Man of Mysterious Religious Affiliation Goes on Trial for Shooting Jews

Time to play Name That Religion

Out in Seattle today a man went on trial for the murder of a woman and the shooting of five others back in 2006. Though there is ample evidence the man is affiliated with a certain religion, through 21 paragraphs, the reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer somehow manages to avoid identifying what religion that is.

Lets see if we can sift through for some clues and help out reporter Tracy Johnson.

Naveed Haq was delusional and believed that "God had sanctioned his actions" when he killed one woman and wounded five others at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, his lawyer told jurors Monday.

OK, so his named is Naveed Haq, he was supposedly sanction by God and he pulled off his act of terror at a Jewish center.

Hmm. No clue apparently. Maybe this part can provide a bit more evidence.

He is accused of ranting about Jews, the U.S. troops in Iraq and the situation in the Middle East, where Israel had been engaged in increasing violence with Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.

No, none of those factors alerts Johnson to the fact that Haq is, (surprise!) a Muslim.

Is the Seattle PI so thoroughly PC they can't even identify Haq for what he is? Apparently so.

Meanwhile, the same affliction has overcome reporter Natalie Singer at the Seattle Times. Singer labors through 18 paragraphs and not a single mention of the M Word.

Defense attorney John Carpenter, in his opening statement, did not dispute that Haq opened fire in the Jewish Federation offices. But he contends that Haq was insane at the time.

Haq, 32, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to one count of aggravated first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder, and a slew of other charges, including malicious harassment — the state's hate-crime law. The trial is expected to last four weeks.

"Mr. Haq believed that what he was doing was actually going to reverse the course of two wars and have a positive societal effect," Carpenter said. "This is insanity."

Actually, it sounds like Netroots thinking, but I digress.

Let's look around some more. Here's a MyNorthwest.com report.

Nope, no idea what religion Haq is.

Wait, here's a stunner. Let's give some credit where due. In a mildly shocking development, AP identifies Haq. Granted, you have to wait ten paragraphs.

Ehlert said Haq was on a mission to make a political statement: "That the Jewish people in America have too much power."

Ehlert played a recording of a 911 call in which Haq, a U.S.-born Muslim, asked to be connected to CNN and said he was making a point about U.S. support for Israel and the war in Iraq.

"I don't care if I die," Haq told the operator. "This is just to make a point."