Opinion: Not Mental. Not Muslim. Just a Killer

Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square bomber, acted because "trials of his fellow Muslims weighed on him." Antonio Martinez, accused of attempting to blow up a military recruitment center in Catonsville, Md., had his Facebook page released stating "The sword is cummin the reign of oppression is about 2 cease."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
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By Faheem Younus | Feb 4, 2011

Over a hundred years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt launched a profound concept of social justice by stating: "I shall see to it that every man has a square deal, no more and no less."

And now with the release Thursday of a Senate report on Maj. Nidal Hasan and the Fort Hood shooting, and the tragic shootings in Tucson, Ariz., a month ago, it's time to address a deeper question: Why do we label one killer as "mental" and the other a "Muslim"?

I have heard this question from Muslim-Americans, repeatedly, at coffee shops, ethnic stores, college campuses and online. They feel as if the promised square deal is slipping away from them.


This is how they present their case: When an American goes postal, the media focus on his mental instability, the pundits on the left resume the gun control battle, and the experts start presenting solutions.

So far, so good?

But just hyphenate the word American with "Muslim" and contortions begin to emerge in the square deal. The media use snippets to demonize a religion, the pundits on the right resurrect Islamophobia, and the experts seem enamored with the problem.

Does mental instability count only if you are not a Muslim? Is it a bold claim or blame game? Let see how the data plays out.

A lengthy New York Times article about the Columbine shooting discussed Eric Harris' "mental problems" and Dylan Klebold's "moment of madness." The New York Daily News labeled Jiverly Wong, the mastermind behind the Binghamton massacre, as a "paranoid mind." A quote in a Wall Street Journal commentary lamented "You have to talk about Amy Bishop's mental health in this situation" when Bishop, a biology professor at the University of Alabama, killed three fellow professors and wounded three others over a denied tenure. And a Roanoke Times article focused on a psychiatric evaluation of Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho, noting that it "diagnosed Cho with 'selective mutism,' a rare anxiety disorder, and major depression."

See a pattern? All square, right? But we seem to be marching to a different drummer when it comes to Muslim-Americans accused of committing acts of violence.

Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square bomber, acted because "trials of his fellow Muslims weighed on him." Antonio Martinez, accused of attempting to blow up a military recruitment center in Catonsville, Md., had his Facebook page released stating "The sword is cummin the reign of oppression is about 2 cease." Mohamed Mohamud, the Somali-American accused of attempting to detonate a fake bomb in Portland, Ore., was tied to this statement: "damage the enemies of Allah as much as possible." And who can forget the "Allahu Akbar" of Maj. Nidal Hasan, the suspected Fort Hood shooter?

The objective is not to prove moral equivalence between killers who had varying motivations, but to ask a medical question: Is a Muslim mind immune to psychosis, depression, paranoia or mutism?

Is it not a mental illness to justify extremist acts based on a religion?

It is. And as Muslim-American leaders, that is precisely what we are teaching our youth. Three days after the Tucson shooting, our group, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, launched a "Muslims for Loyalty" campaign from Washington, D.C. And this is what our national vice president had to say:
"On Tuesday hundreds of our members braved the bitter cold and handed out 100,000 'Muslims for Loyalty to the USA' fliers at 16 Metro stations. This brochure firmly and clearly states that American-Muslims must be loyal to their homeland -- the United States of America."
This "mental" vs. "Muslim" characterization is alienating the moderate Muslims, a group we so desperately seek.

After Columbine, "The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiatives, 2002" by U.S. Secret Service argued against profiling the attackers because they come from all walks of life with myriad underlying reasons. But one finding was consistent: Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted or injured by others before the attack.

So here is my appeal for a square deal: Pundits and politicians should not jump to conclusions based on established stereotypes and selective sound bytes. Let's make America proud by calling a killer a killer. No more and no less. And leave the rest to the courts.


Faheem Younus serves as an adjunct faculty for Islamic studies at the Community College of Baltimore, a clinical associate professor at the University of Maryland and a former youth president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA. He can be reached at faheem.younus@ahmadiyya.us



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