Alleged shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. AP/USUHS
As soon as the name of the shooter at Fort Hood who killed 13 people and wounded 38—Nidal Malik Hasan—was known, reporters and bloggers began jumping to conclusions about his heritage and his motive.
Fox News Channel’s Shepard Smith said “the name tells us a lot,” and an op-ed column on FoxNews.com suggested the shooting spree was “the largest terror act since 9/11.”
Later, Fox and Friends hosts suggested that the military should conduct "special debriefings" for all Muslim officers.
Commentators at the Jihad Watch blog immediately labeled Hasan a “jihadi” and called for a “war on Islam.”
World Net Daily’s headline trumpeted “Fort Hood triggerman: Muslim, shrink, officer,” implying that Hasan’s religion was his most relevant attribute.
CBSNews.com decried an immediate “anti-Muslim backlash” that included at least one threatening call to the Arab-American Institute.
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