There may be some point in not mentioning people's race and religion in some news stories, but not in a story involving terrorism. When there's a terrorist suspect, people want to know if it's an Irish terrorist, a Puerto Rican terrorist, an Arab terrorist, or for that matter, the rare Scotch-Irish terrorist.

For example, a recent story said that Governor Rod Blagojevich was going to "stand by" an aide who went to jail rather than testify against the terrorist group of which he was apparently a member. You have to scroll down to get to the fact that it's a Puerto Rican terrorist group, and it should be in the headline.[Gov's aide did time in '80s terror case | Blagojevich stands by Guerra, who refused to testify before grand jury, By Dave Mckinney, Chicago Sun-Times September 7, 2007]

This case is worse: Houssein Zorkot is an Arab, a Muslim, and an immigrant from Lebanon. How many of those facts, fairly basic to any story of a man arrested for prowling in a park with rifle, wearing black clothing, and with his face camouflaged, do you think were mentioned by his local paper? That's right—none!

Man with AK-47 assault rifle arrested after leaving Dearborn's Hemlock Park 09/12/07

Dearborn Press & Guide, September 12, 2007

DEARBORN - Houssein Zorkot, a 26-year-old Dearborn resident, was arraigned Tuesday in 19th District Court on multiple felony charges, including carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent— a five-year felony. Zorkot, a third-year medical student at Wayne State University, was allegedly armed with an AK-47 assault rifle and dressed in black clothing with camouflage paint covering his face when he was arrested Saturday in Hemlock Park.

According to police, Zorkot was observed attempting to leave the park in a black SUV after officers had received reports of a man carrying a rifle in the area. He was placed under arrest and is scheduled to undergo a preliminary examination at 9 a.m. Sept. 21 in 19th District Court.

The National Terror Alert website quotes his personal site as saying

Houssein Zorkot  Hello, I'™m here in the States studying to be a doctor. Lebanon is a beautiful country and I am proud to be Lebanese! I'm also an artist and kickboxer and like to read in my spare time.

The Detroit News, which calls him "Man held" says he recently visited Lebanon, but Mayor Jack O'Reilly doesn't want to suggest it's terrorism:

Man held on $1M bond after he was found with AK-47 O'Reilly said although the man had recently visited Lebanon, he was cautious to indicate there was a larger terrorism issue brewing so close to the Sept. 11 anniversary.

"I really wanted not to let it become more of a bigger issue to be played out," O'Reilly said. "The real story will come out when he is bound over."

And here's what the newspapers aren't talking about, from what appears to be Houssein Zorkot's personal website:

 

Brief introduction:

I am Houssein A. Zorkot, 26 years old, and I own Zorkot.org, a nonprofit effort to create awareness about Jabal Amel in general and Zrarieh in particular. I support Lebanon and the Resistance. Currently, I am pursuing a medical education and hope to one day become a medical doctor who can make a difference. A medical doctor, in my opinion, is not measured by how much money or influence he has, but rather by the direct effect he has on his society and on his patients. The role of a medical doctor is to heal, to understand, and to not only sympathize but also to embody a great deal of empathy towards his patients. Not only does a doctor need his medical tools and classic medical education, but in addition, he needs to project the other, more important, side of medicine and that is: the basic tenets of humanity.

INTERESTS I have many hobbies with which I spend my time. One of these hobbies is martial arts. As a form of workout, I enjoy kickboxing and weightlifting. My other hobbies include art, especially drawing and painting, as well as writing. I have written fiction and nonfiction, mainly about history, genealogy, and religion. My favorite movies are: The Message (1976), Cyborg (1989), Lionheart (1990), Braveheart (1995), and The Thirteenth Warrior (1999). I like the first movie because I am a practicing Muslim and the other four because I always enjoy a good struggle. My role models are Prophet Muhammad, Imam Ali, and Imam Husain because no matter how rough the path, it is always the end-result that matters. I enjoy reading and I own many books in my personal library. My favorite topics include medicine, anthropology, genealogy, Islamic/Arab history, politics, Islamic philosophy/jurisprudence, geography, biology, zoology, botany, palaeontology, archaeology, and others. My mother is a piano teacher and composer, so I grew up around music and I have played the guitar. Since I was trained as a biologist before studying medicine, I appreciate nature and the outdoors, and I love animals. I own a large collection of natural history items, such as taxidermy, preserved specimens, marine life, fossils, and others. Nature is very important and deserves to be respected.

I assume that's what he was doing in the park with an AK-47, respecting nature. Are we going to see a headline saying "Nature-lover Charged With Gun Crime?"