Orlando shooting: Obama just called it "act of terror"; but what else US can do?
US President Barack Obama termed the horrific killings in an LGBT club house in Orlando as "an act of terror" or "act of hate" but he did not go beyond it.
The president did not mention about any particular disposition even as a number of media reports said the killer had pledged alliegiance to the Islamic States (IS) and that he had recalled the 9/11 attacks moments to the 911 operator before starting fire and mentioned the Tsarnaev brothers who carried out the bombings in Boston Marathon in 2013.
Did Obama, who is known for defending minorities, stay clear deliberately at a time when Muslims in the US are increasingly facing the ills of Islamophobia? Does the politically correct stand mean that the US administration is either evading the sensitive topic of Islamophobia or maintaining a silence over the jihadist threat? [The more Orlando-like instances happen, the more Donald Trump gains]
The USA's policy has traditionally backed Saudi Arabia, one of its long-time ally which founded and preached the concept of theocracy. The extremist acts propagated by the IS aiming at a world domination is nothing but a repetition of the teachings of Wahhabism---the state religion of Saudi Arabia which had once led a struggle against non-Muslims and also liberal Muslims. But now, both the Saudis and the Americans are at the receiving ends of the threat. [US has seen more mass shootings than any other country]
Why does the IS aims to kill moderate Muslims?
The
IS
in
recent
times
have
released
a
hit
list
of
the
'apostates
among
Muslims' who
include
Islamic
scholars,
human
rights
activists,
academics
and
those
who
have
modern
and
secular
beliefs.
The
IS
wants
to
kill
them
because
of
'apostasy'
(as
'Dabiq',
Islamic
State's
online
propaganda
magazine
in
English
said)
or
what
is
known
as
"irtidad"
in
Islam.
Apostate
is
one
who
is
considered
the
worst
sinner
in
Islam.
The
IS,
however,
does
not
call
only
those
who
leave
Islam
for
other
religions
as
apostates
but
also
those
Muslims
who
do
not
conform
to
Wahhabism,
the
IS's
religion.
According to Dabiq, death is the only punishment that an apostate deserves.
Now, was the suspect killer who was of Afghan origin, inspired by the IS's call to make the ongoing month of Ramzan one of calamity and hence massacred 50 non-Muslims to get the prized martyrdom?
If that is the case, then Washington doesn't have much to do apart from condeming the "hate" from a safe distance. Even though its strategic appeasement of the Saudis over the years look incongruous with its locking horns with the IS despite the religious similarities.