Comments on my previous article relating to Fort Hood violence
Soon after publication of my article on "Is America on a Wrong Track?", New Age, November 11, 2009, a reader, long known for his despicable cultural alienated attitude towards anything Islamic or Muslim wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper with a copy to me. In that he equated the act of the shooter in the Fort Hoot, TX army camp with criminal activities of suicide bombers of the Taliban. He, like his past observations, drew inappropriate and flawed conclusions by confusing symptoms with causes. My editorial piece far from going after the symptoms of the violence, now widespread especially amongst the members of the Armed Forces of the USA, pointed out the root cause, which is the never-ending war that was unleashed by former President George W. Bush. War is stressful and can lead to PTSD, or more correctly, post-war disorder.
No Muslim takes the loss or killing of life lightly since the Qur'an could not have been more explicit on this matter when some 14 centuries ago it declared - "Whoever kills a human being... then it is as though he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a human life it is as though he had saved all mankind."
What the Army doctor is allegedly reported to have done in Fort Hood, TX is criminal and condemnable. But to equate his alleged activity with that of a suicide bomber from the Taliban or al-Qaeda is debatable, if not utterly wrong, to say the least. Many of the U.S. war veterans, almost 40 percent, are now known to exhibit PTSD syndrome. While psychiatrists like the alleged killer are the ones who try to bring mental balance amongst the sufferers of this syndrome, studies have confirmed that thus far within the US Army, adequate attention to the very mental health of these providers - the doctors - has been missing. Many of these doctors can exhibit temporary insanity at any moment. If this simple fact was not clear to that reader, a talk with a psychiatrist, mental health expert, can help clear his ignorance.
What was also so hilarious was his proposing Gandhi's so-called non-violent method as a solution. I won't dwell upon this suggestion here since it is a very controversial subject in its own merit. Suffice it to say that the events leading to Gandhi's own assassination and the never-ending history of communal riots inside India do show very clearly that the method has not worked perfectly at its own source to remove the curse of violence that has been plaguing the country in the last 62 years. The reader's assertion about the success of Gandhi's fasting shows his ignorance of the history of the time.
A recent article in the Chicago Tribune by Zeenat Rahman agreed with my conclusions about the harmful effects of PTSD on many war veterans. But I was very disturbed reading some of the comments posted by bigots. One bigot questioned how could the shooter suffer from PTSD since he had not gone to the battlefield. True that the alleged shooter did not go to the battlefield, but anyone who is familiar with psychiatry would testify that these professionals are under tremendous mental stress. As human beings, many a time they are vulnerable to PTSD by simply listening and trying to help their victims. A prolonged war like the one we are seeing in Afghanistan and Iraq is now known to contribute PTSD syndrome amongst many war veterans. Very few can claim to be totally immune from its caustic effect.
Another bigot claimed that it was the violent passages in the Qur'an that was responsible for the shooting, i.e., the Islamic religion is violent by design. Let me state very clearly to such holier-than-thou bigots that if they are searching for such passages, they need not go beyond their own scriptures before passing judgment on the Qur'an. They simply have to study the Bible!
Ref: http://newsblogs. chicagotribune. com/religion_ theseeker/ 2009/11/zeenat- rahman-specter- of-fear-detracts -from-real- issues-.html
http://www.newagebd.com/2009/nov/11/edit.html#2
No Muslim takes the loss or killing of life lightly since the Qur'an could not have been more explicit on this matter when some 14 centuries ago it declared - "Whoever kills a human being... then it is as though he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a human life it is as though he had saved all mankind."
What the Army doctor is allegedly reported to have done in Fort Hood, TX is criminal and condemnable. But to equate his alleged activity with that of a suicide bomber from the Taliban or al-Qaeda is debatable, if not utterly wrong, to say the least. Many of the U.S. war veterans, almost 40 percent, are now known to exhibit PTSD syndrome. While psychiatrists like the alleged killer are the ones who try to bring mental balance amongst the sufferers of this syndrome, studies have confirmed that thus far within the US Army, adequate attention to the very mental health of these providers - the doctors - has been missing. Many of these doctors can exhibit temporary insanity at any moment. If this simple fact was not clear to that reader, a talk with a psychiatrist, mental health expert, can help clear his ignorance.
What was also so hilarious was his proposing Gandhi's so-called non-violent method as a solution. I won't dwell upon this suggestion here since it is a very controversial subject in its own merit. Suffice it to say that the events leading to Gandhi's own assassination and the never-ending history of communal riots inside India do show very clearly that the method has not worked perfectly at its own source to remove the curse of violence that has been plaguing the country in the last 62 years. The reader's assertion about the success of Gandhi's fasting shows his ignorance of the history of the time.
A recent article in the Chicago Tribune by Zeenat Rahman agreed with my conclusions about the harmful effects of PTSD on many war veterans. But I was very disturbed reading some of the comments posted by bigots. One bigot questioned how could the shooter suffer from PTSD since he had not gone to the battlefield. True that the alleged shooter did not go to the battlefield, but anyone who is familiar with psychiatry would testify that these professionals are under tremendous mental stress. As human beings, many a time they are vulnerable to PTSD by simply listening and trying to help their victims. A prolonged war like the one we are seeing in Afghanistan and Iraq is now known to contribute PTSD syndrome amongst many war veterans. Very few can claim to be totally immune from its caustic effect.
Another bigot claimed that it was the violent passages in the Qur'an that was responsible for the shooting, i.e., the Islamic religion is violent by design. Let me state very clearly to such holier-than-thou bigots that if they are searching for such passages, they need not go beyond their own scriptures before passing judgment on the Qur'an. They simply have to study the Bible!
Ref: http://newsblogs. chicagotribune. com/religion_ theseeker/ 2009/11/zeenat- rahman-specter- of-fear-detracts -from-real- issues-.html
http://www.newagebd.com/2009/nov/11/edit.html#2
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