RSS Feed MenuMaybe his defense will be Sudden Jihad Syndrome?
By shooting a couple of basic training soldiers outside a Little Rock, Ark., recruiting centre, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad apparently was registering his disapproval of what the two victims were doing to Muslims.
Of course, Pvt. William Long, 23, killed by gunshots, and Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, wounded, had probably never ever met a Muslim, much less done anything to one.
But Muhammad, who was born and raised in Tennessee as Carlos Leon Bledsoe until he converted to Islam after a visit to Yemen where apparently he was arrested for carrying a false Somali passport, is now in jail without bail after being arrested soon after the shooting.
The 23-year-old is quoted as saying he hoped to shoot a lot of other soldiers at the recruiting station, but only spotted these two as they were smoking. Perhaps, on the other hand, he disapproved of smoking.
While Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is sometimes a defense for soldiers who get into trouble after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan’s battlefields, it’d be hard for a Muslim convert to claim this. Hence a possible claim of SJS (Sudden Jihad Syndrome).
From what one can tell, Muhammad, as Bledsoe calls himself, seems unfazed by his circumstances. Then again, perhaps in his Islamic convert status, he thought his actions might give impetus to President Barack Obama’s address in Cairo on Thursday to the Muslim world.
The president, in recent times, has traveled to Europe and South America where he seems bent on apologizing on behalf of America in an effort to appease those who disapprove of the U.S.
It remains to be seen if he will now apologize to Muslims everywhere for America’s actions. Perhaps, in his demented way, Muhammad was anticipating the president’s message and popped off a couple of young soldiers to show support.
Apparently the FBI’s Joint Terrorist Task Force has been keeping track of Muhammad since his return from Yemen, and found a batch of guns and jihadist literature in his possession.
ktward // Jun 2, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Peter, in this column you’ve a whole lot of baseless speculation surrounding the precious few facts we actually know at this point.Worse, you’ve reduced this tragedy to what you apparently believe worthy of crude satirical analogy. To what end you’ve in mind, I’m not at all sure.But this…”Perhaps, in his demented way, Muhammad was anticipating the presidents message and popped off a couple of young soldiers to show support.”…is nothing more than incendiary, partisan tripe.I expect better from this site.
ktward // Jun 2, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Spartacus:This column started out worse than it already is??
balconesfault // Jun 2, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Yeah. This is a really weak offering. In a site that seems dedicated to building bridges … this is like someone following along behind and firebombing them.
Mike K // Jun 2, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Building bridges with jihadis ? The guy had had jihadi training in Yemen from what I hear. The greatest fear the FBI has right now is recruiting among the sociopaths in US prisons. It is a major problem and would be out of control if Gitmo detainees were to be transferred to US prisons.
balconesfault // Jun 2, 2009 at 1:24 pm
“Building bridges with jihadis ?”Umm – no. But it is amusing to watch him try to link Obamas moderateration to Muhammad’s extremism.Meanwhile – a description of the Supermax prisons (from Wikipedia):”In SHU, prisoners are generally allowed out of their cells for only one hour a day; often they are kept in solitary confinement. They receive their meals through ports, also known as “chuck holes,” in the doors of their cells. When Supermax inmates are allowed to exercise, this may take place in a small, enclosed area where the prisoner will exercise alone.”Prisoners are under constant surveillance, usually with closed-circuit television cameras. Cell doors are usually opaque, while the cells may be windowless. Conditions are spartan, with poured concrete or metal furniture common. Often cell walls, and sometimes plumbing, are soundproofed to prevent communication between the inmates.”
ktward // Jun 2, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Aw jeez. Here we go again.The moderator, or Peter, deleted Spartacus’s ‘thank you’ (which I referenced in my comment) to DF for deleting what was apparently an even more offensive last paragraph than currently exists.Look, Mr/Ms. Moderator whoever you are, it seems to me you cannot afford to alienate intelligent discourse on this site, even when it calls into question the veracity of certain columnists.It’s not like you have plenty of other intelligent commenters to take up the slack.Thanks, btw, for banning Egli Ha. A nutcase if there ever was one, and I gave him more slack than anyone.Also, you can delete comments all you want, but I have records. Don’t make me email them straight to DF; you’ll find yourself grounded with no TV or Wii.
jmanders2009 // Jun 2, 2009 at 4:01 pm
The man (or boy I should say) should have been shot on site.
ktward // Jun 2, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Mike K sez:”The greatest fear the FBI has right now is recruiting among the sociopaths in US prisons. It is a major problem and would be out of control if Gitmo detainees were to be transferred to US prisons.”‘The greatest fear’ …? This is a serious issue worthy of serious examination, and there are logistics and legalities being resolved as we speak (er, type), but your characterization seems, oxymoronically enough, both overly dramatic and over-simplified. Fact is, Gitmo will be closed. Some of the prisoners will no doubt be transferred eventually to Supermax facilities with no reason for us to prematurely climb into our bunkers:http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22900.htmlhttp://www.denverpost.com/ci_12424986Nevertheless, it’s true we’ll have to suffer through political posturing of all stripes in the meantime. yada yada yada.Here’s some reading, chock full of crosslinks:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5357425/FBI-says-closing-Guantanamo-Bay-could-allow-detainees-to-plan-terrorism-from-US-prisons.htmlhttp://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/05/20/guantanamo/index.html
choccity2005 // Jun 2, 2009 at 10:36 pm
DO WE HAVE BLOOD ON OUR HANDS?Let me end this debate by profoundly saying, HELL NO.We have no less blood on our hands as O’reilly artfully put it,does NBC NEWS for thier constant berating of soldiers,people who torure and so on and so on.The code pinks who protested outside national recruitment centers and congressman murtha who screamed our troops murdered innocent muslims in haditha,with NO EVIDENCE.Do they all have blood on thier hands….Hell No.Why….b/c this is a free country,this is what this country was founded on.Free speech,the right to protest.The media won’t tell you this man that murdered tiller…was incarcerated before.He used explosives before.It was a failure of the judicial system,it was some activist criminal loving judge who released him.That’s why they are scared.Liberals can’t debate conservatives on this issue…..You can’t say the murder(abortion is murder period)of a innocent 9 month old fetus is ok with you,a fetus with a heart beat,that blinks it’s eyes,that moves it’s arms and legs…and to have it’s head punctured and brains ripped out,for the baby to be discard as trash in a dumpster….awful,simply awful.You can’t say that’s O.KBut then say a 6 month old premature baby,who is living in a incubator has all the rights now of a human being and if you murder that premature baby the same way you get either a life or death sentence.HOW CAN THAT MAKE SENSE TO LOGICAL BEINGS??Then they have the nerve to defend 9/11 terroists from not getting waterboarded.People who have murdered thousands and would murder milllions if they could…they deserve more rights,than a 9 month old fetus…..days away from birth.WHO THINKS THAT MAKES SENSE?
balconesfault // Jun 2, 2009 at 10:54 pm
“HOW CAN THAT MAKE SENSE TO LOGICAL BEINGS??”Easy. The fetus is inside the mother. That is a distinctly different case than a fetus inside an ICU oxygen tent.