The Horrific Case of Nidal Hasan

The Fort Hood shooting in 2009 was a tragic event in American history, leaving 13 people dead and over 30 injured. The perpetrator of the attack was Nidal Hasan, a former United States Army major who had displayed a pattern of extremist beliefs and erratic behavior leading up to the attack.

The Life Of Nidal Hassan

Nidal Malik Hasan was born on September 8, 1970, in Arlington, Virginia. His parents were Palestinian immigrants who had come to the United States to pursue higher education. Growing up, Hasan was described as intelligent and studious, and he was a devout Muslim who regularly attended services at a local mosque.

After completing high school, Hasan attended Virginia Tech, where he earned a degree in biochemistry in 1995. He then attended medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, where he graduated in 2003.

After completing his medical training, Hasan joined the United States Army. He served as a psychiatrist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and later at Fort Hood in Texas. Hasan's military service was marked by a series of disciplinary issues, including poor performance evaluations and conflicts with colleagues.

Years Before The Attack

In the years leading up to the Fort Hood shooting, Hasan had displayed a pattern of extremist beliefs and erratic behavior. He had openly expressed sympathy for radical Islamic ideologies and had been in contact with Anwar al-Awlaki, a Yemeni-American imam who was a known Al-Qaeda operative and under the supervision of the FBI.

Hasan had also been in communication with other individuals with ties to extremist groups, including one who had encouraged him to carry out an attack on U.S. soil.

Prior to the Fort Hood shooting, Hasan had been scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan on November 28. He expressed his concerns about the deployment to a local store owner, stating that his work as a psychologist could potentially require him to harm or kill fellow Muslims. Hasan was upset about the upcoming deployment.

The Attack

On November 5, 2009, Nidal Hasan reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar!" (which translates to "God is great"), before opening fire on armed forces at the Soldier Readiness Center of Fort Hood, located in Killeen, Texas.

The shooting resulted in the deaths of thirteen people and left over thirty others wounded, making it the worst shooting against armed forces on an American military base.

Hasan was eventually shot and apprehended by responding police officers, and he was later convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to death in 2013 and remains on death row at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

The Fort Hood shooting raised questions about the military's ability to identify and prevent violent extremism among its ranks. An investigation into the shooting found that Hasan's extremist beliefs and erratic behavior had been known to his superiors, but they had failed to take action to prevent him from carrying out the attack.

After the Attack

Following the Fort Hood shooting, some Muslims claimed the events in Islamist terms for political purposes.

Anwar al-Awlaki, a Yemeni-American imam who was a known Al-Qaeda operative, praised Hasan's actions and hailed him as a hero. Al-Awlaki had been in communication with Hasan prior to the shooting and had encouraged him to carry out an attack on U.S. soil.

Al-Awlaki posted this as part of a lengthy Internet message:

"Nidal Hassan is a hero. He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army fighting against his people ... Any decent Muslim cannot live, understanding properly his duties toward his Creator and his fellow Muslims, and yet serve as a member of the US armed forces. The U.S. is leading the war against terrorism which, in reality, is a war against Islam."

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