Most of the world's 1.57 billion Muslims know that the Holy Quran states quite clearly that, "Anyone who kills a human being ... it shall be as though he has killed all of mankind. ... If anyone saves a life, it shall be as though he has saved the lives of all of mankind."
It is not worth getting into a scriptural debate here, and there is plenty of nasty stuff in the Bible as well, but... the relevant quote from the Koran is actually this:
5.32: For this reason did We prescribe to the children of Israel that whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men; and certainly Our apostles came to them with clear arguments, but even after that many of them certainly act extravagantly in the land.
5.33: The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His apostle and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement,
5.34: Except those who repent before you have them in your power; so know that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
A bit different in context, no? Mr. Iftikhar is not being entirely honest with us.
First of all, someone simply saying "Allahu Akbar" while committing an act of mass murder no more makes their criminal act "Islamic" than a Christian uttering the "Hail Mary" while murdering an abortion medical provider, or someone chanting "Onward, Christian Soldiers" while bombing a gay nightclub, would make their act "Christian" in nature.
Really? This is his argument? I certainly would presume that a murderer who screamed Christian sayings while committing his crimes was committing them in the name of Christianity. That would not stain all of Christianity as a matter of course, but it would if other Christians did not make the strongest possible denunciations of him. Furthermore, if he had been discovered talking to other Christians who were preaching murder, I would certainly expect those others to be expelled and denounced (if not criminally prosecuted) to the greatest extent possible.
Thus, with thousands of patriotic American Muslim women and men proudly serving in our United States Army in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, perhaps it would behoove our army leaders to consider sending a strong message of American unity by appointing an American Muslim to be a part of the prosecution team against Hasan.
This would help show that the mass murders allegedly committed by Hasan have nothing to do with the teachings of our religion.
I have an alternate suggestion, Mr. Iftikhar. Perhaps you and your coreligionists could root out and expel elements that nurture people like Hasan. Perhaps you could denounce people like the imam Anwar al-Aulaqi. Considering that Hasan had a history of anti-Americanism, perhaps you could encourage the U.S. Army to get its act together, find any other soldiers engaging in this sort of thing (if there are any), and dishonorably discharge them before they commit similar crimes.
Think of what a powerful statement that would make.
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