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Orlando Terrorist’s Father Says Killing Gay People Is Bad Because That’s God’s Job

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Saagar Enjeti White House Correspondent
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Seddique Mateen, father of Orlando Terrorist Omar Mateen, said in a video posted to his Facebook page that his son shouldn’t have carried out his deadly Sunday massacre because, “God himself will punish those involved in homosexuality.”

Seddique elaborated that killing gays was “not for the servants” of God, implying he regarded his son’s actions as religiously motivated. Mateen told NBCNews in the hours following the deadly attacks that his son’s massacre had,”nothing to do with religion.”

Seddique claimed his family hated terrorism, reiterated the attack did not have anything to do with religion, and that seeing two men kiss in front of his wife and son earlier this year deeply troubled him.

In his Facebook video, Seddique continued to defend his terrorist son’s character, saying Omar was a good husband and father with deep respect for his family. He called him,”a good son and an educated son,” and described him as “dignified.” These claims lie in stark contrast to statements from Omar’s ex-wife, Sitora Yusufiy, that detail his repeated abused of her over the course of their two-year marriage.

Yusufiy told the New York Times her parents had to come and rescue her in 2009 after nearly two years of repeated domestic abuse. The abuse entailed allegedly beating her over trivial matters, stealing her paychecks, and restricting her contact with anyone outside the home. These are common tactics by ultra-religious radical Islamists in Mateen’s parents country of origin, Afghanistan.

Yusufiy further confirmed “There were definitely moments when he’d express his intolerance toward homosexuals.” She also noted that Mateen owned a silver handgun, which he regularly practiced with at a local shooting range.

The last time Yusufiy saw Mateen, he was grabbing her arm and begging her not leave him. At one point Mateen reached into his back pocket suggesting he had a gun causing his mother in law to scream in fear.

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Saagar Enjeti