The imam claims never to have known him and implies that he was not a Muslim at all, but someone who frequented many different houses of worship. Another mosque leader says he didn’t know basics of Islam, and that “he is as far away from Islam as he can be.” Yet on his Facebook page, which allows for a revealing glimpse into how the mainstream media distorts the truth, Jah’Keem Yisrael frequently quotes Qur’an and exhorts fellow Muslims that they must pray and perform various rituals correctly.
Even if this is true, and Jah’Keem Yisrael is a bad Muslim, with the Islamic State beheading people and beheading called for in the Qur’an (47:4), these mosque leaders would do better to explain what they’re doing to keep this kind of thing from happening in the future. But of course they aren’t doing anything, and no one is asking them to do anything.
More below.
“Oklahoma beheading: Muslim religious leaders say Moore suspect visited local mosque,” by Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman, September 27, 2014:
Senior leaders of a prominent Oklahoma City mosque said several people remember seeing the suspect in the Vaughan Foods beheading at their house of worship and described him as being “quiet,” “low-key” and “odd.”
Friday, Imad Enchassi, senior imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, said he did not recognize Alton Nolen from photographs shown on television news, but some members of the society’s mosque told him they remember seeing Nolen at prayer gatherings at the mosque, 3815 N St. Clair.
His Facebook page suggests he was there often, as these screenshots demonstrate:
Enchassi said the people who said they saw Nolen at the mosque said the man exhibited “odd” behavior, such as praying differently than they are accustomed. He said members of the mosque said Nolen identified himself to them as a searcher, someone who had been seeking to connect spiritually at the mosque but also other places such as churches, synagogues and through Buddhism.
In reality, he clearly identified himself as a Muslim:
Nolen has tattooed on his abdomen “as-salaamu alaikum,” Arabic for “peace be with you,” according to state Corrections Department records. He has “Jesus Christ” tattooed on his chest, “Judah” on his left arm and praying hands on his right arm.
Corrections Department records list Nolen’s religion as “Islam.”
Saad Mohammad, the Islamic society’s director of news and information, said law enforcement representatives contacted his mosque during their investigation Friday.
Mohammad said he remembers yelling at Nolen when the man placed his Quran on the floor with his prayer rug during a visit to the mosque. Mohammad said Muslims are prohibited from placing the Quran, Islam’s holy book, on the floor.
On his Facebook page there is a photo of him reading, apparently in a mosque, but he is not reading the Qur’an; rather, he is reading about Muhammad’s Night Journey, which is not in the Qur’an. Did Saad Mohammed concoct his story after seeing this photo?
Mohammad said he and other people who recall seeing Nolen at the mosque remember him as being “quiet” and “low-key.” He said Nolen did not express violent sentiments nor did he indicate he agreed with the actions of the Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq and Syria known as ISIS.
Mohammad said more than 1,000 people attend Friday-evening prayers, the most popular prayer gathering of the week at the mosque.
Enchassi said he attends the five daily prayers at the mosque and did not remember ever seeing Nolen there.
Both Mohammad and Enchassi denounced Nolen’s actions, saying his behavior is not in keeping with Islam, which they emphasized is a religion of peace.
“He is as far away from Islam as he can be,” Mohammad said.
“When you meet the unbelievers, strike the necks…” (Qur’an 47:4). It would have been kind of them to explain that.
Mohammad told The Oklahoman that leaders of the society’s mosque decided to take extra security precautions to protect Muslims who gather there from any potential retaliatory violence.
Mohammad said anti-Muslim sentiments may have could be heightened because of the beheadings and violence overseas by ISIS.