It has been a day since the hostage situation in Texas where a gunman took four hostages at a synagogue in Texas. He had demanded the release of convicted terrorist Aafia Siddiqui from a federal prison in Texas.
The FBI has identified the terrorist as Malik Faisal Akram.
Akram, 44. is a British citizen and hails from Blackburn in the United Kingdom.
Akram was shot dead
by the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team after the last of the hostages was
evacuated from the Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue.
Federal law enforcement source told CNN that
Akram had entered the US on a tourist VISA in December 2021 via John F.
Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Akram then traveled to Texas where he spent
three nights at Union Gospel Mission in Dallas, a homeless
shelter He moved in and out of the shelter, multiple times
over the course of a week and left the facility for the last time on January 13.
UK law enforcement has been coordinating with their counterparts in the US, two teenagers from Manchester have been arrested and quizzed in
connection with the incident.
This hostage situation leaves several serious open questions
and concerns:
1.
Firstly, how did a mentally
unstable man with a criminal
record in the UK and no financial backing, such that he was compelled to
live in a shelter, receive a VISA to travel to the US.
This highlights the need for better cooperation between law enforcement
agencies and intelligence agencies in the US and other countries from where travel VISAs are issues. There is a need for stricter immigration laws and better vetting that includes mental evaluation, verification of police records, and financial status before granting
permission to enter the county.
2.
The open borders owing to the Biden administration's ineptitude have
facilitated an influx of illegal immigrants. It is impossible to know who these
individuals are or if they have records of terrorism or criminal activity.
There
have also been reported of Afghan refugees being allowed into the US. Since
there is almost no
record keeping of citizens or their criminal records in Afghanistan, vetting is impossible.
This has made US citizens vulnerable to terror attacks.
3.
Texas
gun laws do not allow non-resident foreign nationals to legally purchase firearms. Akram
had arrived in the US two weeks ago and yet he was able to procure a gun.
This once again proves that laws pertaining to gun control or
ban or confiscation will have no effect on the ground, those who want to
obtain a weapon will circumvent the law.
It is therefore essential to allow mentally sound citizens with no criminal record to own guns that can be used for self-defense.
4. The presence of armed personnel within the Synagogue may have resolved the crisis sooner. It is also essential that synagogues across the US be given protection by armed guards and every individual entering the premises be frisked and scanned for weapons.
5.
FBI special agent in charge Matt
DeSarno said they believed the man was “singularly focused on one issue and
it was not specifically related to the Jewish community”, adding they will
continue to “work to find motive”.
If the FBI didn’t have all the information since their investigation
is in progress they should have stayed silent.
This denial of the antisemitic motives
seems to be factually incorrect.
It has to be remembered that convicted
terrorist Aafia Siddiqui whose release Akram was seeking was rabidly antisemitic, she even demanded her jury should be genetically tested so that Jewish persons could be excluded.
Also if Akram wanted hostages he could have chosen any other crowded venue such as a shopping mall. The choice of Synagogue, despite the fact that it had only four individuals present, makes his antisemitic motives obvious.
The fact that the investigative agency indulge chose to dilute the antisemitic angle is unfortunate. It is said that denial of obvious bigotry is bigotry.
How can citizens expect an objective investigation and a factual disclosure of information when the motive that is obvious to all is being denied.
6. In a statement, Akram's brother condemned the attack but added that Akram was "suffering from mental health issues”
They claimed to be “confident
that he would not harm the hostages". They also knew "There was
nothing we could have said to him or done that would have convinced him to
surrender,"
Also,
a post shared on Facebook by Blackburn
Muslim Community read:
“Mohammed
Akram (Inkerman Street, Blackburn) has sadly departed from this temporary world
and returned to his Creator.
May
the Almighty forgive all his sins and bless him with the highest ranks of
Paradise. May Allah give strength and patience to his loved ones in dealing
with their loss.”
This statement could lead people to believe that Akram died for a noble cause for which he deserve the ‘highest ranks of Paradise’
This once again highlights the lack of willingness to combat radical Islam within the Muslim community. The only way to combat radicalization is for communities and relatives to first identify and confront it.
The claim that he was mentally
unstable is obviously incorrect, if that were the case he would have
committed a random act of violence or ranted obscenities in the streets.
In Akram’s case, he had clear
demand i.e. to free a convicted terrorist and a clear choice of venue to hold
hostages. He may have been unstable, but
not unstable enough to not understand his mission or hold hostages for 10 hours.
This radicalization must have
been evident to his community, including his relatives, yet he wasn't reported to the authorities in
the UK.
.It is also quite essential to judge a terror attack not only based on the number of casualties but on what could have occurred and the effect it has on the community that was targeted. The attack from yesterday did not cause any deaths but it must the matter could have gone out of hand. The PTSD suffered by the four hostages and the Jewish American community is immesaurable. .
In the end, for a doctor to cure an ailment, he has to
first name it and identify what causes it. Being euphemistic and vague will only allow complications to worsen.
Similarly, if the US has to combat the bane of radical Islamic
terrorism, the fight has to begin with a fearless and objective assessment of the
situation and its causes. It is essential that the Muslim community co-operate
with authorities and even turn in those who are radicalized.
If intelligence and law enforcement agencies, politicians and
the news media continues to indulge in an understatement for the fear of offending
a minority religion that is practiced by people of color, you can expect many
more incidence such as the one in Texas.
While the hostages in the Synagogue were lucky to be freed
unharmed, not every potential victim may have such luck.
This article also appears https://www.americanthinker.com/
Link https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/01/seven_lessons_to_learn_from_the_texas_synagogue_attack.html
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