What a strange and interesting statement. Is Schwed suggesting that Morel was acting on behalf of people in the mosque disliking the imam? Is this another faked hate crime, designed to manipulate people into thinking that they must not resist jihad terror, because doing so will result in an “anti-Muslim backlash”? This case bears close watching.
“Man Accused of Killing Imam Pleads Not Guilty,” by Chris Fuchs, NBC News, September 1, 2016:
The man accused of fatally shooting a Queens imam and his friend pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder Thursday as his defense attorney said the imam may have been killed because he wasn’t liked and suggested police may have planted evidence — a claim the New York Police Department (NYPD) denied.
Oscar Morel, 36, was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on a five-count indictment handed up by a grand jury last week. The indictment includes one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in the deaths of Imam Maulana Akonjee and his friend, Thara Uddin.
Morel, who denies the charges, has been held without bail since his first arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on Aug. 16. His attorney, Michael Schwed, asked Justice Gregory L. Lasak to consider granting bail since Morel was not identified in a police lineup.
Lasak rejected the request after Queens Assistant District Attorney Peter Lomp told the court there was “ample corroboration to the defendant’s involvement in this case,” including video surveillance, Morel’s own statements, and a .38 caliber Taurus revolver recovered from his home.
The gun and five discharged shell casings were found in a bag, hidden in the wall, Lomp said. A total of five shots were fired at Akonjee and Uddin, he said. The revolver was also “scientifically determined to be the gun used in this murder,” Lomp added….
The Aug. 13 double slaying of Akonjee, 55, and Uddin, 64, has sent shockwaves through the city’s Bangladeshi and Muslim communities, whose members have been calling for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown to file hate-crime charges.
Both men, dressed in religious garb, left the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque at around 1:50 p.m when Morel allegedly approached them on foot from behind, fired shots from a handgun into their heads, and sprinted away from the scene at Liberty Avenue and 79 Street in Ozone Park, prosecutors said.
Akonjee and Uddin were taken to a Queens hospital where they were pronounced dead.
Morel’s alleged motive still remains a mystery, authorities have said. A hate crime is one possibility being explored. Some in the Queens neighborhood where the men were killed have pointed to what they say are long-standing tensions between Muslims and other ethnic groups as a possible reason for the murders.
But Schwed raised a different motive, saying he’d heard from sources that it had nothing to do with a hate crime or religion.
“It has to do somewhat with the mosque itself not particularly liking the imam,” Schwed told reporters after the arraignment. “I don’t know if it’s true. That’s why I’m getting an investigator to check it out.”
About 60 feet away from Schwed outside the courthouse, members of the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque, including its president, dismissed claims of political infighting or a power struggle and praised Akonjee.
“I have no idea, I don’t know anything about it,” said Asav Uddin, the mosque president. “He’s a very honest guy.”…

mortimer says
“has to do somewhat with the mosque itself not particularly liking the imam”
… the cops suspect a contract killing, then? So the mosque members were imitating what Mohammed himself did.
john spielman says
muslims killing muslims -oh the humanity of it !, This has NEVER happened before! (SARC!)
Jay Boo says
In this case, the alleged killer appears not to be Muslim.
Custos Custodum says
The triggerman was apparently a Hispanic thug-for-hire.
The murderer is most certainly Muslim.
Kudos to the defense attorney for daring to speak up.
gravenimage says
Jay Boo wrote:
In this case, the alleged killer appears not to be Muslim.
………………………….
Hard to tell, Jay Boo. Oscar Morel could be a Muslim convert. Since Muslims rarely go to an Infidel court to have their names changed if they convert.
So the perp may actually go by the name of “Mohammed Mohamad” or “Abu Jihad al-Amriki” or something similar, and you’d never know it since his legal name is still Kuffar.
Mirren10 says
”… the cops suspect a contract killing, then?”
Exactly what I thought.
Angemon says
Same here.
Mirren10 says
“It has to do somewhat with the mosque itself not particularly liking the imam,”
Pretty obvious, really ! 🙂
Ah, what it is to have a suspicious mind ! You and me both.
Karen says
Interesting…..
Linde Barrera says
Murder is never an option. And if it is true that the people who attended the mosque didn’t like the imam, they could have fired him, or given him the option to resign his position and move to a different mosque, while they searched for a new imam. An imam, like a priest, minister or rabbi, is considered to be a community figure. I do think there is something very strange about this case, and details will hopefully be revealed as time goes by.
gravenimage says
Linde, Muslims have violently taken over Mosques before.
Civilized people don’t do this sort of thing, but Muslims do.
overman says
This case never smelt right, even from the start. Hired hitman IMO – l hope they’re checking his bank account or under the floorboards.
Gen Jones says
It is a strange case. Why shoot them in broad daylight unless you wanted to get caught?
Mark Swan says
He also kept the gun and the spent cartridges at his residence, either He is simple minded, or was set-up.
Richard Paulsen says
Europe and U.S.A. seemingly never to stop inviting these men into their countries as these men never seem to stop invading Europe and U.S.A. imposong their destructive habits having destroyed their nations as now they are destroying others.
Georg says
Are people with Latin names not subject to mental illness?
Mockingjay says
…!!!
Mirren10 says
”Are people with Latin names not subject to mental illness?”
🙂 🙂
Nice one, Georg !
Jay Boo says
GAY MOTIVE
Omar Mateen killed people with Latin names in a gay night club.
The MSM immediately when wild with speculation over a closet homosexual motive — rather than Islam.
This man with a Latin name kills two clearly cross-dressing men sashaying out in public wearing Islamic man-dresses and yet the MSM is totally silent over the obvious possibility of an angry gay-lovers triangle motive rather than anti-Islam.
Custos Custodum says
Five points for using “sashaying.” Quite funny.
gravenimage says
Grimly hilarious, Georg.
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
long-standing tensions between Muslims and other ethnic groups as a possible reason for the murders
1,400 yrs is a long stand. Tensions all over all the time. Here comes the Moslem Lives Matter “movement.”
Lynne says
Shockwaves swept through Bangledeshi and Muslim communities. Two of them were murdered but 49 at a gay night club is time for rejoicing.
overman says
Yeah, LOL
overman says
This guy was Hispanic, l believe. l read on Pam Gellar’s site that Hispanic conversion to islam is on the rise [she referred to Hispanic prisoners, but still….].
JawsV says
Dominican Republic. I don’t think he’s a Muslim.
Either Morel was hired or he can’t stand Moslems. The mainstream media is hardly mentioning it because a Spanish guy did it.
duh swami says
When Allah says ti strike that man down, it’s time to strike that man down…Yer not sposed to ask why…
El Cid says
Judging by these comments, Robert, you may want to revise your introduction. I believe you are saying that rivals within the mosque ordered the killing, and that they wanted it to look like a hate crime.
Is that it?
JawsV says
Mosk ordering a hit on the imam. But, that can’t be because Muslims are so peaceful…
gravenimage says
El Cid, Robert Spencer is quoting the defense attorney here. He is not asserting that this is the case himself. It certainly is an interesting defense, and certainly might be the case.
Michael says
The article seems to be alluding to the possibility that the “imam” was perhaps too progressive for a congregation of the “religion of peace” .
No Fear says
Islamophobia ….. so much of it around these days…..even in mosques.
gravenimage says
Lawyer for man accused of killing NY imam says murder “has to do somewhat with the mosque itself not particularly liking the imam”
……………………….
Well, *that* is interesting.
I had said when this happened that I would not be entirely surprised if this turned out to be more Muslim-on-Muslim violence.
Is Oscar Morel himself Muslim? Did Mosque membership order a hit?
But let that sink in, in any case. For any people of faith here: if you got a new Priest, or Minister, or Rabbi you were not fond of, what would be your reaction? Disappointment? Frustration? Writing pithy letters? Thoughts about finding a new place of worship? Perhaps. The desire to “take him out”? Probably not…
billdeserthills says
It’s OK, the police found his terrorist hunting permit, so they will be letting him out real soon
Baucent says
A curious case with the look of more going on than first appearances might give. Hopefully Robert will keep the spotlight on it.
DefenderofIsl00 m says
The man enter than plea of guilty so why is this lawyer stild around on this case.
gravenimage says
“DefenderofIsl00”–who *still* can’t spell the name of his foul creed–wrote:
The man enter (sic) than (sic) plea of guilty so why is this lawyer stild (sic) around on this case.
…………………………………
Where to start? Firstly, Morel entered a plea of “not guilty”, not of “guilty”. Secondly, even if he had pled guilty, he would still have the right to a lawyer.
“DefenderofIsl00” claims to have been born here in the United States, but he understands *nothing* of civilized Infidel law. Is anyone surprised?
DefenderofIsliam says
The cellphone keyboard such it is not than real keyboard but than software one.
mohamonator says
I said it before. The perp (Morel) is most likely a recent convert to mohammedanism who offed the imam over some real or imagined theological/ideological disagreement. This is an interpersonal dispute devoid of any wider political significance. This will be revealed at trial, although it probably won’t be covered by the MSM if it doesn’t spin the PeeCee way.
gravenimage says
mohamonator wrote:
I said it before. The perp (Morel) is most likely a recent convert to mohammedanism who offed the imam over some real or imagined theological/ideological disagreement. This is an interpersonal dispute devoid of any wider political significance…
………………………
I must respectfully disagree. If this is indeed the case–as I also think likely–it is notable that Infidels don’t do this sort of thing–but *Muslims* do. That is indeed of significance.
mohamonator says
I concede your point. It’s been a few centuries since Lutherans and Catholics waged pitched battle in the streets, while Sunnis and Shias have at it every day.
However….my original point was that the CAIR/MSM narrative that the murder was due to an outbreak of the dread virus of “Islamophobia” is in all likelihood a crock of steaming fertilizer. This incident has all the earmarks of a petty, albeit ultimately deadly, personal feud, either.between the killer and the imam, or between someone who hired the killer and the imam. Any attempt to gin up an “Islamophobia” moral panic from this case is a cynical attempt to exploit a tragedy for political gain.
The alleged killer’s attorney hinted at the real motive and I expect more sordid details will come to light in due course.
citycat says
Just a thought.
Deep in their hearts imams know the evil that imams serve.
An imam, an apostate in secret, told me that if an imam ever mentions this evil, out of context to its practice, then that imam is a dead imam.
The muslims can say what they like now that Ajonjee is dead.