Fort Hood shooter--judge his actions, or speculate on his faith?

Cross-posted from Dave's blog.

Preface: I recently received an email from a more conservative relative, concerning the "Fort Hood shooter," Nidal Malik Hasan. The email expresses skepticism at the notion of "PTSD" being involved, insinuating instead that religion--presumably "radical Islam"--must be to blame. I found myself writing the following response. I should note, I am not a religious person. I am agnostic, always seeking Truth but never bold enough to assume I've found it. I have my own ideas about the nature of God, but they remain theoretical, and I see no need to push them on others. So, I have instead written my response from a fairly Judeo-Christian frame, as that is the religion in which I was raised.

Nidal Malik Hasan, the "Fort Hood shooter." I do not deny that it is entirely possible that he had ties to extremist groups. However, preoccupation with his religion--or, perhaps, his "faith"--rather than his actions and whatever corrupted him--hate, mental infirmity, or whatever else--leaves me puzzled and uncomfortable.

I must ask, who can say what was in the man's heart? Certainly, mortal wisdom cannot answer. Whatever his "reason" for committing this atrocity, it's obvious he's a troubled man. Religion--ideology--is an easy scapegoat, but to lay blame at the feet of faith is a dangerous thing. So many have used words from the Bible to excuse evil--wrongly, of course. I would argue that a reading of the Bible guided by Christ's teachings--simply, to treat others with love and forgiveness--is the only way to find its true messages. Christ preached "judge not," something that far too many seem to forget far, far too easily.

The Qur'an carries the same danger of misuse as any religious text, and many--a shuddering, grievous number too many--have also misused it. (Yet, can we say for a moment that as many evils have not been carried out falsely under the name of Yahweh or Yeshua? Humans who harbor malice in their hearts can turn even the best ideas awry.) These misuses are not what religion--faith--is for. Wisdom of faith is meant to guide the soul to peace and good living, not to bring misery. Even the hedonists who call themselves "Satanists" seek only to please themselves, not specifically to harm others. (I distinguish them from those who actually, intentionally worship the Devil as a corporeal being--those would-be Satanists I have met often believe in no reality at all beyond the physical, empirical world.)

But, I digress.

I believe that God--however we choose to perceive Him--does good works through all people of all faiths, so long as their hearts are open to it. I do not believe we can fully know God's nature, cannot be certain that God cannot be reached through many faiths. To assume a clear knowledge of the workings of the spirit, of the soul, of God, is (I suspect) too much. Can we truly see but a muted reflection of what we suppose to be true about God?

No, I cannot bring myself to blame the failings of man on faith. Instead, I blame them on man, on his capacity for malice, selfishness, evil. By whatever name one calls God, if one is following a path to do good in the world--true, selfless good--then one will not act with malice or to cause harm. This is true of any person, any faith--or, at the least, so I believe.

This man's heart was not filled with God--with Allah--even if he believed it to be. His heart was filled with something wretched, broken, corrupted. Whatever his damage, his frailty, it gave evil a place to grow strong enough within him to lead him astray. The answer may not be so simple, so acceptable as "PTSD," but at the same time, could it not be related? He was a psychiatrist who had seen the damage done to those who had fought in war. Then, he faced walking into that fire, himself. Whatever malice--or despair, or something worse--exists in Hasan, we cannot know whence it came, but one might certainly wonder if there is a quantifiable cause. To blame his religion is naïve. Human motivations are never so simplistic. When humans are whole, we are able to resist the pull of evil--when we break, it may seep more easily into us, as infection into a wound.

So, perhaps Hasan was affected by "PTSD" or some similar condition, or perhaps not. There are certainly a number of questions surrounding his life in the months leading up to this tragedy--none that I accept as excuses, but perhaps they may help to explain things. Nor can I say what religion had to do with it. Either way, to blame his religion is not only an injustice to faith, but it fails to hold Hasan fully accountable for his crime.

Some might be inclined to toss around terms they don't really understand--such as Jihad, perhaps--but I hope they will hesitate, learn more about the actual meanings behind these words, these beliefs. Faith can be interpreted with love or with hate--and to assume that Islam is different from Christianity or Judaism or any other faith in that respect is not only foolish, not only untrue. It is a disservice to all forms of faith, everywhere.

Were I Christian, I would not wish to be judged for crimes committed by those who claim to be doing God's work. I hope the world can see beyond Hasan's own faith and judge him on his own actions, his own beliefs--not draw conclusions based on his religion. If Hasan's faith led him to this course, then whatever he believed was not Islam as practiced by countless people across the world who believe as much in peace and love as sincere Christians do.