Muslim Community Condemns Ft. Hood Shootings

DALLAS - Islamic leaders are condemning the actions of Fort Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a lifelong Muslim.

Many have speculated that Hasan opened fired on a crowded room at the Army post, killing 13 and wounding 30 others, because of his faith.

Friends and relatives have said he believed Muslims were being targeted in the United States anti-terror campaign. He regularly described as the War on Terror as “a war against Islam.”

He spoke of being harassed because of his faith, according to relatives.

And just before spraying bullets at his fellow soldiers, Hasan reportedly shouted “Allah Akbar!” or “God is great.”

But Friday afternoon at the Islamic Association of Carrollton in Texas, leaders were quick to separate their religion from the horror that unfolded at Fort Hood.

Dr. Amer Shakil, a board member of the Carrollton association, said he doesn’t think Hasan understood the meaning of the phrase he shouted because submission to God means welfare for other people.

“This is against the teaching of Islam and we do not condone these kinds of acts. We condemn them,” he said.

Shakil’s his own son is stationed at Fort Hood. He fears a backlash of hate crimes against Muslims by those seeking revenge, he said.

Other Muslim leaders like Gulam Bakali hope the nation has moved beyond that since 9/11.

“The question that everybody should be asking, including me a Muslim and you and everybody else, is what can we do? Who can we help?” Bakali said.

He’s encouraging fellow Muslims to offer support and prayer or to give blood. Everyone should do what they can to help in the recovery, he said.