Bricks in the Road

Mohammed Taheri-azar, the man who ran down students at UNC Charlotte, wrote a letter to the local ABC affiliate, which included his explanation for his action:
"Allah gives permission in the Koran for the followers of Allah to attack those who have raged war against them, with the expectation of eternal paradise in case of martyrdom and/or living one's life in obedience of all of Allah's commandments found throughout the Koran's 114 chapters..."

"The U.S. government is responsible for the deaths of and the torture of countless followers of Allah, my brothers and sisters. My attack on Americans at UNC-CH on March 3rd was in retaliation for similar attacks orchestrated by the U.S. government on my fellow followers of Allah in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and other Islamic territories. I did not act out of hatred for Americans, but out of love for Allah instead."

Mohammed Taheri-azar, living in our country for years, graduating from one of our universities, the very model of a modern, assimilated...American.
One day before he acted any one would have confidently pointed to him as an American success story, a moderate Muslim living at peace in the United States. One day after he’s a terrorist, as I’m sure that his plowing into a group of students did inspire terror in them. “I did not act out of hatred for Americans, but out of love for Allah instead." Stop and think about how twisted that is, friends. You don’t seek revenge for “the deaths of and the torture of countless followers of Allah” out of love. Someone usually seeks revenge out of hate. If love of your God is sending you out on the streets in a SUV hoping for a high body count, you don’t know what love is. Or you’re a hypocrite trying to mask your actions in religious garb. I don’t think Mohammed Taheri-azar is a hypocrite. Just some one who mistakes fear for love. Islam chains adherents to itself with bonds of fear. It is so easy to miss out on Paradise by accidentally breaking one of the laws of Allah.
In the book of Romans it says that “All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.” All means all. A Christian knows that none are worthy but Christ-we can do nothing to achieve Salvation, except believe upon Him who offers it as a free gift.
For a Muslim under Islam, Salvation MIGHT be earned by a moderate Muslim if he follows all of the Laws, learns the Koran in Arabic, makes it to Mecca if humanly possible at least once in his life...and Salvation may be lost because after doing all of that he accidentally touched an impure object. Actually, for a moderate Muslim, it’s even a bit more skewed-he could do all of the right things, never break Islamic Law, fulfill all of the requirements of Islam...and lose out on Paradise because Allah arbitrarily chooses to send him to Hell. After all, he’s not the Loving God of Christianity and Judaism. According to the Koran, Allah does not love at all, but demands absolute love from his followers-talk about being in an abusive relationship!
So, a Muslim has a slim chance of making it all the way to Paradise...except for the Shortcut. Kill a Jew or other unbeliever, you’re in like Samir Flynn. If you’ve been really bad, have messed up and broken many of Islam’s laws, you can balance the scales by killing more unbelievers. You don’t ever know how many you need to kill, so err on the side of caution-Paradise is at stake!
Mohammed Taheri-azar must have really messed up, as he felt he had to kill unbelievers. And I think that although his religion told him to kill, his humanity couldn’t allow him to strap a bomb to his chest and detonate it in a crowd. I think he is conflicted, and that’s why he didn’t actually kill anyone. He’s hoping that the act will be accepted as good enough. Evidence of that is his turning himself in, admitting to the attack, and writing to the ABC news affiliate, making clear why he acted. He’s laying the groundwork for justification before Allah. I don’t think he’s evil-just moved beyond moderation out of fear of his god.