Fort Hood massacre sends ripples through local Muslim community
Imams officially condemn the Fort Hood shooting; Hasan's cousin gives statement
The massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, continues to have a ripple effect in the local Muslim community.
Nidal Malik Hasan, the suspected gunman in the shootings that killed 13 people and wounded 43 others Nov. 5, had ties to a Falls Church mosque, where he is reported to have worshipped under Islamic cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi sometime during 2001-2002.
Aulaqi is known for his controversial statements, and counterterrorism officials have studied his relationship to al-Qaida and some of the 9/11 hijackers.
Calls made to the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church were directed to a statement posted on the mosque's Web site in which Aulaqi's recent statements in praise of the Fort Hood killings are repudiated.
"During Mr. [Aulaqi's] short employment at our center, his public speech was consistent with the values of tolerance and cooperation. After returning to Yemen, Mr. [Aulaqi] now claims that the American Muslims who have condemned the violent acts of Major Hasan have committed treason against the Muslim Umaah [community] and have fallen into hypocrisy. With this reversal, Mr. [Aulaqi] has clearly set himself apart from Muslims in America," the statement reads.
On Monday, in his only interview since the massacre, Aulaqi told Yemini journalist Abduelah Hider Shea in The Washington Post that Hasan contacted him by e-mail on Dec. 17, 2008 and cited attending religious ceremonies at the Northern Virginia mosque in 2001 and 2002, while Aulaqi was employed there.
But today, the center's Web site says that Aulaqi is no longer a part of the mosque or the community.
"Mr. [Aulaqi] has clearly set himself apart from this community. He served a brief term of employment at Dar Al-Hijrah from January 2001 until his [departure] of April 2002. We at Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center reiterate our condemnation of this brutal murder. We continue to send our condolences and prayers for the recovery of all the families and victims of this godless act," the site's statement reads.
Across town at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society -- more commonly known as the ADAMS Center -- there was significant concern of a backlash after the massacre, but it never materialized, according to board member Bob Marro.
The center's imam, Mohamed Magid, officially condemned the Fort Hood shooting.
"Islam holds the human soul in high esteem, and considers the attack against innocent human beings a grave sin. ADAMS states clearly that those who commit acts of murder and cruelty in the name of Islam are not only destroying innocent lives, but are also betraying the values of the faith they claim to represent," Magid said in a Nov. 7 release.
On Nov. 5, Hasan's cousin, Nader Hasan, a Fairfax attorney, released a statement on behalf of the Hasan family saying that his cousin's actions do not reflect how he was raised.
"As Nidal Hasan's first cousin, and because his parents are no longer alive, I wanted to issue a statement on behalf of my family. We send the families of the victims our most heartfelt sympathies," he said. "Nidal was an American citizen. He was born in Arlington, Virginia and raised here in America. He attended local high schools and eventually went on to attend Virginia Tech."
Marro, who has worshipped at the ADAMS Center for the last ten years, says no one may ever know why Hasan did what he did.
"I don't recall ever seeing him here at ADAMS," he said. "Nor have I ever before heard his argument that Muslims have a duty to protest the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are always those who will hijack religion as a way to rise to power and promote their own agendas; and who will characterize it as a war between America and Islam. And of course, there are always those who will follow them."



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