Jihad on the Bay?

Michelle Malkin is reporting on the story of Omeed Aziz Popal, a Pakistani man, who went on a rampage in San Francisco yesterday running down people with his SUV. 14 have been injured, some seriously, and one is dead. The man had to drive over 40 miles through heavy traffic to get to the location where he carried out the majority of his attacks. The area seems to be noted mostly for its proximity to the Jewish Community Center and to Temple Emanu-El, "one of San Francisco's most distinguished synagogues".

Several witnesses have reported that Mr. Popal seemed extremely calm, both behind the wheel and after his arrest by San Francisco police. This tends to argue against the theory that this was just an incidence of "road rage".

What is most notable, and most predictable, about the incident is the blazing speed with which the press, police and SF political establishment have pronounced this to be anything but an Islam related anti-Semitic terrorist incident.

If events follow the pattern which has been established in other cities the next thing we can expect is a worried statement from some Islamic organization bemoaning the fact that this could lead to attacks against Muslims and a statement from police that security around mosques will be increased. In other words, a Muslim attacks a Jew or Jews and everyone automatically worries about the safety of the Muslim community.