It would be easy to dismiss 31-year old Naveed Afzal Haq, the perpetrator of the shootings at the offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle that left one dead and six injured, as an emotionally troubled man suffering from a decade of mental illness (true), a drifter who, despite having an engineering degree, couldn't hold a job (which he was), a sexual deviant (he is charged with exposing himself to young women at a Washington mall), a loner who had no friends or female companionship (also true), and a victim of bipolar disorder (ditto). It would even be easy to remove the connection with Muslims entirely, given that Haq was baptized a Christian last year. But none of this would remove the reality that a man declaring himself to be upset with Israel and US troops in Iraq would take the law into his own hands and inflict violence on the innocent - with all the ramifications that entails for all other Muslim Americans (witness the predictable indictment of all Muslims by the right-wing press). Thankfully, the local Muslim community has fallen back on none of this. Instead, they voiced unequivocal condemnation of the act and rushed to the side of the local Jewish community. The shooting was "all the more reason that we work together for peace and justice," said Farida Hakim, who has been actively involved in interfaith work with a Temple B'nai Torah, the synagogue of shooting victim Pamela Waechter. (The synagogue reported receiving several calls of concern from Muslim friends.) Others in the Muslim community minced no words in referring to the gunman. "This was just definitely a real hate crime," said local Arab-American leader Rita Zawaideh. "Their pain is our pain; their suffering is our suffering," said Seattle Times "Faith & Values" columnist Aziz Junejo, who noted that local Muslim leaders were visiting shooting victims in the hospital. The shooting comes at a time of heightened tensions overseas (the story bumped off the front pages the killing of 56 civilians, half of them children, by Israeli shelling) as well as locally, where rallies on either side of the violence compete for attention (although a peace rally in support of Lebanon was postponed in the shooting aftermath.) It also highlights the need for Muslim communities to create a social services infrastructure to help young Muslims deal with emotional and personal issues in a professional manner - before they become everyone's problems.

Wow, I wonder how you would write this article if it had been a Jewish attack on a Muslim office? I'm sure you would have placed the Jewish community on just as high of a pedestal, huh?

Absolutely. The Jewish community is separate from those who have attempted to inflict harm upon mosques and Muslims and who might happen to be Jewish (Take Irv Rubin and the JDL, for example.)

More clarification: in the past few years, there were two instances of Jewish activists being caught by the FBI with bombs (actual bombs, not just plans to acquire them) and written plans to attack mosques and Muslim institutions.

In neither case did the Muslim community link their actions to Judaism or the larger Jewish community.

I wish the Muslim community would get the same respect and consideration in this case.

As a Jewish American, I have to agree, Shahed. The Muslim community absolutely stood up and by their bretheren in Seattle, even though they are of a different faith. It takes an awful lot of courage, especially in this time of adversity and termoil, to stand behind those representing the "enemy." I give a lot of credit to those Muslims and thank them on behalf of the Jewish Americans who still have hope for peace and friendship with all.

I think the Seattle community did the right thing; its refreshing. Let's hope this is trend that will continue. Let the Seattle community be a lesson to the ones who say they have no responsibility to proclaim thier innocence from this or any other act done by Muslims. When a man scream he's "A Muslim American..." it stains us all, however unfair it is, and therefore we must act as have the community in Seattle and not fear that any reaction will play into the hands of the far-right.

That's a horrible statement - real Muslims are G-d-fearing, peace-loving people. It is sacriligious to hurt others in major religions. At the end of the day, Muslims are people and Jews are people. This entire chain of events is horrifying, non-productive, and will only continue to sway the world's opinions about people of both faiths.
Agreed that the Seattle community has stood together and should serve as a model for behavior for other communities.

>Wow, I wonder how you would write this article if it had been a Jewish attack on a Muslim office?<

Well I have yet to see any condemnation of Baruch Goldstein from the Jewish community. I remember Irv Rubin specifically praising the man and his actions, I believe they even have a shrine built for him in Israel. Not that this excuses Haq's shooting rampage in any way or form. I read that he was baptized a few years ago and dont think he is as mentally disabled as claimed.

>I wish the Muslim community would get the same respect and consideration in this case.<

So do I.

Shahed, you have a difficult road ahead of you. I have no statistics in front of me, yet consider: when you cited the 2 cases of Jewish extremism, did you compare that to the rate of Islamic extremism? If so, what did you find?

Like you, I deplore the taking of innocent life. Please note that the Seattle Muslims are supporting the victims of this attack precisely because they are innocent. Would they be as innocent if they had harbored the two Jewish extremists? What if their office had been hijacked by the two? If the FBI had surrounded the building and there had been loss of innocent life in trying to capture them, how would that have been characterized?

Yes, it is a difficult road, yet not impossible. In my case, I have to get past Paul Hill and Eric Rudolph. They do not represent the pro-life community, any more than Haq represents Muslims. I applaud you for your efforts to encourage your community to see past the rhetoric and work for change.

It's heartening to hear that the Muslim community is reaching out to the Jewish victims of the shooting in Seattle. I think that the Muslim community in the US and around the world has a big PR problem. It would be helpful and welcome for Muslims to also stand up and denounce terrorist acts committed by Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and others, loudly, clearly, and unequivocally.

Too often the Muslim community is silent and many equate silence with agreement. When evil people commit evil acts, good people must speak out against them, especially when the people committing the evil claim to speak for an entire religion.

Shahed, you have a difficult road ahead of you. I have no statistics in front of me, yet consider: when you cited the 2 cases of Jewish extremism, did you compare that to the rate of Islamic extremism? If so, what did you find?

Well, since 9/11, you have seen the arrests of several Muslims, most of whom I would put in the "thug" or "uneducated buffoon" category, who have talked about terrorism or maybe had gone overseas to fight (John Walker Lindh, the Portland 7, Lackawanna 6, and "Paintball" 7 come immediately to mind). None of these, with the exception of the Toronto 17 (who are Canadian and were turned in to the authorities by their imam), actually had made it to the phase of obtaining terror weapons and bombs such as Dr. Goldstein in Florida and Irv Rubin in LA.

Not sure how that answers your question about the rate of Islamic extremism, but the pattern of arrests suggests people on the fringe of the community, and not an integral part of it.

BTW - that hijabi woman in the picture above is my aunt Farida. I'm so proud of her. :-)

Kevin, part of the difficulty of the road pertains to the din of anti-muslim rhetoric that is shamelessly offered by neo-cons and mainstreamers alike, to the point that it's all become normal, and I'm afraid that your comment, in part, is informed by that, and I assume innocently, I hope. If there's a score card of acts of extremism, I believe that there would be differing counts depending on who's holding the card. I don't know if you really want to start a list, because I know for a fact that Muslims and Arabs have their own sense of acts of terrroism sponsored by "states" and "governments" who dress and look normal, but whose deeds kill as easily and permanently innocents under the guise of security, WMD, the "war on terror," and other pills that calm a public. So let's be happy that in this dark episode of the Seattle shootings, some good can come out.

Agree with migocup....Muslims are now asked to apoliogize for the actions of a baptized Christian like Haq....pretty sickening.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/279493_convert31.html

Where are the jewish voices which condemn israeli terrorism in Lebnanon, specifically qana? BTW Shahed...dont you find it odd that the JDL and other jewish terrorist groups operate openly on US soil?

Shahed and Migocup, I can only add, "Amen!" People will do things that warrant pride, and good will come out.

Here's a statement from Haq's family:

"We are shocked and devastated with this tragic event. Our hearts and condolences go to the family of the deceased lady. Our deepest sympathies go to those who have been injured and we pray for their speedy recovery. We could not have imagined for a moment that our son would do this senseless act. This is utterly contrary to our beliefs and Islamic values. We have always believed and practiced in fostering love, peace and harmony with everyone, irrespective of religion, race and ethnicity."

My wife and I both attended the service that was held today for Pamela. We were deeply moved by the overwhelming support we received while in attendance. The police were polite, and even stepped aside so we could walk past them. The photographers were a bit embarrassing, as we did not want to detract from the person being remembered. The congregation members thanked us in great numbers, offering shade, and a seat to me and my wife, as the temple was full when we finally walked the three blocks from where we found parking available. I must say in all honesty, I felt more welcomed by this community than I have by my own at times. I think it is a sign that A) Muslims and Jews can definitely get along quite well. B) The Muslim community needs to get off their rears and really start acting like an Ummah that cares for itself and its neighbors. But that's just my $0.02 worth.
Salam,
'Isa

Sounds like a lot of hogwash to me. American Muslims kissing up to Jewish neighbors afraid of getting castigated by media. So scary for their little palaces "Islamic Centers built in the suburbs" being mugged, palaces built from illegel hoarded wealth working in Corporate America. Touchy touchy.

Plus the whole interfaith crap, ha ha ha. My religion says your religion is a lie and your religion says my religion is a lie, so let us get together and do kissy kissy huggy huggy. What a farce that is. Have I not been to those fat Islamic Center Imam food fests before. Called interfaith dialogue. Holiday Inns love interfaith dialogues and ISNA conventions too, for some odd reason they are always held there. Whatever, porn shows, interfaith dialogues, come on over y'all. Rooms are 50% off for your weekend get-together. Let the vacation begin.

We're not afraid of anything, save Allah's wrath. We were offering support and compassion.

I think the actions of the Muslim community are very commendable. I believe the people there are geniunely good and trying to reach out and live peacefully. It's the article that I have difficulty praising. It seems the author is more interested in self-promotion rather than accepting both groups are equally just and decent.

To respond and comment on DRM's question about "Israeli terrorism in Lebnanon", I would say this:

Israel doesn't target civilians as the primary target, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups do. Do you support the tactics of Hezbollah, DRM?

Israel was targeting Hezbollah guerillas who illegally use civilian neighborhoods and houses to hide weapons and to make war. No one can be gleeful about civilians being killed, but the root cause blame lies with Hezbollah, not Israel.

Of course if you agree with Hezbollah's aims, then I guess you can find anything it does as being right, and anything Israel does as being wrong. That goes back to my previous comments about the Muslim community standing up against terrorism, whether it originates from Muslims or Jews.

When Israel sends a teenager with explosives strapped to his waist into a restaurant with Muslims inside to explode himself inside, I'll be the first to stand up and say that's evil and wrong. Defending yourself against those who use those tactics is neither evil or wrong. There is no moral equivalence here.