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Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan and Timothy McVeigh: what's in a name?
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Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan is accused of the Fort Hood shootings
As news spread of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, I remember holding my breath hoping that the alleged perpetrator didn’t have a foreign sounding name.
As it turned out, the convicted bomber, Timothy McVeigh, was raised as an Irish Catholic in Lockport, New York. A United States army veteran, McVeigh was later convicted of the Oklahoma City bombing where 168 people died—the largest number of Americans to die on U.S. soil as a result of a terrorist act prior to 9/11.
Upon the release of McVeigh’s name and background, Irish Catholics felt no need to make a special apology or worry that his action would lead to random acts of retribution against American Catholics.
That was a different time.
As word about the tragic shootings of soldiers at Fort Hood spread, many American Muslims winced as the suspect’s name was released—Major Nidal Malik Hasan who is reportedly a psychiatrist.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) immediately issued a press release condemning the Fort Hood shootings as a cowardly attack and calling for the perpetrators to be punished to the full extent of the law.
When McVeigh was charged with the Oklahoma City bombing, there was no need for Irish Catholic organizations to repudiate McVeigh. As nearly as I can tell, The American Foundation for Irish Heritage or Irish American groups felt no need for disavow themselves from that odious act.
That was a different time.
Had the name of the alleged Fort Hood shooter been, Clark Kent, there would have been no CAIR a statement. If his name was Abraham Moses, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) would not have felt compelled to rebuke the shootings.
There are unconfirmed reports that Major Hasan was a convert to Islam and originally from Virginia. He was reportedly scheduled to deploy to either Iraq or Afghanistan and was unhappy about it.
What if he had recently converted to Christianity? What if he had recently declared himself an avowed atheist? What if—his religion has nothing to do with the fact that he snapped?
What if this story has nothing to do with religion or political ideology but reflects the fragility of a human being so overcome with mental suffering that he wrought terrible suffering on other human beings? Unfortunately, this happens all the time.
Whatever his religion, he obviously went off.
Time will tell what sickness drove the shooter to kill. For now, we don’t know. It should be obvious however, that the guy’s name is as irrelevant as was that of say—Timothy McVeigh.
What is relevant is that Islamaphobia has a way of bubbling up in this culture. The way to overcome a phobia is to face it head on. Overcoming Islamaphobia requires facing it and this is what CAIR is trying to do. When it comes to a phobia, you’ve got to name it and claim it before you can let it go. This is not only CAIR’s job, but also everyone who cares.
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