Posted on 02/15/2007 11:28:06 AM PST by Mobile Vulgus
I have been watching the "reportage" on the regrettable incident of a teenaged killer's rampage in a Utah shopping mall with mounting interest. In nearly every story of this crime the fact that this youngster is from a Muslim background is either muted or ignored altogether.
The AP, for instance, avoids identifying the boy as a Muslim in all their stories that I saw. In one, they merely identify the region in Bosnia in which he lived as the "northeastern enclave where up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered in 1995" but do not even speculate as to the boy or his family being Muslims. It is all rather dutifully avoided. In another story, the AP doesn't even use the word Muslim at all.
Even in the local press, like the Utah Desert News, the issue of his background is ignored or made entirely incidental. The Desert News, in fact, makes just one mention that the "family are Muslims from Bosnia who had lived in the vicinity of Sarajevo" in a rather lengthy and otherwise complete story of the incident.
Worse, the New York Times is making the wild assumption that it is "Bosnian immigrants", not the rest of America, that should be afraid for their lives in theirs titled "Anti-Bosnian Backlash Feared in Utah".
In the Times' story the Muslin issue is given scant notice and the focus is put on how we ignorant Americans are sure to start beating up "Bosnians" right and left. The word Muslim seems to have been replaced rather ridiculously with "Bosnian", as if Americans will seek out "Bosnians" upon which to take out their anger instead of Muslims. The fact is, though, "Bosnians" do not loom as the enemy in the minds of Americans, but Muslims do. How many Americans would instantly become wary if someone were to tell them they are "Bosnian"?
In the Times' story the word Muslim is used exactly once:
The number of Bosnian refugees in the Salt Lake City area has been estimated to be 3,000 to 7,000, most of them Muslims fleeing violence by Serbs in the early 1990s.So, the Times seems to feel regular Americans are the threat not rampaging Muslims. And, even if this boy was not a practicing Muslim, something we do not know as a factor because of the current deficient state of reporting, the fact that he is from a Muslim family is quite germane to the story.
I would find it perfectly reasonable to include in these stories language that could benignly bring up the issue without fanning the flames of anti-Muslim sentiment. It would not be beyond reasonability to say something such as "It is not known if the boy's Muslim background is a factor in his rampage", or some such rhetoric.
But to wholly ignore the issue seems rather un-journalistic, wouldn't you say? It would also seem to be out of character for the MSM in the normal scheme of things.
The 18 year-old killer, Sulejmen Talovic, was driven from his home with his Mother at four, he lived in the aforementioned refugee camp until he was about 9 and then he moved to the USA with his family in 1998. He was thought to be a "loner" with no friends, but wasn't thought of as a trouble maker, being generally a quiet youngster.
That all ended this week with his murderous trip to the mall.
Of course, it isn't possible with what is known to say that his Muslim background directly led to this rampage, or that it was a result of religious extremism. It is wholly possible that this kid was so mentally traumatized by his young life in a war zone that he snapped.
But, here are some interesting facts. The USA is the good guy in the story of Bosnia's Muslims. In fact, Bosnian Muslims today are one of the few Muslim communities who have thus far violently opposed the kind of religious hatred funded by the Saudis with their exportation of Wahhabism and one of the few that are vehemently pro-American because of the advocacy the US offered them in the efforts to stop Slabodon Milosevic's campaigns of ethnic cleansing.
So, it seems somewhat unlikely that he learned any hatred of the USA from his familial traditions.
But the boy is still a Muslim and he wouldn't be the only one to stray from his family's traditions and ideals to take on a radical ideology.
So we are left with at least two possibilities as to the boy's motives.
The question is, why is his Muslim background being completely ignored?
Is it just a question of not knowing the facts and the MSM doesn't want to speculate? This would be a hard thing to believe since speculation is one of their favorite games. Remember how Timothy McVeigh was immediately called a Christian, a White Separatist, or that he was part of a militia, etc.? There was little waiting for facts to emerge with McVeigh. Another incident that showed the MSM's willingness to run with any point no matter if it is proven or not was the Richard Jewel bombing story. That poor guy was so hounded by the MSM that it ruined his life as he was convicted in the press before anything was ascertained.
So, are we to believe that the MSM suddenly got a conscience and decided to go cautious on this boy's Muslim background?
It's doubtful!
But as to the MSM's real motive on this one... well, I'll leave that to each of you.
I'm sure the good people of Pearl, Miss., West Paducah, Ky. and Jonesboro, Ark. will thank you for your consideration.
I didn't hear it. But the quality isn't that good and I can't turn the volume up in the office.
Are you suggesting the Columbine killers were normal?
Bookmark
7,000 Iraqi refugees allowed to enter U.S. By Anne Gearan/ASSOCIATED PRESS:
[The United States agreed yesterday to allow up to 7,000 Iraqi refugees to enter the country, greatly expanding the number allowed until now.
It also agreed to pay more to help Iraq's Arab neighbors cope with the human tide fleeing increasing violence and economic hardship in their country. The decision for this fiscal year came after mounting political and diplomatic pressure on the Bush administration to do more to remedy the consequences of a war it largely started. Only 202 Iraqis were allowed in last year [. . .] link
Appropriate words fail me here. . .
Actually the Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that he attended the Al-Noor mosque on 700 East Street every Friday. That raises at least the possibility that this kid's mahometan beliefs played a part in the attack.
Bosnian Muslims are not associated with the jihadist crap
Really? Then why has Al Qaeda had terror cells operating in the middle of Bosnia since at least the early 90's? http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1859738079/ref=ase_robertspencer-20/103-1603172-8127010?v=glance&s=books
All the evidence points to this being just a messed up kid, possibly due to his early childhood in a violence-infested war zone and growing up with parents who were also traumatized by that experience. He's probably been a cultural misfit ever since he arrived in Utah, due to the foreignness of American culture and the close-knit Mormon-dominated community in Utah. Quite possibly his family discouraged him from getting involved in the LDS Church, due to their religious heritage (probably more important than theological convictions in the case of Bosnian Muslims), contributing to his social alienation
So in other words, it's everybody's fault but his own? It's society's fault for "alienating" him and for the traumas of his childhood? Sorry, but I'm going to have to pass on that one. The kid was a nut, and a very real possibility exists that his nutty religion had something to do with this. In fact, barring evidence suggesting otherwise and knowing the track record of his religion, its relation to this attack should be considered the most likely of the possible motives given at this point barring evidence pointing elsewhere.
Great list - have taken the liberty of posting at my blog. With a big hat tip to ya! Thank you.
Cheers - Dinah
You're welcome.
In addition to your excellent list - here is one more:
Sirhan Sirhan (an Egyptian moslem, I believe) assassinated (shot to death for those in Rio Linda) Robert Kennedy saying that Kennedty loved Israel too much.
No. I am reminding you that the Columbine killers were two of several American schoolchildren who murdered their classmates and teachers in the 1990s.
I predict the next 9/11-like attack on American soil will be committed by blue-eyed Bosnians. People expect terrorists to always be Arab.
Thank you.
It's easy to forget the first one.
Unfortunately Osama knows this. Bosnia is arguably the biggest Al Qaeda hotbed in Europe. During the civil war the various Balkan muslim groups were swimming in cash and munitions supplied by Bin Laden and his thugs. Nobody ever reports that. Nor do they ever report what side the Balkan muslims took in World War II. Hint - here's the flag they flew:
As your other posts have indicated, the image is not a "flag that the Balkan muslims flew during World War II." It is the insignia of the 13th Waffen-SS Division. There is clearly a difference between 21,000 Nazi soldiers and a region's Muslim population as a whole.
Sirhan Sirhan was a Christian Palestinian.
This has sure disappeared quickly from the front pages hasn't it?
I wonder how long the story would have lasted if some Christian (or Jew) had shot up some moslems.
Or a white guy had shot several black people.
Or a Border Patrol agent had shot a drug smuggler.
But, the police already know everything there is to know:
He was a moslem but it couldn't have been a religious act.
He was killing innocent people - but he had a rough childhood.
He had a gun he shouldn't have had - but that's no problem.
He might have had a motive, but that's no concern to anyone.
He told other people he had weapons - but so what.
His family says he's was a good kid - and that's good enough for the FBI and the police.
Well, it's not good enough for me.
You are right he was a Palestinian - although one source I read said Egyptian - but I agree - he was a Palestinian.
But all the sources I've read - say he was a moslem.
Nope. He was a Christian.
http://www.crimelibrary.com/terrorists_spies/assassins/kennedy/4.html
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