The imam from the Mosque gunman Omar Mateen visited regularly surprised a reporter when he told her he was pro-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Dr. Syed Shafeeq Rahman, the imam from the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, told reporter Meghan McRoberts of WPTV he is “pro-Trump,” and sees “a lot of positive effects” from a potential Trump presidency. The imam said “he didn’t think Trump would be as scary for Muslims as people think.”
Imam statement regarding why he would support @realDonaldTrump @WPTV pic.twitter.com/qaT9M7DaUH
— Meghan McRoberts (@MeghanWPTV) June 12, 2016
Rahman confirmed to WPTV Mateen worshiped at his mosque about four times a week, and would attend night prayer with his 5-year-old son. Rahman also stated that he had known Mateen and his family since Mateen was a child.
The imam was adamant Mateen did not hear any teachings at the mosque that would have radicalized him. “There is nothing that he is hearing from me to do killing, to do bloodshed, to do anything, because we never talk like that,” he told The New York Times. He did say Mateen was “known at the mosque for being aggressive” and, “as he became older he grew quieter and more reclusive.”
This is the second Muslim terrorist with ties to the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce. In 2014, Moner-Muhammad Abu Salha carried out a suicide bombing in Syria. Before joining the jihad in Syria, Salha lived in Florida and attended the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce.
Adel Nafz, spokesman for the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, said he last saw Mateen at a sermon at 10 p.m. Friday night. Shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday morning, Mateen stormed Pulse, a packed gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., killing 49 and injuring 53 before being killed by police.
Trump Monday afternoon renewed his call for a temporary ban on immigration from certain regions, and warned that, “radical Islam is coming to our shores.”
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