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Mosque Leader: 'There's Something Wrong With You'

Hasan struggled with how to counsel soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan

By the Associated Press

Posted Nov 7, 2009 3:16 PM CST
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(AP) – The Army psychiatrist accused of the Fort Hood shooting spree was so conflicted over what to tell fellow soldiers about fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan that a local Islamic leader was deeply troubled by it. The co-founder of the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen said Major Nidal Malik Hasan's persistent questioning prompted him to recommend that the mosque reject Hasan's request to become a lay Muslim leader at the Army post.

Hasan never expressed anger toward the Army, said Osman Danquah, but during the second of two conversations over the summer, Hasan seemed almost incoherent. "What if a person gets in and feels that it's just not right?" Danquah recalled Hasan asking him. "I told him, `There's something wrong with you.'" Meanwhile, a former classmate in a public health program says Hasan equated the US war on terror to a war on Islam. "In retrospect, I'm not surprised he did it. I had real questions about what his priorities were, what his beliefs were."

Flowers are left outside the entrance of Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, Saturday.
Flowers are left outside the entrance of Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, Saturday.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
A 2003 of Nidal Malik Hasan in his graduation photo when he completed his M.D. degree.
A 2003 of Nidal Malik Hasan in his graduation photo when he completed his M.D. degree.   (AP Photo/Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences)
Nidal Malik Hasan in 2007.
Nidal Malik Hasan in 2007.   ((AP Photo/Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences))
Kendra Thomas, of Waco, Texas, waves to people driving into the front gate of the Army base at Fort Hood, Texas on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009.
Kendra Thomas, of Waco, Texas, waves to people driving into the front gate of the Army base at Fort Hood, Texas on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009.   (AP Photo/LM Otero)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 19 comments
krymsonkyng
Nov 9, 2009 3:15 AM CST
Or he could have become a conscientious objector.
JoeQ
Nov 8, 2009 12:39 PM CST
What do you do if you are a cow and you don't exactly fit in with the herd that is black with white spots and you also don't fit in with the herd that is white with black spots?
kokuaguy
Nov 8, 2009 12:37 PM CST
I've avoided coverage of this story until now for the very reasons Storm discusses here so passionately. However, this story on the Mosque leader intrigued me in light of the oft heard complaint that moderate Muslims fail to speak out against extremism. The tragedy is relevant to the debate on our policy in Afghanistan and Iraq, and could shed light on many other issues. I see it as being far more important than so many stories played up endlessly on newser, such as the Polanski arrest, the rapist serial killer story, the Johnston/Palin fued, etc.

Copyright 2012 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

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Muslim • mass shootings • Fort Hood • Fort Hood shooting • Nidal Malik Hasan

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