Imam condemns support of alleged Ft. Hood shooter

Mon Nov 9, 5:30 pm ET

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – The outreach director for the northern Virginia mosque where the suspected Fort Hood shooter sometimes attended prayer services says Maj. Nidal Hasan was not an active member.

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik of the Dar al-Hijrah (dahr al-HIDJ'-ruh) Islamic Center in Falls Church also is denouncing statements from a radical American imam living in Yemen who praised Hasan as a hero on his personal Web site Monday.


Abdul-Malik says the imam, Anwar al Awlaki (OW'-lahk-ee), was employed by the mosque from January 2001 to April 2002.

Abdul-Malik says staff members observed Hasan attend prayer services occasionally at the mosque following his mother's death in 2001. He says they noticed Hasan being "disoriented" and distant.