Watch Naveed Haq Seattle Jewish Federation Attack in News
I recently did an interview with Bill Alford of Seattle’s Moral Politics community-access TV program. We spoke about the issues surrounding the Naveed Haq trial and his recent conviction for first degree murder in the 2006 attack on the Seattle Jewish federation, which left one employee dead and five seriously injured.
We grappled with whether Haq’s sentence was just in a moral and religious sense and the overall theme of Muslim-Jewish tension rooted in the intractable Israeli-Arab conflict.
I wanted to warn that I made an error during the interview in suggesting that in Haq’s first trial, which ended in a hung jury, he was charged with second degree murder. A local journalist reports to me that he was charged with first degree murder in both cases.
It’s a 30 minute interview. I hope you’ll watch it and suggest to others interested in Muslim-Jewish relations that they watch it too.
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just finished watching
for what it’s worth, much respect & more power to you from this euroyank goy over in switz
salaam & shalom
The real conundrum is the whole issue of mental illness in criminal proceedings. In most criminal cases the issue of mental illness and whether the defendant was in possession of his or her faculties at the time the crime was committed is solved prior to the trial stage. There are mental examinations conducted and hearings are held, at least ostensibly to protect the defendant from unfair prosecution. Unfortunately, the legal definition of insanity is much narrower than the medical one, and a severely mentally ill person can still be found to be legally able to stand trial and assist in his or her own defense. Having worked in a maximum security prison and also in a state felony court, I can safely say that many, many very ill people go through the legal system having been deemed not sick enough to be considered legally insane. US prisons are full of inmates who are mentally ill and given medication every day to keep them passive and under control. It’s very sad.
I agree about the blowback, Richard, and also it seems that because of the ongoing conflict in Palestine, more mentally ill Muslims are going to manifest their illnesses through Islam and politics. It does not, of course, mean they are terrorists per se.
I am also glad you spoke out against Pamela Geller, Daniel Pipes and their ilk. So many people think they are speaking accurately about Islam and Muslims because the news media and local religious authorities present them as experts. And you are also very correct in saying that there is not enough dialogue between Jews and Muslims. It is so desperately needed, in the interests of peace.