USA: Muslims react to terror suspect video | Many find remarks inappropriate

“Whatever his motivation is or whatever his anger is targeted towards, to bring religion into it and to bring this theory of Islam versus the West is inaccurate, inappropriate and un-Islamic.” [Harris Zafar, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Southwest Portland]

Harris Zafar, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Southwest Portland

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: KPTV | News
By FOX 12 | December 3, 2010

Portland, Ore -- The exclusive cell-phone video of terror suspect Mohamed Mohamud obtained by KPTV features remarks about Americans that many Muslims said they found inappropriate, regardless of the context.

An unnamed source tells KPTV the video was taken on an I-Phone on May 22 in an Oregon State University dorm room. It is not known who the rant was directed toward, but the source did say it followed some sort of confrontation.

“You know what the whole West thing is? They want to insult our religion; They want to take our lands. They want to rape our women while we're bowing down to them. This is what they want,” said Mohamud on the video.

“Whatever his motivation is or whatever his anger is targeted towards, to bring religion into it and to bring this theory of Islam versus the West is inaccurate, inappropriate and un-Islamic,” said Harris Zafar, a spokesman with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Southwest Portland.


Zafar does not know Mohadud, but his community recently launched a grass roots effort calls Muslims for Peace, and he wants to make sure the public is aware that the vast majority of Muslims do not agree with the viewpoints shared on the video.

The video does not reference the bomb plot for which Somali-born Mohamud is accused, but the first secretary of the Somali Mission to the United Nations told KPTV in a phone interview that he thinks the video could be a tool used by prosecutors to sway the jury in their favor. Omar Jamal says the video and the charges against Mohamud have Somali communities across the United States concerned about how they are perceived in public.

“In every major city in this country, Somalis are coming together to take a stand on this. But, there's a very real sense of urgency and fear that there might be some backlash from this issue,” Jamal said.



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