Note: The author of this commentary is a 12-year veteran of the Long Beach Police Department. He was born in Iran as a Shiite Muslim and lived through the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1978-79 and the Iran - Iraq war. He fled from Iran in 1982 and joined the Long Beach (Calif.) Police Department in 1997. He is currently a detective assigned to the Office of Counter Terrorism and is responsible for collecting, analyzing and investigating criminal intelligence related to international and domestic terrorism, organized crime, and extremist activities.
Once again, what has been dubbed by some Islamic experts as "Sudden Jihad Syndrome," has manifested its ugly face, and this time it was at Fort Hood, Texas. U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly opened fire at the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood, killing 12 and injuring at least 31 of his fellow soldiers.
Almost immediately the authorities and the media, without hesitation and with no information from preliminary investigations, readily and unanimously offered a host of excuses to explain the cause of the shooter's actions.
The excuses ranged from post-traumatic syndrome, to U.S. foreign policy, to several redeployment tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. The litany went on and on and on. However, none of them ever pointed a finger at the real reason for the killing spree.
Hasan reportedly conducted his executions meticulously, accurately, and callously. And I would argue that he does not suffer from any medical or physiological diseases. He does not suffer from post-traumatic syndrome (pre-traumatic syndrome), vicarious-traumatic syndrome, bipolar disorder, brief psychotic disorder, delirium, or any other mental issues. These are just explanations that so many officials continue to hope ring true so they can hang their hats on them, all the while ignoring the true cause of this murderous rampage. What Hasan suffers from is a syndrome identified only by those who embrace the truth instead of political correctness and do not worry about being labeled as Islamophobes, racists, bigots, or Muslim haters.
The people who dare see the Fort Hood shooting for what it is are the very same group of clear thinkers who have been targeted by lawsuits or threatened with lawsuits by Muslim Brotherhood front organizations. These front organizations have attorneys on standby to represent pro bono the Muslim "victims" of discrimination around the country at a moment's notice, if any voice ever dares to criticize Islamic extremism. These organizations are poised to shut up any voice of dissent against anything remotely related to Islam or Muslims in America. This powerful arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S. has everybody running scared, from the private sector to elected officials, and even the military and law enforcement.
If Hasan is guilty, then his act displayed all the signs and symptoms of his predecessors who were infected with the same disease. And the military saw it coming. It just chose the safe way out to avoid any perceived public relations nightmare if Hasan had been fired. Now, the military must deal with the nightmare of American soldiers gunned down by an American officer. Not only is this horrific, it is an embarrassment for the world's most powerful army. While jihadist supporters inside and outside the United States proudly cheer on this act of mass fratricide, authorities foolishly continue to search for any source of motivation that would explain his actions. And they avoid at all the true cause of the atrocity: Sudden Jihad Syndrome.
Sudden Jihad Syndrome has always been there and it will be there for years to come. It is at the heart of Islam and its true followers and it is what I believe drives Hasan and many more like him around the world to explode, behead, destroy and kill many, including other Muslims. It is what drives radical Islam, which historically has been violent from the beginning. All Hasan and his cohorts are doing is simply mimicking what Islamic radicals have advocated and administered during the past 14 centuries. Mohammed and his disciples spread Islam in the name of God but at the point of the sword, creating one of the largest and longest lasting empires. This is what drives Hasan and his like- minded jihadists: They simply want their caliphate (dominion of Islam) back.
Both of the world's other major monotheistic faiths- Christianity and Judaism-have gone through their metamorphoses and reformations. Both have left their violent pasts behind and moved forward. Islam has never done so, and its violent sect of jihadists has been revived in the past 30 years. Violent Islam is on the move and there is no stopping it now, or any time soon.
And the Fort Hood shooting is just the latest case of Sudden Jihad Syndrome that has taken the lives of defenseless Americans without warning. The following is a list of other murderous acts of Sudden Jihad Syndrome by men who have lived among us and threats we chose not to see coming because of political correctness:
- June 01, 2009, Little Rock, Ark.: Two soldiers were shot, one fatally, outside a military recruiting center by a gunman who police said was opposed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Abdul Hakim Muhammad (Carlos Bledsoe), American-born, ex-felon and convert to Islam is charged with the crime. Police say he use an assault rifle to fire more than a dozen rounds into the recruiting center.
- February 15, 2007, Salt Lake City: Sulejman Talovi, born in Bosnia, walked into Trolley Square mall and began shooting. Five victims were killed and four others were wounded. Talovi had a shotgun, a handgun, and a backpack full of ammunition. Off-duty police officer Ken Hammond engaged Talovi in a gun battle, which finally led to Talovi being killed.
- August 30, 2006, San Francisco: Omeed Aziz Popal of Afghanistan used his car to run over pedestrians and managed to kill one and injured 14 others. Police finally blocked Popal's car and managed to stop him.
- July 28, 2006, Seattle: Naveed Afzal Haq of Pakistani descent, forced his way into the Jewish Federation and began shooting, killing one woman and injuring five more. Haq had two handguns and a backpack full of ammunition. He finally surrendered himself to police.
- March 03, 2006, Chapel Hill, N.C.: Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, an Iranian college student drove his rented SUV onto a University of North Carolina walkway, deliberately aiming and driving his car into a crowd of students. He injured nine and was arrested by the police.
- March 23, 2003, Kuwait: Sgt Hassan Akabar (Mark Fidel Kools) of the U.S. Army who was born in Los Angeles tossed hand grenades into a tent of sleeping soldiers and then began shooting with his rifle. He killed two high ranking officers and wounded 14 others.
- July 5, 2002, Los Angeles: Hassan Mohammad Hadayat of Egypt, resident of Irvine, Calif., drove to Los Angeles International Airport. Armed with two handguns and a knife he targeted customers and El Al Israeli airline employees. Hadayat killed two and injured six when two El Al security guards confronted him along with a private citizen who was in the area and began to subdue him. Hassan was shot and killed at the scene.
- January 25, 1993, Langley, Va.: Outside CIA headquarters, Aimal Kasi of Pakistan used an AK-47 and shot motorists and passengers as they were stopped at a traffic light. Kasi killed two CIA employees and wounded three others. Kasi then escaped to Pakistan. In 1997, the FBI captured Kasi and he was returned to the United States. Kasi was subsequently sentenced to death. He was executed in 2002.
The Fort Hood shooter and the rest of the above murderers comprise a group that is as diverse as the colors of a kaleidoscope. This club includes people from different countries, different ages and different races. Their shared commonality and their bond is their universal hatred of America, hatred of non-Muslims, and even hatred for Muslims who do not see the world from their narrow-minded point of view.
All of them were truly devoted to their violent jihad for Islam, believing that their deeds in this world would further the advancement of a promised Islamic caliphate that would secure their afterlife in heaven. They shouted Allah Akabar while targeting their defenseless victims, never showing any remorse. Their heroes are none other than Mohamed Atta, Osama Bin Laden, and any other provocateur who advocates that the only way to advance Islam is to kill the non-believer and Muslims who get in the way.
As long as we continue to ignore the clear signs of Sudden Jihad Syndrome under the banner of political correctness, we shall continue to be slaughtered like lambs. The Fort Hood shooter is just another soldier of Allah who has done his share of fighting in the war against the American crusaders.
Osama Bin Laden believes that he will ultimately be victorious in this war. He has based his conclusions on a fundamental difference between his followers and us as Americans. Bin Laden once said: "We love death. The U.S. loves life. That is the big difference between us." He is absolutely correct and he is absolutely wrong. Bin Laden is correct in that here in America we value life, but what he has miscalculated and has failed to understand is that we also have no illusions about death. Everybody dies and no one lives forever.
Not all Americans are afraid of him and his horde of murderers. Americans such as police Sgt. Kimberly Munley, who shot the Fort Hood shooter and stopped him in his tracks who value life yet stand tall and fight back against assassins, even when doing so requires them to risk their lives. Islamist extremists may believe they have the exclusive rights to sacrificial death, but here in America we believe in living the life of sacrifice and "Ensha Allah" (God Willing) we will continue to do so for years to come. Not all of us will stick our heads in the sand just so we earn the dubious honor of being called politically correct.