While authorities seek to answer the complex questions surrounding the killing rampage at Fort Hood, the Muslim community of Shreveport responded with outrage that a follower of Islam is the principal suspect in the massacre.
Khurshid Khan, a soft-spoken man who often represents the Muslim community of Shreveport at formal gatherings and news media events, stated strongly how the actions of Nadal Hasan were the antithesis of religious belief within their Islamic group. Khan is a retired Senior Master Sergeant who spent 21 years in the military from which he retired in 1993. When I interviewed him about the Fort Hood episode, Khan declsared he and his Muslim brothers and sisters "condemn this in the strictest manner."
According to Khan, the Quran clearly states that taking a life is the most "major sin." Khan paraphrased some of the verses that declare "taking one life is like killing all of humanity while saving one life is like saving all of humanity."
Khan explains what happened at Fort Hood to be an aberration and apart from traditional Muslim thinking, especially in the United States. He himself abhors extremist views. He said Hasan is "a troubled man himself" and "the Army should have dropped him and threw him out of the military."
Khan released the following statement to the Shreveport media following the Fort Hood tragedy:
"We the Muslims (Arabs & Non Arabs alike) condemn Ft. Hood Shooting and killing of 13 Military Personnel and wounding around 43 others and we
mark it as the most tragic event against humanity. Islam does not tolerate such acts of atrocity because Islam, in the strictest manner, condemns taking
innocent human lives. We express our heart-felt condolences to the families who have lost their loved-ones. We pray for peace and Tranquility for all the
families involved and we also pray for Peace around the world.
Major Nidal Malik Hasan (a Psychiatrist) treated soldiers returning from Iraq for Post-Traumatic Stress and Alcohol and Drug Abuse Problems. It is obvious
that this Psychiatrist himself needed more help than the perhaps the soldiers he was treating. There were several apparent signs and indications in his behavior,
if his Supervisors had taken action, this tragedy could have have been avoided. Religion has nothing to do with this type of atrocities. Quran clearly says that
"if someone has killed one person it is as if he has killed the entire humanity. If someone saves one human life it is as if he saved the entire humanity."
Khurshid Khan
Vice President & Muslim Chaplain
for Islamic Association of Greater Shreveport
At the end of his interview with me, Khan spoke gently as he declared, "we pray for the families of the dead and for peace for all mankind."
