A Profile in Courage

[Perknose]

Pakistani-born NYPD cadet Mohammad Salman Hamdani, who died on 9/11 trying to save people in the Twin Towers.

Mohammad Salman Hamdani arrived in New York with his parents from Karachi when he was 13 months old. He grew up determined to be even more American than his two American-born younger brothers. He told people to call him Sal. He played as No. 79 on the Bayside High School football team. And he loved, loved, loved Star Wars.

At Queens College, Hamdani showed promise as a scientist, and he decided he would become either a doctor or an NYPD detective specializing in forensic investigation. He meanwhile worked as a part-time paramedic and as a researcher at Rockefeller University, where he was credited in a paper titled, “Synthesis and Structural Characterization of Trivalent Amino Acid Derived Chiral Phosphorus Compounds.”


He also became a police cadet. He responded as if he were already a full-fledged police officer as well as a paramedic when he learned of the attack on the World Trade Center on the sparkling morning of Sept. 11, 2001. He had been on his way from his home in Queens to his lab on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He instead headed downtown with his medical bag to the burning towers.

When his parents did not hear from him, they reported him missing. His Pakistani birth immediately led some to suggest that this determinedly American young man may have played a part in the plot and then slipped away. The suspicions only ended when his remains were finally recovered in the wreckage of the North Tower, six months after the attack. His medical bag was found beside him.

The fallen cadet’s mother, Talat Hamdani, declared that in sacrificing himself in an effort to save others, her son had also been rescuing America from itself, from prejudice that made it less than the great country he had so passionately embraced. His selfless courage had shamed all those who presumed him to be a jihadi.

“My young Jedi, you gave your life for the children of ignorance,” said his mother.

“He gave his life for America."

Meanwhile that pandering shit stain Ted Cruz decided, ""We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized."

Fuck you, shit stain.

 

[MongGrel]

Meanwhile that pandering shit stain Ted Cruz decided, ""We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized."

Fuck you, shit stain.

+1

The "all Muslims are bad thing" is getting way out of hand.

 

[Victorian Gray]

Pakistani-born NYPD cadet Mohammad Salman Hamdani, who died on 9/11 trying to save people in the Twin Towers.



Meanwhile that pandering shit stain Ted Cruz decided, ""We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized."

Fuck you, shit stain.

Youbetcha. :thumbsup:

 

[michal1980]

+1

The "all Muslims are bad thing" is getting way out of hand.

the "all Muslims are good thing" is getting way out of hang.

 

[brycejones]

the "all Muslims are good thing" is getting way out of hang.

derp

 

[TheVrolok]

the "all Muslims are good thing" is getting way out of hang.

GTFO.

RIP Sal.

 

[Sonikku]

No religion holds the monopoly on crazy or extremism. Just as the Quran has verses advocating violence, so too does the Bible. But that doesn't mean you act on it.

 

[werepossum]

No religion holds the monopoly on crazy or extremism. Just as the Quran has verses advocating violence, so too does the Bible. But that doesn't mean you act on it.

True, but the Quran has no New Testament.

Certainly no religion holds the monopoly on crazy or extremism, but Islam has by far the majority of the franchises.

 

[Jaskalas]

What does a secure Muslim neighborhood look like?
Not like they're holding terror meetings in the streets.
So the notion must come down to some form of violating civil liberties, though Cruz isn't really specific about that.

As for the generalization itself... Look, I know those sentiments. I've shared them. You learn about the Middle East from a history book in school and it's less real, modern, or relevant than Native Americans today. Something that used to be a big deal to people... hundreds of years ago. Like Rome, history is buried, it's faceless. I did not know any Muslims.

Fast forward to September 11th, 2001. I reckon that day is an introduction to Islam for many Americans. A literal act of war, a call for us to go to war. Blood, vengeance, hatred. Osama Bin Laden became the face of Islam, and that message has played more frequently and more loudly than any other.

I appreciate stories of good, honest, people who should be our brothers. Who happen to be Muslim. It goes to show that religious zealotry is not for everyone. That hatred is not spread to every heart.

How do we balance these things? On one hand we can point to stories of good people that stand with us. OTOH, their efforts are largely dwarfed by the nonstop media of Islamic terrorism this century. There is a foreign host that freely immigrates to our lands with hatred, ill intent, and the means to carry it out. While that is not everyone, or even a majority, it's more than a mere criminal element.

Moreover, when push comes to shove and partisanship erupts there are other factors that make otherwise innocent people choose sides. I can totally picture Ted Cruz's notion as being a recruiting tool for terrorists. Surely it is counter productive to alienate an entire community, to create room for friction and violence.

Which begs the question, Islamic terrorism requires more than just a criminal justice system to handle. What should those extra efforts look like? I find Americans struggle to define a proper response.

 

[swamplizard]

The police commissioner of NYPD said Cruz doesn't know what the hell he's talking about, citing that nearly 1000 Muslims serve on the NYPD. Suck on that Cruz.

 

[werepossum]

What does a secure Muslim neighborhood look like?
Not like they're holding terror meetings in the streets.
So the notion must come down to some form of violating civil liberties, though Cruz isn't really specific about that.

As for the generalization itself... Look, I know those sentiments. I've shared them. You learn about the Middle East from a history book in school and it's less real, modern, or relevant than Native Americans today. Something that used to be a big deal to people... hundreds of years ago. Like Rome, history is buried, it's faceless. I did not know any Muslims.

Fast forward to September 11th, 2001. I reckon that day is an introduction to Islam for many Americans. A literal act of war, a call for us to go to war. Blood, vengeance, hatred. Osama Bin Laden became the face of Islam, and that message has played more frequently and more loudly than any other.

I appreciate stories of good, honest, people who should be our brothers. Who happen to be Muslim. It goes to show that religious zealotry is not for everyone. That hatred is not spread to every heart.

How do we balance these things? On one hand we can point to stories of good people that stand with us. OTOH, their efforts are largely dwarfed by the nonstop media of Islamic terrorism this century. There is a foreign host that freely immigrates to our lands with hatred, ill intent, and the means to carry it out. While that is not everyone, or even a majority, it's more than a mere criminal element.

Moreover, when push comes to shove and partisanship erupts there are other factors that make otherwise innocent people choose sides. I can totally picture Ted Cruz's notion as being a recruiting tool for terrorists. Surely it is counter productive to alienate an entire community, to create room for friction and violence.

Which begs the question, Islamic terrorism requires more than just a criminal justice system to handle. What should those extra efforts look like? I find Americans struggle to define a proper response.

I don't like the idea of "more than just a criminal justice system to handle" Islamic terrorism within the United States. That just smacks of secret police. Certainly I'm very much in favor of limiting the influx of new Muslims of uncertain loyalties, but once people are here, we should all have to live under the same rules.

 

[Jaskalas]

I don't like the idea of "more than just a criminal justice system to handle" Islamic terrorism within the United States. That just smacks of secret police.

Picture this. A good faith initiative originating from the White House. Where leaders who preach peace are given our blessing and our money to expand their base. To create a message of major faiths, including Islam, that runs counter to the media's incessant message that Islam equals terrorism.

And these leaders would condemn violence and show the faithful that there is a better way.
Basically if they don't have a Pope then we'll give them one.