Homeland Sec. Chief Fears Muslim Backlash

Days after an al Qaeda wannabe Army major went on a murderous rampage at the nation’s largest military base, the Secretary of Homeland Security’s biggest concern appears to be preventing a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States.

Janet Napolitano, the Obama official in charge of protecting the country’s safety, is most worried about a politically incorrect backlash against Muslims after the Ft. Hood massacre and says her agency is working hard with groups across the U.S. to deflect any retaliation against Muslims for one man’s fury.

During a weekend visit to the United Arab Emirates Napolitano assured that the U.S. government objects to anti-Muslim sentiment emanating from the Ft. Hood murders and says Americans recognize that “this was an individual who does not represent the Muslim faith.” Napolitano guaranteed that a civil rights and civil liberties directorate in her department aimed to “prevent everybody being painted with a broad brush.” 

The Muslim Army psychiatrist, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, murdered 13 military colleagues and wounded 29 others as he chanted "Allahu Akbar!" ("God is great!") in Arabic. Hasan has ties to a radical mosque leader (Anwar al Awlaki) who promotes jihad against the U.S., had attempted to make contact with al Qaeda associates months earlier and defended Islamic suicide bombers in comments he posted on the internet. 

During an hour-long talk in front of dozens of other military doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C., Hassan said non-Muslims should be beheaded and have boiling oil poured down their throats. He also said non-believers are infidels condemned to hell who should be set on fire. The presentation was supposed to be a discussion on a medical issue but instead Hassan delivered an extremist interpretation of the Koran. 

At least one veteran U.S. Senator risked the wrath of straying from political correctness to publicly say the Ft. Hood assassinations could have been a terrorist act. Connecticut Independent Joe Lieberman, who heads the Senate’s Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, said initial evidence suggests that Hasan, was a "self-radicalized, home-grown terrorist" who had turned to Islamic extremism. 

That assessment should certainly give the Secretary of Homeland Security something bigger to worry about than the possibility of offending Muslims.