Deseret News hits "ultraconservative" websites for suggesting Salt Lake shooting was jihad-motivated

JihadWatch.org ^ | 15Februrary 2007 | Robert

[NraFreedom]

In "Vitriolic e-mails zero in on 'Muslim,'" Elaine Jarvik and Deborah Bulkeley in the Deseret Morning News (thanks to all who sent this in) do not deign to consider the possibility that the Salt Lake mall shootings were jihad-motivated. Instead, the onus is on those with the poor taste to suggest such a thing:

On ultraconservative Web sites like littlegreenfootballs.com, the story of Monday's shooting rampage at Trolley Square has been reduced to one fact: "Salt Lake City Killer Was a Muslim." "Ultraconservative" = "bigoted, racist, evil."

"The media did everything they could to avoid mentioning it, but it's confirmed today that the mass murderer who terrorized a mall in Salt Lake City was a Bosnian Muslim," reads the intro at littlegreenfootballs.com. That's simply a statement of fact. Most news stories about the shooting don't mention this.

At MichaelSavage.com, the Muslim connection is a running-banner headline. At jihadwatch.org, the story begins "Sudden Jihad syndrome? Maybe."

Maybe, i.e., possibly, not certainly. But will Elaine Jarvik and Deborah Bulkeley consider that possibility, and look at other cases in which evidence pointing in this direction has been discounted? Of course not. To do so would be "ultraconservative."

The online stories, as well as Tuesday's and Wednesday's stories in the Deseret Morning News, have resulted in a barrage of vitriolic e-mails to the News from people either angry at the paper for not mentioning the religion of shooter Sulejman Talovic in Wednesday's Web edition, or certain that because Talovic is Muslim that he must be a terrorist. See? Only angry, vitriolic people think this way, and rush to certainties where no certainties can be found. Oh, and never mind that "maybe" at Jihad Watch. Let's sweep it aside with a flood of "vitriolic emails."

There is no record that Talovic attended any of the mosques in the Salt Lake area, according to both Tarek Mosseir, a spokesman for the Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake, or Bobby Ravish of Muslim Forum. Mosseir noted that many Bosnian Muslims are more secular than religious. "Having lived under Soviet Union rules for decades, where religious freedom was not an option, a majority of these people" are not practicing Muslims, he added. "What I hear is that he came a couple of times at most, to Eid prayers, but I can't confirm that he came."

"There is no record" that he attended. "He came a couple of times at most." Even if these men are telling the truth, this doesn't establish what Elaine Jarvik and Deborah Bulkeley want it to establish. It is unfortunately possible that he could never have gone to the mosque at all and still be jihad-motivated. Consider, for example, that an Al-Qaeda manual directs operatives to "avoid visiting famous Islamic places (mosques, libraries, Islamic fairs, etc.)." Am I suggesting that Talovic was an Al-Qaeda operative? No, I am not. I am suggesting that it is at least a possibility that someone planning a jihad attack would avoid the local mosque.

Although Salt Lake City police have not yet established a motive for the shootings, a handful of Bosnian refugees were verbally harassed at their workplaces on Wednesday, according to the Utah Consortium of Multicultural Groups. Local police report no incidents of violence against Bosnian or other refugees. Here we have the predictable shifting-of-focus which has occurred after countless jihad attacks: from Muslim-as-mass-murderer to Muslims-as-victims. Several people were shot dead in the mall, but never mind that: some Muslims were "verbally harassed"!

"Why dont (sic) you guys just come out and say this was a terrorist attack because he was MUSLIM," wrote one e-mailer to the Deseret Morning News. "There is no doubt in my mind that this young man was carrying out Islamic jihad," wrote another. And another: "Why is it that when I heard about a mall shotting (sic) I thought — Muslim? Sure enough. Are you people in Utah that clueless?" Note the "sics." The message here is that only idiots could possibly think this way.

"He was a Muslim terrorist and you know it you deceitful, cowardly liar," wrote a man with "MD, PhD" after his name. Why, how absurd! How could a right-wing Islamophobic bigot possibly be a doctor with a PhD!

"Welcome to my world," said Ibrahim Hopper, communications director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C., about the angry e-mails. "I get tons of it every day." At least we get your name right here, Mr. "Hopper." Anyway, note that Elaine Jarvik and Deborah Bulkeley show no sign whatsoever of looking into the background of Mr. Hooper's organization.

Anyway, the bottom line is this: in light of the fact that there have been several attacks similar to Talovic's committed by Muslims in the last year, as I detail here, and that in each case authorities have discounted the possibility. All I am asking is that the possibility that such attacks are motivated by the jihad ideology, even in the absence of an institutional connection to a group like Al-Qaeda, be duly considered. Is that too much to ask?

[NraFreedom]

It has always bothered me that we supported the wrong side in Bosnia.

This also bothers me: that we are fighting the WOT but we are not actively invoved in stopping what is happening in Sudan. We are not involved in stopping the terrorist in any of the other terrorist states such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, or Iran.

Kinda makes you go hummmmm doesn't it?

[justshutupandtakeit]

Most stories from this paper posted here are Rightist not Liberal.

[Nathan Zachary]

I don't see any chance of that happening, short of civil rebellion and possibly a civil war at the same time. The government will simply crush any civil uprizing with our own army.

It would be easier to wait until the marxists succeed in collapsing the economy. Hardship has a way of waking marxist loons up to see the error of theirs ways, and joining the right side.

Then there's another problem, we have yet another enemy within.
No matter how you look at it, this country is headed for a disaster, and the left/Democrats/media these past 6 years especially have pushed this country a long ways towards it.

[NraFreedom]

I used to take the paper and read it every day. I know what bent the paper has.

[txhurl]

Did anybody yet find out if he shaved himself first? Did he usually have a mustache or goatee, but not at his 'event'?

[Nathan Zachary]

"It has always bothered me that we supported the wrong side in Bosnia. "

We were misslead by media and the Clinton administration. We were ignorant of a lot of things going on in the world. But 9/11 woke a lot of us up.

Bother me too that we aren't cleaning up the Islamic Jihad, or more correctly, the Islamic crusades that are going on all over the world.

The problem is the nation is too divided for it to have the will to do what needs to be done.

Media needs to be smartened up, the RATS have to quit supporting the enemy and dividing the country, and the TRUTH of who and what our enemy is has to be told before we will ever become a united country again.

Quite frankly, as I said in a post above, I think this nation is headed for doom, The enemy within has taken this country and divided it, and pushed it too far down the slippery slope for it to recover.

[Nathan Zachary]

That would be a teltale sign.

[editor-surveyor]

Get the chip off your shoulder, this isn't Germany. Being polish is not a capital crime here.

NraFreedom was only reciting the facts that neighbors of the perp have revealed, and basic facts about islam that are well documented.

[Nathan Zachary]

" Being polish is not a capital crime here. " It was at one time. You were automatically accused of being a communist.

[Nathan Zachary]

and thrown in dwetention camps, had your property taken.

[Earthdweller]

You want to talk history? OK...

This country and it's people are the most unbiased in the history of the world...

Were you or were you not implying that conservatives are ignorant about their own American history and because of such, are not qualified to comment on current events?

Were you or were you not implying that conservatives (like us)deserve the turmoil and grief from the terrorism that is occurring because of said history?

No..I am not in politics..I'm just sick of everyone being "right" in this country but the type of people who have worked and strove for freedom here for over 200+ years.

Yes..the same people who brought true liberalism to the world....the kind of people who tolerate people from all walks of life yet still allow religion to flourish.

...the same people who brought down Hitler and the KKK by their own hands. The same people who welcomed immigrants from many countries and from many religious beliefs and brought women more freedoms then the have ever known.

The same people who rescued many nations from tyranny...Conservative American Christians.

I'm sick of being told by intolerant biased people who discriminate against my family because of "history" that I'm not tolerant enough and deserve everything I get from any journalist with an agenda or mad man with a gun.

If you want to talk about history, let's talk about more recent history and the fact that the leftist agenda has gone too far in it's discrimination against the Christian right. They have played the hand of the European "Enlightenment" in an age when the enlightenment has proved to be just as discriminatory to freedoms then any other movement.

Lastly, I am sick of being told that I should not be proud of my country and my Christian Conservative heritage and that it is not worth fighting for because of our "history"...the same precious history of America that is currently being rewritten by the very immigrants that we so graciously welcomed and now dominate our elite establishment and the media.

Oh yes..my attitude is catching on. People are starting to shout it from the rooftops...

"America was founded by the original liberals!"

No matter how much the new "historians" try, they will never be able to erase that piece of history.

[drpix]

You're 100% right. After the shout of "police" and the unintelligible "O.B.?" twice - then I heard IN A DIFFERENT VOICE "Allah Akbar" three times before a gunshot.

I extracted a clip of that segment reduced it to half speed and the "Allah Akbar" is even clearer. I played to others over the phone and asked what they heard. All - w/o prompting - recognized it.

Problem is that my file host (Photobucket.com) doesn't accept audio files. However for others who want to listen, here's a screen caption of the KUTV's video player with markings for the portion to listen to.

Note:
RED (under "h" in "shooting"- start listening
GREEN - shout "Police" followed by "O.B...O.B.?" and the "Allah Akbar"s

KUTV

TAKE THE TIME TO LISTEN TO THE MAKED PORTION OF THE CLIP . IT IS WORTH IT.

[Earthdweller]

"Still, that didn't stop good ol' WASPish union thugs from beating up my uncles when they tried to feed the family. They weren't allowed INTO the unions and the ONLY job-seeking status they could have had was as "SCAB"s."

You are aware that the unions are part of the Dems base right?

Did your family go out and shoot some women after your uncle got beat up? I doubt it.

There is only one group that repeatedly does this...and that is not profiling....that is a fact.

[drpix]

I think your link to the KUTV video and your finding of the "Allah Akbar"s is worth it's own posting - with my image showing people where to listen. As many as possible should hear this. Do you want to do it or should I?

[Plutarch]

I am outraged that Deseret News did not even mention FreeRepublic.com

The writer probably couldn't find any posts that needed [sics].

[Plutarch]

This is followed immediately by Allahu Akbar shouted three times.

Allâhu Akbar is an Arabic expression. Wouldn't a native speaking Bosnian terrorist shout "God is Great" in Bosnian? I guess it depends on what is spoken at the Mosque that he never attended except when he attended every Friday.

[drpix]

Right. To observant Muslims EVERYWHERE Arabic is the Holy language. It's like Hebrew is to observant Jews EVERYWHERE or Latin used to be to observant Catholics EVERYWHERE.

[isthisnickcool]

Sounds to me like it could be:

POLICE: "Down and drop them together!"

SHOOTER: "Akbar" (the police may have yelled over the "Allah" part)

Hard to tell, moot point anyway since he was a moslem.

[isthisnickcool]

Sounds to me like it could be:

POLICE: "Down and drop them together!"

SHOOTER: "Akbar" (the police may have yelled over the "Allah" part)

Hard to tell, moot point anyway since he was a moslem.

[JB in Whitefish]

I'm stating actual HISTORY.

YOU have the chip.

But, handy that.