Funny, I don't see anyone on the frothing right rushing to link to this article about the man who opened fire in a Jewish center in Seattle over the weekend:
Naveed Haq, now widely portrayed as a Muslim American so angry at Israel that he shot up a Jewish charity in Seattle, had recently converted to Christianity.
...His father was a founding member of the Islamic center here. But the son was rarely seen at a local mosque for more than 10 years.
Haq, 30, told a ministry leader that he saw too much anger in Islam and wanted to find a new beginning in Christianity. He converted to Christianity, but, as with many other endeavors in his life, drifted away from the faith.
...Last winter, Haq began attending a weekly men's group meeting at the home of a men's ministry leader with the Word of Faith Center, a non-denominational, evangelical church in Kennewick.
The group's leader, Albert Montelongo, said Haq started studying the Bible. In December, he was baptized by Montelongo. The ceremony brought tears to Haq's eyes, Montelongo said....
A few months after he was baptized, Haq stopped attending the men's group meetings....
A neighbor of Haq's parents told the Tri-City Herald that Haq expressed anger at Jews, having convinced himself that the Jewish community controls the nation's media and economic system. The neighbor, Caleb Hales, also said Haq expressed an interest in the Mormon faith.
At the Islamic Center of Tri-Cities, a senior member and family friend, Muhammad Kaleem Ullah, said that Haq stopped attending regularly after he graduated from Richland High School in 1994. He said Haq would attend off and on while visiting his parents and that he surprised members at a Friday prayer service two weeks ago with a visit.
"We just shook hands and he walked away," he said....
Read the rest of the story. Read other stories about this guy. This guy's life was spiraling out of control. He was bipolar, unstable, jobless -- a mess. Recently, it seems, he seized on vile notions of the blood guilt of all Jews -- in his madness.
Anyone who can't see a distinction between this loose cannon and a coldly reasoning terrorist is an idiot.
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Oh, and I know right-wingers will dismiss this out of hand, but the Islamic Center of Tri-Cities doesn't exactly seem like a hotbed of jihad:
Tri-City Muslims gather in prayer
This story was published Sept. 15, 2001
Muslims in the Tri-Cities on Friday added their voice to the call for unity, peace and justice in the wake of Tuesday's terrorist attacks on America.
"We hope and pray God sheds light to the government to catch the right people," said Imtiaz Madni of Richland, who led about 50 Muslims in worship at the Islamic Center of Tri-Cities in West Richland.
Madni, who is the imam or worship teacher for the center, urged Muslims to show sympathy for the victims of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks and for their families who are suffering. He said the center will send a donation to the Tri-Cities chapter of the Red Cross....
Madni said Muslims who are true to the religion are against killing. "God has honored mankind through Adam, so we should honor all mankind," he sad.
"Whoever these guys are, what they are doing in the name of Islam is wrong. They are not true Muslims," said Mohammed Ahmed....
Madni said Muslims should pray for the perpetrators because they are misguided. "We should not just stand for peace, we should struggle for peace," he told worshippers at Friday's service....
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