The Synagogue Attack in Colleyville

*Update: The FBI has just released the identity of the hostage-taker. He is Malik Faisal Akram, 44, a British citizen from Blackburn (England).  

Now that the siege of the Colleyville, Texas synagogue is over, and thankfully, all hostages are safe, I feel it is appropriate to comment and perhaps, make some conclusions.

First of all, kudos to the FBI and the Texas police for a successful conclusion. The terrorist is dead, and the hostages are safe.  We don’t know the identity of the hostage-taker, only that he holds British citizenship. I would bet the farm (or maybe just the barn) that he is of Pakistani origin. The FBI and police are not releasing his name as yet. Apparently, he is not the brother of Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani woman serving 86 years in a Texas prison, just miles from the synagogue, as he had stated. She had attempted to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan in 2008.

The statements of CAIR in the last 24 hours are disingenuous as always. They have actively campaigned for Siddiqui’s release. CAIR is a supporter of the terror organization, Hamas, which wants to destroy the Jewish state of Israel. Of course, they can say nothing other than to condemn the acts of the hostage-taker, but CAIR is no supporter of the Jewish community. The ranks of their leaders across the country are filled with anti-Semites.

While I applaud the performance of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, I must take issue with the statements of Matthew DeSarno, the FBI agent-in-charge in Dallas, that the motivation of the hostage-taker had nothing to do with the Jewish community. 

“We do believe from our engaging with this subject that he was singularly focused on one issue, and it was not specifically related to the Jewish community. But we’re continuing to work to find motive,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Matt DeSarno said at a press conference. 

-Fox News

Nonsense. It was no coincidence that a synagogue was chosen. Notwithstanding CAIR’s statements about supporting the Jewish community, anti-Semitism is a core tenet of Islam. The hostage-taker could have chosen literally any site to take hostages. He chose a synagogue (near the prison facility where Siddiqui was being held and near the Dallas-Ft Worth Airport). CAIR cannot explain that away.

As yet, we don’t know if anyone else was involved. Was he sent to Dallas on this mission by others? Was he communicating with others during the siege?  Fox News is reporting that he flew from the UK to Dallas to carry out this mission. We don’t know just how long he was in the US prior to yesterday. If he had a gun, where did he get it-from whom? Hopefully, we will know more in the coming days.

The larger implication is what this foretells for the immediate and near future. I think it is safe to say that security for Jewish institutions needs to be doubled worldwide. Islamic terrorism is alive and well, we can expect more attacks, and the Jewish community is also at great risk. Every government needs to make it loud and clear that they stand with their Jewish communities. In the wake of this incident, President Biden has stated that, and I commend him.