G'day Felix. Actually, as someone who doesn't get involved in these things and could care less what political persuasion you guys are - this something that has been an issue of discussion in the mod room for the last little while. I appreciate your efforts to stimulate discussion (which is badly needed) so don't take this personally as your intent is fine, but maybe there's an issue with the way you're doing it. Posting links to articles with little comment or discussion in the opening post doesn't really encourage people to initiate a dialogue.
If I could make a suggestion (this is what I usually do when I post articles) - post snippets of the article, along with the link, with the key points that you want to highlight and then provide some commentary on that to try and stimulate discussion. I think that will work.
For example, from your link, I might do something like this:
Quote:
"Around 2004, Major Hasan started feeling disgruntled about the Army, relatives said. He described anti-Muslim harassment and sought legal advice, possibly from an Army lawyer, abut getting a discharge."
"Federal authorities were looking into whether there was any interaction between Mr. Hasan and an American-born imam known for giving fiery speeches at a mosque in Northern Virginia that Mr. Hasan attended in 2001. Mr. Hasan attended the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va., when Anwar Al-Awlaki was the imam there, but it is not clear what influence Mr. Awlaki's rhetoric may have had on Mr. Hasan. "
"During his time at Walter Reed and the uniformed Services University, Major Hasan also became increasingly vocal in his opposition to the wars. He knew much about the harsh realities of combat from having counseled returning soldiers, and he was deeply concerned about having to deploy. But over the past five years, he also began openly opposing the wars on religious grounds."
"A former classmate in the master's degree program said Major Hasan gave a PowerPoint presentation about a year ago in an environmental health seminar titled, 'Why the War on Terror Is a War on Islam.'"
"But he was still wrestling with the quandary of being a Muslim officer in an Army fighting other Muslims. He invited Osman Danquah, the co-founder of the mosque, to dinner at Ryan's restaurant and asked him how he should counsel young Muslim soldiers who might have objections to the war."
~
"The imam whom Major Hasan made contact with is an American citizen born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents. He wrote on Monday on his English-language Web site that Major Hasan was 'a hero.' The cleric said, 'He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people'"
Finally, the same Times article made the point that the radical imam lied with his comments on prior terrorist acts:
"After the Sept. 11 attacks, Mr. Awlaki was quoted as disapproving of such violence and was portrayed as a moderate figure who might provide a bridge between Islam and Western democracies. But since leaving the United States in 2002 for London and later Yemen, Mr. Awlaki has become, through his Web site, www.anwar-alawlaki.com, a prominent proponent of militant Islam."
He surely is not the only terrorist to similarly so lie.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/art...ist_99110.html
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Then post some commentary on this to "jump start" the discussion. Try not to make it too inflammatory because then we don't have discussion in the thread - people from the "other side" will come in and you'll have your usual entrenched positions and people probably won't even read your link.
As another example, your link brings up some interesting points that can be debated in a rational, vigorous, passionate yet respectful manner (I don't think any of those words are mutually exclusive):
- what are the challenges facing Muslim soldiers fighting for the US in Muslim countries, against fellow Muslims, today?
- is the above an excuse to avoid fighting those wars and those groups and "picking and choosing" who to fight? Didn't they know the deal when they signed up?
- how can we support these Muslim soldiers who may well be proud to be Americans but at the same time are uncomfortable fighting on religious grounds? should we support them?
- how defining is the link between this radical imam and Hasan?
- if someone calls a person who killed 13 people and wounded scores more a "hero", how does that not make him (the person making the hero comment) a terrorist?
- should we kick all Muslims out of the military, the way that many Japanese Americans were interred during WWII? After all, how can we trust them if they consider their religion more important than their country?
Just a few of the many paths this discourse can take, if you but encourage it in a rational, vigorous, passionate yet respectful manner.
Good luck mate
