| “ | America is a country that was born out of the mass murder of Native Americans and built on the backs of Africans. If the Native Americans could have defended themselves by flying planes into buildings, don't you think they would have? If the slaves could have freed themselves by becoming martyrs, don't you think they would have? And it wouldn't have been terrorism. It would have been self-defense. | „ |
| ~ Landon preaching his warped view of Islam. |
Greg Landen, aka Mousah Salim, is the main antagonist of the Law & Order episode "American Jihad". He is a teenager who converts to an extremist brand of Islam and murders a woman whose work offends his misogynistic view of what a woman should be.
He was portrayed by Wil Horneff, who also portrayed Chris Pollit in an earlier episode of Law & Order.
Early life[]
Landen was born into a privileged, but dysfunctional, family: His wealthy father frequently cheated on his wife, Greg's mother, and had never really wanted to have children; and Greg's mother was a cold, domineering woman who considered her son a failure and an embarrassment. As a result, he grew up to be terrified and resentful of women.
Landen attended the prestigious Strickland Academy, but he was a mediocre student and so socially awkward that his only friend was a none-too-bright delinquent named Michael Sanchez, with whom he was once arrested for setting a garbage can on fire. He also developed a crush on a college girl, Jennifer Taylor, a women's studies major and protege of Professor Louise Murdock, who specialized in studying the mistreatment of women in Muslim countries. Landen eventually asked Jennifer out, but she laughed at his advances and turned him down.
Humiliated and enraged, Landen found solace in an extremist form of Islam that preached, among other things, that it was "Allah's will" that women submit to men in every way, a view that inflated his wounded ego. Taking the Muslim name Mousah Salim, he dropped out of school and spent four months in Pakistan, where he was further radicalized by fundamentalist imams who preached that the United States and Israel were enemies of Islam, and that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were a justifiable reaction to U.S. foreign policy.
Upon returning to the U.S., he found a job at a bookstore and started sending Murdock harassing letters quoting Quran verses preaching about women's "submission" to men. Murdock complained to Landen's boss, who fired him. Blaming Murdock for all his problems, Landen decided to get even by stealing two of his father's guns and tricking Sanchez into helping him rob her house. When they broke in, however, they were surprised to encounter Murdock and her husband Hugh, who were not supposed to be home. Murdock panicked and shot Hugh dead, while Landen shot Louise, in cold blood, three times in the back.
"American Jihad"[]
While investigating Murdock's murder, NYPD Homicide Detectives Lennie Briscoe and Ed Green identify Sanchez as a suspect and interrogate him. Sanchez says that the robbery and murders had been Landen's idea, so they arrest him as he is praying in a mosque. At his arraignment, Landen refuses to submit to the court's authority, accuses the judge of being biased against Islam, and calls Assistant District Attorney Serena Southerlyn, who is prosecuting the case along with Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy, a liar and a whore. He then demands to be represented by a Muslim attorney, so McCoy's friend and colleague Anwar Mohammed reluctantly agrees to be Landen's lawyer.
During the trial, Sanchez testifies against Landen, who prays quietly to himself. He then orders Mohammed to question Sanchez about the U.S. government's "war on Islam"; when Mohammed tries to explain that U.S. foreign policy has nothing to do with the trial, Landen rants that the court is persecuting him because he is a Muslim, until he finally has to be dragged out of court. He then fires Mohammed and declares that he will represent himself.
Landen uses the trial as a soapbox for his political beliefs, as well as a chance to get back at people he feels have wronged him. He accuses crime scene technician Julian Beck, who is Jewish, of rigging the forensic evidence against him because he hates Muslims; when McCoy questions Landen's father about the stolen firearms, meanwhile, Landen uses his cross-examination to condemn his father for having affairs and accuse him of not wanting him for a son. When his mother exits the court room in tears, Landen triumphantly declares that his parents want him in prison because they are ashamed of him - conveniently ignoring the fact that they are paying his legal fees.
Landen testifies in his own defense, declaring that the Murdocks were enemies of Islam, while dodging responsibility for murdering them. He also refuses to obey instructions from the trial judge, Deborah Bourke, declaring that no woman can judge him. Forensic psychiatrist Elizabeth Olivet tells McCoy that Landen's fanaticism is borne of a fear and resentment of women, so he has Southerlyn cross-examine Landen. As expected, Landen becomes agitated, and declares that Murdock deserved to die because she was "immodest" and served alcohol during student functions. McCoy and Southerlyn then realize that Landen must have known Murdock personally.
Southerlyn questions Jennifer, who tells her that she turned down Landen's advances. She and McCoy call a meeting with Landen with Jennifer in tow, and threaten to publicly reveal her rejection, humiliating him all over again. Landen angrily declares that he is a man and condemns Jennifer for laughing at him. He nevertheless agrees to plead guilty to two counts of manslaughter and apologizes to the Muslim community for committing the murders in their name.
Trivia[]
- Landen is loosely based on John Walker Lindh, an American man who fought for the Taliban until he was imprisoned in 2001.
External links[]
- Greg Landen on the Law & Order Wiki
