What is the difference between an act of violence and an act of terrorism? For many Westerners (not just Americans) the difference lies in the opening benediction of prayer:

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

But what many people both here and in Europe miss is that intent is more important than religion in deciding whether an act is considered terrorism or not. Terrorism is defined as: 1) the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes. 2) the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization. 3) a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.

Nowhere in the definition do we find any mention of religion, which is an important distinction. First, let us look at the most recent crime which has been mis-categorized as terrorism; Ft. Hood’s 13 dead and Maj. Nidal Hasan’s role in those murders. Stories have flooded in about his shouting “Allahu akbar” (God is Great!) while shooting people. Others have inferred that he had “recently” (in 2001 after the death of his parents) become devout, thus linking his religion to the killings. Unfortunately, these two assertions obscure Maj. Hasan’s motivations – which to this point remain unknown because the FBI and Military are keeping the case sealed (and rightly so).

If his intention was to commit a terrorist act, why did he choose Ft. Hood and not, say,  a little league game? Why not shoot up a synagogue? Why not attack a church with children attending Sunday school, blowing it up in the process? Why not a working-class neighborhood?

Is it possible that Maj. Hasan had become overwhelmed by the horror stories of the soldiers he treated for PTSD? Much like an oncologist can contract cancer or a neurologist can be afflicted with Alzheimer’s, psychiatrists and psychologists can also become victims of the very disease they treat so it is entirely possible that the fear of going into a war zone caused him to “snap” and target the source of that fear: his workplace. This is not an unusual situation; the term “Going Postal” is a part of American slang for a reason, yet none of those Federal workers were ever painted as terrorists.

In fear, especially of alien people, crime and terrorism tend to get lumped together in a mish-mosh of doom-saying and fear-mongering. Let us look at crimes and terrorist acts of the past and see which category Maj. Hasan’s slaying of American servicemen and -women lies.

1) a Little League coach (31) shot and killed a 16 year old umpire at a Little League game for making “bad calls” and allegedly said “God damn you” while shooting the boy.

2)  a 22 year old man rapes an African woman, murders her sister, runs to a Synagogue, assaulting and killing Jewish people enjoying a night of bingo.

3) Six Black children were killed in Birmingham, Alabama, when a “Christian” organization detonated a bomb in a church during Sunday School hours.

4) An underworld leader, brutal thug, nominal “Catholic”  orders the bombings of any establishment which does not buy his beer. It is part of his “pineapple politics” scheme to influence the political system in Chicago.

5) Two Italian immigrants linked to a radical, anti-government organization are arrested for robbing a shoe factory in Braintree, Massachusetts, during which a guard is killed.

When did these events happen? Were they crimes or were they terrorist acts? In the interpretation of the prosecutors, juries, and media of their times, these were crimes even though the word “terrorism” was firmly entrenched in the English language at the time. Though the cases had different outcomes, not one of these criminals was labeled a terrorist, merely a criminal.

Of course, the inevitable argument may arise that Islam is inherently a religion of murder, jihad, and conversion by the sword. But those making such an argument should also be aware that Christianity is likewise a religion of murder, Crusade, and conversion by the sword.

Matthew 10:34 I come not to bring peace, but to bring a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law–a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household

Luke 22:36 But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one

Just as the “whole of the Bible” should be used to judge Christianity, so should the whole of the Qur’an be used to judge Islam. Just as interpretations of the Bible allow Christians to break the 6th Commandment (Thou Shalt Not Kill), interpretations of the Qur’an allow some Muslims to violate Al-Israa’ 17: 33 (To respect life and not kill anyone except in pursuit of justice). There are some 1.3 Billion Muslims in the world today, inevitably some are attracted to the sick and twisted interpretations of the Qur’an spouted by the demagogues in caves. Fortunately, in the cast of Maj. Hasan, there so far seems no evidence that he ascribed to such a philosophy; the mosque he attended is mainstream and moderate with good standing in the community. Though some “news” stories have speculated that he might have believed in suicide bombing, no hard evidence has come to light – it should be noted that having the name Hasan on an Arabic-speaking forum is like having the name Johnson on an English-speaking forum.

In short, I exhort Americans and the media to judge the crimes on the merits and Maj. Hasan’s intentions, not the hype and hyperbole.