Afzal al-Siddiq, president of the Islamic Center of Waco, has one request of people who are trying to piece together the puzzle of the Fort Hood shootings:
Don’t blame Islam for this.
After news broke that Nidal Malik Hasan, the man accused of killing 13 people and wounding 43 at the Army post, may have used his Islamic faith as a pretext for the attack, Siddiq and other local Muslims braced themselves.
“We’ve been very fortunate in Waco,” Siddiq told the Tribune-Herald the day of the attack. “But there’s always a backlash.”
So far, according to several members of the Central Texas Muslim community, that hasn’t happened yet. Although many say they have read and heard some anti-Islamic comments, it’s been nothing like after the Sept. 11 attacks, when thieves stole a donation box from Siddiq’s mosque and filled his mailbox with hate mail.
Rick Dhamani attends services at the mosque, a gray, brick building ringed by a tall white fence just outside Robinson. He said a few people have asked him about his religion since the attack but that it’s been more curious than hostile.
“I think it’s an isolated incident,” he said.
Mohammad al-Tal, spokesman for the Islamic Center of Hewitt, is optimistic that people are good-hearted enough not to blame an entire religion for one person’s actions.
“I think American people have open minds and open hearts about everything,” he said.
Siddiq said that of the 200 or so Muslims he estimates are living in McLennan County, 50 attend services at the Waco mosque. Al-Tal said his congregation in Hewitt is about 90 people. As members of the community, Siddiq said, all grieved upon hearing the news out of Fort Hood.
“When the tragedy occurs, we are all Americans,” he said.
Dhamani said there was a sorrow among the Muslims he knows. “We feel for the loved ones,” he said.
Some witnesses to the shooting reported that Hasan shouted “Allahu Akbar” — Arabic for “God is great” — before beginning his rampage, and federal authorities have confirmed that he was in contact with an American-born imam who promotes al-Qaida’s ideology.
Still, Siddiq said, it’s important to distinguish between a person’s interpretation of a religious doctrine and the religion itself.
Islam does not sanction violence, Siddiq said. According to the Quran, the Muslim holy book, to kill one person is the same as killing all people, he said.
Siddiq extended an invitation to Christians who believe otherwise to visit him at his mosque — and to bring a Bible, because he can turn to several passages that explicitly condone violence against nonbelievers, he said.
He also pointed to what he called a double standard: that although Christians sometimes perform violent acts in the name of their religion, none prompt a complete re-examination of the faith itself, he said, giving the examples of David Koresh, Jim Jones and Scott Roeder, the man accused of killing abortion doctor George Tiller in Kansas.
“People’s default position on Islam is that it’s all these terrible things,” said Aisha Tariq, who is studying journalism at Baylor University.
It’s frustrating, she added, to feel as though you’re expected to answer for the actions of one deranged person.
In America, Siddiq said, Sunnis and Shias can pray side by side, something they might not be able to do in their home countries. He added that it would be foolish to forget all that Muslims have contributed to U.S. society, perhaps especially those who serve with distinction in the U.S. military.
“They read the same Quran,” he said.
Some 3,500 U.S. service members identify themselves as Muslims, according to Department of Defense figures, but military officials have said the number is probably higher because divulging one’s religious preference is optional. Siddiq said he thinks the number is probably closer to 12,000.
Part of Siddiq’s perspective on the shooting is informed by his own military background. He spent six years in the Army after enlisting in 1984, first in Korea and then with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Originally from Karachi, Pakistan, Siddiq earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. His family is Sunni Muslim, but he sends his three sons to Catholic school to give them a better understanding of other faiths, he said.
Siddiq — which means “truthful” in Arabic — emphasized the importance of tolerance and mutual respect of people of other faiths. This year, he is the rotating president of the Greater Waco Interfaith Conference, of which he has been a member for about eight years.
Because people don’t really know what the afterlife brings, he said, “let’s have a peaceful life here on this Earth.”
Maintaining this peace requires not only open-mindedness but diligence, he said.
“There are some people up here (in Central Texas) that hold the extreme views of Islam,” he said. “But we as a Muslim community, we’re always vigilant, always looking around.”