Doing something akin to what Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan did at Fort Hood in Texas is only going to make the harassment worse for all the other Muslims in the United States.
The harassment is occurring because a few high-profile attacks were carried out against the US by people of who were, at least nominally, of Muslim faith. This cemented a view in the consciousness of many Americans that "Muslims are scary people who want to hurt us."
On the whole, this is not true. Most Muslims around the world are normal, peaceful people who want nothing more than the chance to live as they please (much like most Catholic Christians in Ireland and Northern Ireland). But, the image is still there in many American's minds, and it is reinforced whenever a high-profile attack is carried out by someone who identifies as a Muslim tries to hurt or kill people.
Executing an attack the way Maj. Hasan did will only cause people to feel justified in harassing people who seem to fit the stereotype of a Muslim terrorist. It makes things worse.
Now, with that said, I'll bring back one of my earlier points: Almost no-one who identifies themselves as a Muslim is going to go on a rampage and kill innocent people.
The fear people feel isn't rooted in reality, but in the news-shaped perception of reality that many people have, their fear feels like it is perfectly justified.
Devious Comments