By Pamela Hess
WASHINGTON
The family of the alleged Fort Hood shooter held his mother's funeral at the same Virginia mosque that two Sept. 11 hijackers attended in 2001, at a time when a radical imam preached there.
Whether the Fort Hood shooter associated with the hijackers is something the FBI will probably look into, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
The family of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 and wounding 29 at the Texas military base, held his mother's funeral at the Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va., on May 31, 2001, according to her obituary in the Roanoke Times newspaper.
In 2001, Anwar Aulaqi was an imam, or spiritual leader, at the Washington-area mosque. Aulaqi told the FBI in 2001 that, before he moved to Virginia in early 2001, he met with 9/11 hijacker Nawaf al-Hazmi several times in San Diego. Al-Hazmi was at the time living with Khalid al-Mihdhar, another hijacker. Al-Hazmi and another hijacker, Hani Hanjour, attended the Dar al Hijrah mosque in Virginia in early April 2001.
In his FBI interview, Aulaqi denied ever meeting with al-Hazmi and Hanjour while in Virginia.
Aulaqi, a native-born U.S. citizen, left the United States in 2002, eventually traveling to Yemen. He was investigated by the FBI in 1999 and 2000 after it was learned that he may have been contacted by a possible procurement agent for Osama bin Laden. During this investigation, the FBI learned that Aulaqi knew people involved in raising money for Hamas, a Palestinian group on the U.S. State Department's terrorist list.
Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, outreach director at Dar al Hijrah, said he did not know whether Hasan ever attended the mosque but confirmed that the Hasan family participated in services there. Abdul-Malik said the Hasans were not leaders at the mosque and their attendance was utterly normal.
The Falls Church mosque is one of the largest on the East Coast, and thousands of worshippers attend prayers and services there every week. Abdul-Malik said it's a mistake for people to conflate regular attendance at a mosque with extremism.
Many Muslims pray at the mosque multiple times a day, he said. "It's part of family life. It's like going out for ice cream after dinner."
Faizul Khan, former imam of the Muslim Community Center in nearby Silver Spring, Md., where Hasan also worshipped, said he was not aware that Hasan had attended services at Dar al Hijrah but said it would not be unusual for Hasan to attend more than one mosque concurrently.
Khan said he did not recall Hasan mentioning having been taught or preached to by Aulaqi.
The London Telegraph first reported the potential link between Hasan and the mosque.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey said Sunday it's important for the country not to get caught up in speculation about Hasan's Muslim faith, and he has instructed his commanders to be on the lookout for anti-Muslim reaction to the killings at the Texas post.
He says focusing on the Islamic roots of the suspected shooter could "heighten the backlash" against all Muslims in the military.
Casey says diversity in the military "gives us strength."
Casey declined to answer questions about the investigation into the shooting, but said evidence to this point shows that Hasan acted alone. He toured Fort Hood on Friday with Army Secretary John McHugh.
Casey appeared on ABC's "This Week" and CNN's "State of the Union."
Associated Press Writers Eileen Sullivan, Ben Nuckols and Matthew Barakat contributed to this story.
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How did they miss this guy?
Am I the only one wondering how in the world they missed this guy and didn't pull him out for further evaluation and possible treatment if not out right removal from the Army?
UCMJ
Will someone please correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't a military member accused of committing a crime on a military reservation be tried under the UCMJ and not the constitution.
An Important lesson from some of the comments
am so grateful to have learned at least on important bit of survival information from some of the comments on this story:
We must all beware of walking, quacking ducks . . .
yes, beware of quacking ducks
But only the ones who quack, "Allah Akbar" as they open fire on a room full of unarmed people.
...
Man, I hate those ducks!
Until a thorough investigation is complete
I have to agree we should all refrain from blaming his entire religion as I don't believe ALL Muslim sects are taught or feel they should kill infidels (though something tells me that if he'd been yelling "This is for Christ!" or "Remember all the aborted kids!" many of the same posters claiming it just couldn't be religious fervor & radical religious doctrine would already be out carrying signs denouncing Christianity. I'm also willing to bet that "Hate Crime" will be off the table on this one, too.)
Here's an idea: for religions or beliefs that compel their people to kill in the name of that religion, movement, etc., maybe a way can be devised to ensure that person won't get the promised reward e.g. for Muslims willing to kill innocents for the alleged 72 virgins: let them know in advance that a contract with Smithfield Hams has been let for a large supply of pigskins. When the remains of freshly killed terrorists of that particular persuasion are gathered up, they'll be sewn into a big football, thus making the "stuffing" unclean & not elible to claim the reward. Might work overseas on suicide bombers as well.
Wow.
I should be accustomed to it by now, but the ignorance demonstrated on this board is appalling. This story tells us nothing about the shooter. People were foaming at the mouth when it was revealed he was a muslim. They're grasping at straws to try to connect him to 9/11, including the very weak link mentioned in this article. All those stating that this should have been obvious and could have been prevented simply by singling him out for being muslim are nothing more than monday morning quarterbacks and I am truly thankful that they do not have the power to carry out the discrimination they flaunt. At this point we have no idea what the shooter's motivations were so stop pretending you've figured it out.
close enough for me
I couldn't care less if he is connected to anything related to 9-11. He is a Muslim who killed Americans and that is all I need to know. I don't need to know why nor do I feel the need "to figure it out". I have all the information I need.
Luckily you're not in charge
Your standards of required information are pretty low. He also was an American who killed Americans. He was a career Army officer. He was trained and educated entirely by the U.S. Military. He was exhibiting warning signs prior to the massacre. There is considerably more I think we should find out in hopes of better preventing this sort of thing from happening again. Ignorance is dangerous, not just to you, but to everyone else too, but thanks for the input.
No, thanks for your comments
My standards for information are not low, I just don't have time to hold hands with you and ask how he felt, and how it was possibly my fault he did this because I wasn't sensitive enough to his feelings etc. You obviously have zero knowledge of radical Muslims and how they think.
The way to prevent future attacks by radical Muslims, from within our own boarders, is to do as we did to the Japanese who were here when Pearl Harbor was attacked.
Again, thankfully you are
Again, thankfully you are not in charge. You don't have the time to hold hands with me? I don't have the stomache to don a white hood with you and rally around the burning cross. Silly extremes work both ways, but there is a middle ground between holding hands and singing kumbaya and locking up everyone who talks funny in concentration camps. I'm no longer surprised that radicals (of any stripe) don't see them. Thank goodness most of America is not like you.
This one's going to be interesting
This one is going to be interesting, because this time the perpetrator wasn't killed. Of course there are those who would scream (ACLU?) that free speech allows for the hate speech in mosques, and that lives must be lost for the protection of that freedom. Tell that to the victims' families!
My deepest condolences to the families of the vitcims.
Its hard for me to not blame or implicate the ACLU in this attack. The army, let alone ANY government agency cannot rigourously check in on anyone exhibiting signs that scream trouble due to the impending threat of lawsuits.
As others have stated on here if it walk and talks like duck yadda yadda. There is truth to this statement. Much in the same way if I refused to take off pro-life garb or a crucifix from my neck and the government put me in a planned parenthood office and then acted suprised when an altercation happened.
Where are the moderate muslim leaders who are calling on their faithful to publicly denounce these actions? Where are the leaders who are saying that even if the Koran states "all non believers are infidels" that it shouldnt be taken literally and all human life is precious? You wont find it. One can publicly mock the bible and Christ yet Mohamed is off limits? Why doesnt society dictate the same separation of church and state to muslims?
Sick of his picture?
Is anyone else sick of seeing this dirt bag's picture with him wearing a U.S. military officer's uniform???
Sick of his picture.
I'm with you all the way, Aye Aye Capn. I was sickened by opening up MSNBC on my computer every morning when Michael Jackson died - seeing his screwed up face - and now, the ultimate shame - posting this so-called psychiatrist's photo has hit an all time low in reading the news on the Internet. Please, won't someone take his photo and burn it!
There is no evidence of a religious conspiracy
The real facts fit the MO of any other crazed killer, Tim McVey, Lee Harvey Oswald, the Virginia Tech shooter, Columbine killers, etc. These are extremely isolated individuals, no close friends, very little socializing, they may try to see themselves fighting some grand battle of good versus evil, and they may latch on to causes and religion, however, they basically become pyschopathic in their own mind and a danger to society. Blaming political correctness, or a specific religion misses the overall issue.
To court for a refund
The Army needs to put a lien on his life, before his family gets it all, and give what they can back to the victims and tax payer's.
They need to make an example out of him, and make others think twice before it happens again.
They should also revoke citizenship from his family.
You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.
Are you serious?
I'm sure that if this was an american soldier you would also be calling for his family to pay the consequences for his actions as well. You would probably argue that for anyone who commits a heinous crime the entire family should be punished. Brilliant.
Funny, I didn't read anywhere that the shooter's motivations had anything to do with being muslim, but I guess I'm just not as informed as you.
Yeah, I guess I do
Know more than you. It's called "reading or listening to the news".
"The warning signs were there... Major Nidal Malik Hasan urged the military in 2007 to allow Muslim soldiers to be released as conscientious objectors instead of fighting in the Afghan and Iraq wars to avoid 'adverse events."
However, I didn't say anything about his religion, you did. And, sure sending the family packing is extreme, but so is terrorism. It's clear that supporters of the ACLU aren't going to jump on board, but those of us tired of watching the passive self serving tendancies of people like you would like to see more action for crimes such as this one.
penelope your joking right?
Do you read much? It's been stated by people that have been associated with him the anti-American remarks he has made and that he didn't want to go to Iraq or Afghanistan to fight other Muslims!!! He can't go over there to fight other Muslims, but he can shoot fellow military members!!! Makes alot of sense doesn't it. If he was so concerned with not going why not just take your own life? Whats funny is that his job would probably never required him to leave the base, so he wouldn't have had to worry about shooting at one of his Muslim brothers!!! This POS knew exactly what he was doing and what it would do for him in the eyes of his kind!!! Wake up America!!! This guy should have been reported awhile ago, but because people are so scared of being called a racist, bigot or worse it wasn't and now many innocent soldiers are dead because of it. The same soldiers that protect those very freedoms you have and yet their deaths are in vein cause people were scared to call this dirtbag out!!! Thanks ACLU and the Jesse Jackson types for making people feel this way. You all = failure!!!!!