know me beyond what religion I have. Don't tell me to leave because I have no problems with being here, I am the only muslim in a all christian family, was born and raised here, have no middle eastern roots at all- so why do I have to leave? Because of my religion? Despite the fact that I am tolerant, working here, living here normally, it's your decision to make as to whether I am fit here because of my belief? How does that work? Believe what you want, being close-minded will only allow you to be open to nothing beyond your own thoughts. So be it. You're entitled to your opinion.

• By Dave on 11/07 06:28 PM

  Maybe in your religion men are the providers, but you need to get in tune with US views and beliefs. That is not at all how we believe here. I for one have had it up to here with political correctness. We need accountability. Move to a mainstream country, then please do not shove your beliefs down our throat. I too have a friend who was formerly a Muslim and after thinking it through, he was appalled at the way that religion encouraged him to treat his wife.

• By Mrs. H. on 11/07 02:33 PM

  Unfortunately your cousin dealt with someone who had radical views, but that is still not Islam. And I am sorry that she had to go through that. Like I said, hitting is not right, didn't say it was. I just explained to you what the text meant. And I also said that it is not practiced and is frowned upon, in further reading you would see that it says that a man is condemned for hitting his wife other than her being out of control. If you hit your husband or put him in harm, would he hit you back or at all? Some men would (muslim and non) and some men would not. It's not to say that it's right, but saying that as a last resort if things get out of control and you have to hit her ONCE to ease the situation then you will not be condemned for that, but hitting her again EVER and you will be condemning yourself. With any religion, you don't understand unless you are a part of it and truly learning it. If you are learning about it for the purpose of finding ill meaning in it, then you will surely find that and nothing else. And the men are not more important than women, we are put on a pedastal actually. We give birth to men and women alike. The most important person next to Allah is one's mother. In a Hadith (which we use along with Quran) it's narrated, "A man came to the Prophet and said, ‘O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship? The Prophet said: Your mother. The man said, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man asked again, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your father." As I said, I am so sorry that your cousin had to deal with that side of Islam, they obviously held the middle eastern beliefs, but that is not what we follow or teach here, the only ones that do are the radicals that hold those beliefs themselves. Had she had connections with another mosque or muslims outside of that group, they could have helped her to escape that and dealt with that particular group and their oppressive ways or beliefs that were allowing that treatment. It's still not all of Islam and some people have negative experiences in any religion. Again, education is key. We have to teach within and without the muslim community or people will continue to misuse islam. But don't believe that men are "better than women" because that's not true. Men are the providers as with any religious or non religious family and it is their job to care for their family. On judgement day they will be judged not only based on their actions, but based on how well they practiced and taught their families about Islam. It is the man's job to oversee his family. The women/mother takes care of the home and reinforces the environment and teachings of the household. Like I've told someone else. Go to the mosque near NC State and see how it is there. There is no oppression, no hate-filled teachings, at the most men and women worship in different rooms, but that is because women are seen as so beautiful and can be a distraction, so that men and women are encouraged to concentrate, worship is done at the same time, but in different rooms. Not because women are less important than men, but because men are weak when it comes to women. lol. But I appreciate the conversation, understanding, and we are both titled to our opinions. Again, my only purpose was to clear misconceptions about Islam. In the end people will think, feel, and believe what they want anyway, so the most I can do is speak. Keep this in mind when you ask tolerant muslims to "teach" the intolerant ones. It's not easy, doesn't mean we don't try. Just means that everyone muslim and non muslim alike are for the most part going to be stuck in their ways. It's life, in any religion, you don't know what's good without the separation of the bad, or right, without knowing what is wrong. Just as with all religions there were meant to be believers and disbelievers. I pray that we all become more tolerant and that extremists are sought out and dealt with. But as with this situation, it can't be completely up to us, people knew this man was off his rocker as well and did not do anything but "watch him closely", but eventually ended up watching him cause a massacre. It's a community effort all the way around, muslims are tying, but it's not always in our hands alone.

• By Kate on 11/07 02:02 PM

  And no, to refer to your comments, hitting a woman ONCE is NEVER ok! Not in this country anyway. I cannot even believe you said that to justify a man hitting a woman at any time. Never a reason for it.

• By Kate on 11/07 01:59 PM

  It's all just very disturbing. I appreciate your comments but I have a cousin who is no longer Muslim because of some of the very oppressive practices, and I have seen a copy of the actual Qu'aran that she owns. There isn't really an acceptable context for saying it's ok to beat your wife, or that men are more important than women, unfortunately. Not trying to bash at all and I respect everyone's right to choose, but it is very disturbing.

• By Mrs. H. on 11/07 01:26 PM

  @Kate, first, I hope that you reading the whole Surah and not what you picked from a website. If you read the whole Surah (titled the Repentance) then you will see that it is speaking of a time of war. It says, "Then when the Sacred Months have passed, then kill the Mushrikun (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, and disbelievers-which again includes false believers) wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and lie in wait for them in each and every ambush. But if they repent and perform As-Salat (prayer) and give Zakat, then leave them their way free. If you also read what is before and after this then you will get the whole understanding of the passage. We don't read Koran, we read Quran from back to front. And it's Surahs. Thank you for the information though, I do appreciate you trying to present clarity to this, but as I said, a lot of things that are posted on those sites are provided out of context. And this is no offense to you, just to simply prove a point- extremists misuse the Quran just as you have presented it here. They use one passage out of a whole chapter, from a whole book, that could be taken negatively and make it negative. Forget the other passages that speak of tolerance, good intentions, and being eternally condemned for sins such as killing people- they take one, or two, or however many passages that fit their purpose of wanted to have ill will and they use it in the name of the religion. That wasn't directed at you though, so please, my apologies if that seemed offensive, but I was explaining to you how easy it is for extremists and radicals to take the Quran out of context and use it (or misuse it) for their own selfish purposes. It is scary, for everyone. I don't know about you, but just because I'm muslim doesn't mean I'm going to run any slower if someone yells "bomb" or "terrorist".

• By Mrs. H. on 11/07 01:09 PM

  @Kate, you got something on me there because I don't use Dawood's Quran in my home. We cannot control what the middle east believes. And here, we cannot fight extremism if they are hiding. Please read the actual Quran or go to one of our websites but please do not refer to one of the websites that states the negativities of Islam. They often write things out of context and do not provide any explanation. I have plenty of rights. I don't even have to work if I don't want to because my husband HAS to provide for the house, I still work though, because I like to. lol. And covering is not oppression. If we felt so oppressed why are we not holding rallies and protests, this is America, it's not like we're in fear of being stoned- those things are radical and are not practiced here except by extremists. I love having my head covered. I use to have disrespectful men shouting at me and trying to approach me, disrespecting me. People get to know you by face and personality and not body. We don't dress like that all the time, not at home, not with family. It's just to go out, I still wear my tank and shorts at home with my hair out. lol. I'm not oppressed at all. The beating does not happen, it's frowned upon. It was only said to be a last resort when your wife is "disobedient", but this means in an extreme case. Hear about the Chris Brown and Rihanna incident? He was driving, she was trying to snatch a phone from him, putting them both in danger, hitting her once would have been okay to put her in place and stop her from acting crazy (now when he kept hitting her, that would have been forbidden in Islam)- so there is a difference in knowing and being taught what these things are in reference to as opposed to just reading them or at least getting an explanation with them as to their meanings. I tried to post some links that further explained fighting, war, and divorce, but the system thinks they may be spam so it didn't post. But if you google islamicity with part 10 divorce, and google islamicity with war and peace in the Quran, it should bring up those articles. Education is key. It is horrible what that man did and there is no excuse for it, including his religion because we don't believe that. But if you know a way that we can get through to the whole middle east population that has been fighting for decades with Israel and amongst themselves, to teach them the proper way of Quran, please feel free to share because we would love some ideas :) Just know it's not as easy as you think, because obviously they wouldn't even accept us let alone allow us to teach them.

• By Kate on 11/07 12:39 PM

  I'm sorry, but this is disturbing too. I ask only that Muslims get their religion straight and decide what they believe, because these things straight from the Qu'aran are plain SCARY......Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them. Then if they obey you, take no further action against them. Surely God is high, supreme." (Dawood's version of the Koran, Quran, 4:34)

• By Kate on 11/07 12:35 PM

  This is right from the Koran and I don't know how else you could interpret it. I am all for respecting others' religion, but this religion frankly scares me. When the sacred months are over, slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them. - Sura9:5 O believers, take not Jews and Christians as friends; they are friends of each other. Those of you who make them his friends is one of them. God does not guide an unjust people. - Sura 5:54 Fight against them until idolatry is no more and Allah's religion reigns supreme. - Sura 2:193 and 8:39

• By Mrs. H. on 11/07 12:28 PM

  @Diane, you are right. And it is a daily message because it's a part of what is taught in services. This guy did misuse our religion and I am so glad that you were wise to see that. The problem comes in when you get angry, hatebent people who want revenge, and thinking that our religion is all about this- they hate us, or even scarier, some feel that they can just come at us and take care of it themself. We take action but the truth is that people like this even hide from us. If someone stops attending service, just like in any other religious service, you don't really go out of your way to find out where that person went and why they left because you can simply assume they went to another church. People with these beliefs don't join us in service because they don't agree with our teachings. So if they are hiding from us- we really don't know any more than you all do. We stress it in our community that if this makes things worse for everyone, not just muslims. That if you are truly a muslim, these things are night right and cannot only be condemned on earth, but will be condemned in the afterlife. Because it's a part of our religion it's a common sense thing that is spoken on often. As with church, your pastor or bishop knows that you all know it's a sin to kill, so he will only drive that point home but so much in his sermon. It's the same thing with us, but it is a problem when people with those views are not even in service to hear that message, and because they don't want to be known or found, they stay out of public view, especially from us. So I completely understand your point. We do what we can, hold meetings, workshops, etc, but none of the things that we do is on the news- so it's easy to understand why people feel we just sit back and watch. I promise you that we don't. We truly want people to stop misusing our religion for their selfish beliefs and violent purposes, most importantly, we want no more lives lost at the hand of extremists, or anyone for that matter.

• By Kate on 11/07 12:25 PM

  Plus, there are way too many people in the Middle East doing this kind of thing in the name of their religion. That being the case, clearly the "peacefulness" of the religion has become lost in translation and Muslim leaders need to fix it fast, when too many are losing the message. It doesn't help when the Qu'aran talks about it being ok to beat wives or directs people to kill infidels either. Muslim leaders either need to clarify this for the major numbers of people going ballistic, or change it. This is WAY out of hand. This is not the middle ages, it's 2009.

• By Arwen on 11/07 12:19 PM

  I am also VERY angry at the perpetrator/shooter for lying and saying he was harassed as a Muslim, when four witnesses who knew him for years said they saw him go out looking for it, and inciting people. They also said he, and he alone, actually created such situations and people were not against him. This is not a game, to cry wolf and claim discrimination falsely.

• By Mrs. H. on 11/07 12:17 PM

  I meant to say "I hate that someone tried to run my son and I..."

• By Diane on 11/07 12:15 PM

  You shouldn't condemn or hate anyone of another faith; but the fact is this guy DID use/misuse his religion in this mass killing. We all heard about what he shouted right before he started shooting. There is way too much of this already going on in the Middle East, killing people in the name of religion. I expect the Muslim religious clerics to not just make a statement not backed by action, but to take real and serious actions to make it clear to their members that they should not be doing this. That no God they believe in would ever condone this. That should be a regular, daily message.

• By Mrs. H. on 11/07 12:14 PM

  @DarrenNC, I am muslim and I can sincerely give my condolences to these families. I was born at Fort Hood and we even know one of the families involved. My prayers go out to all the victims and their families. I don't think she does not care about the victims, but there is honestly always high demand in situations like this for a muslim to speak and say that we do not believe in such actions, and I think that may be what she was trying to do. @John, honestly, we receive a heck of a lot of backlash. It's not that anything is wrong with Americans. We love America and more than half of us are born and raised here (converts). Not everyone is nice and you would be suprised how many people do hate muslims because they feel that our religion is the problem rather than putting the blame on these brainwashed individuals. I hate someone try to run my son and I off the highway (a group of teenagers, but nonetheless) screaming at me "taliban!!!". I had another incident where someone spit at me telling me I should be ashamed of myself and I was 8 months pregnant at the time, I don't think I could have looked less harmless. But media does have a way of connecting muslims and islam to these actions. I understand that he practiced islam- but the guy was crazy. And the terrorists from 9/11, they were just that, terrorists. There were not muslim because that would say that they practiced Islam, which they did not. They were radicals, but because of where they came from which is a mostly Islamic region, they were dubbed "Islamic Terrorists". So as you keep hearing things on the news, the words Islam or muslim keeps getting attached when it's an oxymoron because muslims are not taught to be terrorists. If they were muslims they would know that the killings, bombs, etc, is sending them to an eternal h*** (not sure if I can type the word! lol). So we do receive backlash, and it's not from everyone, just a few ignorant people that feel they need to blame the group rather than blame the individuals. So no John, nothing against Americans. We are always receiving backlash about "not speaking up" about these types of incidents, but when we do there is still something to complain about or something that we should have included that we didn't. Truth is most of the stuff, even when we try to comfort people and explain that we condemn these actions- it tends to go in one ear and out of the other with the people who already have their minds made up about us. @Richard, thank you.

• By DarrenNC on 11/07 07:19 AM

  Hmm, where to start... I'll preface my comments with the fact that the facts are still emerging so it's safe to say there's still a long way to go before we know the exact reason. But from what I'm seeing this guy was sending some strong signals that someone should have picked up on (FBI, Army) and acted upon. But for the Muslim community to turn this around and try to elicit sympathy after 13 people have been killed seems ill timed. I hope/expect somewhere during the interview Mr. Sabra expressed outrage over the killings, but to be more concerned over "backlash" seems poorly placed. I'll take a dirty look over a pistol shot any day.

• By John on 11/07 02:18 AM

  What is the point of this story? What in American history could make muslims believe the might be the victims of a backlash. This is a country that has welcomed muslims in without suspision. If you understand the current trend in thought in this country, then you understand the agenda of this story. The creation of the impression of ill will. "Americans don't do well with muslims" "Americans are not sensible people" "Americans might act out violently against other Americans becuase of their religion" "America is to blame" America is the problem" That is what the authors of this story want to get across. See it for what it is.

• By John Rambo on 11/07 01:59 AM

  Let me at him. I'll teach him a lesson.

• By Richard Lynch on 11/07 12:25 AM

  It is not right that people that had nothing to do with the shooting have to suffer for it. One guy and only one guy was responsible for it. No reason to condem all people of that faith...

• By Richard Lynch on 11/07 12:14 AM

  It is not right that people that had nothing to do with the shooting have to suffer for it. One guy and only one guy was responsible for it. No reason to condem all people of that faith...

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