What 24 Started Out to Show Us

Almost everyone has heard the story, but in the interest of keeping the context:

My Way News: "Calif. Town Shaken by Terrorism Arrests," by DON THOMPSON

LODI, Calif. (AP) - Keith Slotter, head of the FBI's central California office, alleges several people committed to al-Qaida have been operating in and around the tranquil wine-growing region just south of Sacramento. "We don't want the new slogan to be, 'Come to Lodi and taste our wines and meet our terrorists,'" said Mayor John Beckman, describing Pakistani-Americans as "a very vibrant, healthy part of the community."

Authorities say Hamid Hayat, 22, returned last year after training in an al-Qaida terrorist camp and planned to attack hospitals and supermarkets in the United States. His father, Umer Hayat, is alleged to have paid for his son's training at a clandestine Pakistanicamp. Both are charged with lying to investigators. Three local Muslims, including two imams, also have been detained on immigration violations.

(Emphasis mine)

Citizens of Lodi, California, got a wakeup call, but they have yet to awaken fully:

"They are good people," said Karina Murillo, whose family rented part of the elder Hayat's house, which had been divided into two residences. "We never had any problems with them."

(Emphasis mine)

The tragedy, if there is one different from the obvious one, is that possibly innocent people might be tarred by the Islamic brush:

Umer Hayat's nephew, 19-year-old Usama Ismail, blames feuds brought over from Pakistani villages for stirring investigators' interest, but denies his cousin was involved in any terror training. "It's been a really nice neighborhood, even after Sept. 11," Ismail said. "Now they're going to be saying, 'Terrorists are in Lodi.'" "We are a peace-loving people," said Taj Kahn, of the Islamic Cultural Center. "We have never done anything to violate the laws of the United States, and we don't intend to."

If there are peace-loving and loyal Muslims, they have a funny way of showing it in America--funny because they don't show it. That provokes a lot of wakeup call questions.

We do know that the accused family members (father and son) are American citizens, one by naturalization and the other by birth. Since father and son have confessed their roles, by contrast to the other detainees whose innocence or guilt is unknown to me right now, some pictures can be drawn for undiscerning Americans.

o Who have been detained for terrorist-related activities? Muslims. Not Presbyterians or Jews or Hindus, etc.

o What makes one a Muslim? Adopting Islam.

o Under Islam, to what may one pledge allegiance? To Islam and its ummah, and only them.

o Can one be Muslim and loyal American at the same time? Not according to Islamic doctrines. It is Islam and only Islam.

o Does a Muslim swearing allegiance to the United States of America at the time of naturalization actually show allegiance to America? Not according to Islam. Attesting allegiance to America is part of Islamic dissimulation, i.e., lying and deceiving those around one in the service of Islam.

o Do the other, standard, religions practice the same type of dissimulation toward America? Not by the hair of your chinny-chin-chin. You can be American first, and one of following second: Roman Catholic, protestant (any flavor), Judaic, etc.

So, what do we have here in Lodi, California? We have exactly what the Fox program 24 set out to demonstrate this past season. Had the network retained its fortitude and moral certainty, 24 could have been set in Lodi.