New York Bomber Was Muslim - So Was The Hero

I haven't really commented on the terrorist who tried to set off a bomb in downtown New York City (except to say whoever it was deserved the protection of the rule of law like anyone else), because I had no idea who did it. Now we know. He was a Pakistani-born muslim who had become an American citizen in 2009. This doesn't change my opinion -- American or not, muslim or not, he deserves a fair trial, and if convicted, a very harsh sentence.

Of course, the right-wing blogs are going crazy. To them, this is just evidence that their hatred of muslims is justified (because out of a billion muslims this one person committed a heinous crime). Personally, even if he had help from a few other muslims, this does not justify the hatred of the muslim religion or its followers (most of whom are no more violent than the followers of other religions -- including christianity).

I would just like to point out that while the failed bomber was a muslim, one of the heroes of the incident was also a muslim. Aliou Niasse is an muslim immigrant from Senegal. He was working near the sight as a street vendor selling framed pictures of New York. When he saw the car smoking, he told the T-shirt vendor near him, and together they notified a policeman patrolling nearby.

We must be very careful about condemning a whole race, religion or group of people. No group is monolithic, and each has both good and bad members. Mr. Niasse may be a muslim, but he is also an American hero. I honor him.

(The picture above is from Flicker.com, and I believe it is Aliou Niasse.)