On Friday morning, Minhaj Hasan, editor-in-chief of
The Muslim Link in College Park, Md., checked local headlines on the shooting at Ft. Hood, Texas, that had taken the lives of 13. They rang all too familiar.
A Washington Times' headline read: "
Army: Suspect Said 'Allahu Akbar!' Before Shooting." Meanwhile, a Washington Post ran a story ran with the headline: "
Suspect, Devout Muslim from Va., Wanted Army Discharge, Aunt Said." The story started out talking about how the suspect prayed every day at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring -- something that isn't all that unusual given that "observant Muslims pray five times a day," said Minhaj Hasan (no relation to Nidal).
Minhaj Hasan couldn't help asking the same question that always comes to mind when, as he puts it, "the religion gets indicted when a Muslim commits a crime.":
If Nidal Hasan had been Christian, or even if he had yelled something with the word "God" or "Jesus" as he gunned fellow soldiers down, would his religion -- or his church attendance -- dominate headlines?
the media is right to bring up fundamentalist Christianity/Christians when...
