Here’s a point you may not have considered: awarding the Purple Heart to the Fort Hood wounded might imply that Hasan’s attack was an act of war against a military target – which is generally not considered “terrorism”. Do we want to go there?

There are some precedents to be considered. Were Purple Hearts issued to those wounded in the attack on USS COLE? “tom jefferson” mentions military personnel killed or wounded on 9/11. There was at least one incident of a traitorous U.S. soldier attacking other soldiers at a base in Iraq, with several soldiers killed or wounded; were Purple Hearts awarded after that?

As to your general point about Islam. Yes, there is a stifling layer of political correctness which denies the link between core elements of Islamic belief and jihadi terrorism despite irrefutable evidence.

On the other hand… the jihadis have killed more Moslems than anyone else (except maybe the Russians in Chechnya), and more soldiers from Moslem countries have died fighting jihadism than Americans. Pakistan alone has lost about 3,000 men killed fighting the Taliban; the Algerian army has lost many men fighting their murderous Islamist insurgency; and a lot of Iraqi and Afghan soldiers have died fighting alongside Americans.

To declare that Islam itself is essentially hostile would be to validate the jihadists’ claim and make enemies of all those people. Do we want to go there? I am afraid we may have to; but it’s not a decision to be made lightly.