An image of the now thankfully dead Islamic fraggle who attacked NYPD officers
There has been an attack in the Queens district of New York City by an axe-weilding maniac and although we may wish that this fraggle was not inspired by Islam, an Islamic inspiration for this crime cannot be ruled out.
This madman, who has been named by some sources as one Zale Thompson pulled out an axe in a busy street and charged into a group of New York Police Department officers. He critically injured on officer before being shot dead by police. The officer is being described by Front Page Magazine as in a critical but stable condition with serious head injuries.
At first this looked like a random attack by someone who was violently mentally ill, the sort of thing that we occasionally see in all societies, but Jihad Watch has evidence that this man’s Facebook page was full of references to Islam and an Islamic prayer was featured prominently. This gives this case a completely different aspect and is yet more evidence that Islamic groups may be recruiting the dangerously mentally ill because they know that such people are quite likely to end up suffering from ‘sudden jihad syndrome’.
Here’s what Jihad Watch had to say about this attack and about the attacker and is illustrated by a screen shot of Thompson’s Facebook page which is copied below.
Jihad Watch said:
“The Arabic at the top of his Facebook page is from the Qur’an: it is the first few verses of the Fatihah, the Qur’an’s first chapter and the most common prayer in Islam. “In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, the compassionate, the merciful, master of the day of judgment.”
“Police Commissioner William Bratton said it was unclear what provoked the attack.” Of course. The evidence points in a direction he doesn’t want to go in, so he has to find something else.
“Hatchet-wielding man attacks NYPD officers,” by Benjamin Landy, MSNBC, October 23, 2014 (thanks to Marc):
A New York City police officer is in critical condition and another is stable after a man with a hatchet attacked four officers on the street in Queens, New York on Thursday, officials said. The other officers then opened fire on the man, killing him and accidentally striking a nearby woman, who was later treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Police Commissioner William Bratton said it was unclear what provoked the attack, NBC New Yorkreports, but law enforcement agencies nationwide have been on high alert following fatal terrorism-linked attacks on uniformed soldiers in Canada on Wednesday and another on Monday.
The incident began around 2 p.m. when the officers were asked by a freelance photographer to pose for a photo. A hatchet-wielding man then charged at the group from behind – “unprovoked and not speaking a word,” according to Bratton – striking one officer in the arm and another officer in the head. The other two officers then opened fire, killing the attacker.
The man is captured on video pulling the 18.5-inch hatchet from a black backpack, police say.
While Bratton said authorities were working to identify the assailant, police sources told NBC News that the attacker had been tentatively identified as Zale Thompson, a 32-year-old man with a Facebook page containing images of what appears to be a Muslim warrior and prayers. However, authorities have found no links to extremist literature or jihadi groups at this time.
NBC has not independently verified the alleged suspect’s Facebook page or personal information, which lists him as having attended Teachers College at Columbia University.
“This matter has not officially been deemed an act of terrorism as the initial investigation is still ongoing and details are being developed,” the FBI said in a statement Thursday evening, NBC New York reports. But the agency said the incident highlighted the need for “increased vigilance” by law enforcement and the government.”
Although the NYPD seem to be trying to play down the Islam and Jihad connections it is looking likely that the dead man was inspired by Islam. He certainly wasn’t a Quaker, a Christian or a Jew and reckon that I can say that with some degree of confidence.
There are many people in this world who suffer from some degree of mental illness. The majority are no danger to others and some are only a danger to themselves. However when you combine the minority of those whose mental illness makes them more likely to commit acts of violence with the ideology of Islam then you have a powerful and dangerous concoction. Just as the components of gunpowder are relatively inert when kept separate, so are mental illness and Islamic ideology. Put the two together and you do have a amalgam that we should all worry about.
Maybe it is time for psychologists and psychiatrists and others who treat and care for the mentally ill to see an interest in Islam as a sign that a persons illness is becoming difficult to control or is manifesting itself in a worrying way. Just as mental health professionals see suicide ideation as an indication that something is not quite right, so should Islamic ideation of a patient identifying with Islamic ideology be seen as a cue for intervention.
There are a lot of people in the modern world who suffer from some form of mental illness, what is frightening is we as a society have no idea just how many of them are visiting jihad websites or mixing with certain Muslims who may not have the best interests of the sufferer or Western society at heart.
We need to ask ourselves a really difficult question and that question is: ‘just how many of these deranged walking jihadist time-bombs are out there and living among us waiting only for a time to strike?’
Links
Front Page Magazine’s coverage of this story
Jihad Watch’s coverage of this story
