Imam urges Muslims to be themselves

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Imam of the North Austin Muslim Community Center Mosque told a packed prayer service Friday that the Fort Hood shooter violated the terms of Muslim faith.

"This something again that is very tragic, the Imam told worshipers. "There is no justification for it; there is no excuse for it."

In an interview following the service, Imam Mossaad expanded on that idea: "What he did was against Islam, you see. A Muslim is anybody who testifies to the oneness of God; Muhammad is the messenger. But there's a certain standard and criteria that sometimes we live up to, sometimes we don't. And in this case, he seriously did not live up to that code of conduct, not just of being an American soldier, but of being a good Muslim."

Still, the Imam worries about those who would take out their anger about the shootings on innocent people.

"There have been cases where, you know, mosques have been vandalized," Mossaad said. "You know, Muslim women who wear the head scarves have been attacked or Muslim men. Or people who are so ignorant can't differentiate a Sikh from a Muslim. They attack any guy with a turban, like what happened after 9/11."

So, Imam Mossaad urged his brothers and sisters at the mosque to be careful in the days ahead, traveling in groups and quickly calling police if they feel threatened.

Yet, over and over again, the cleric emphasized the importance of remaining positive and he told a story about an encounter he had with a cowboy at a nearby coffee shop.

"He was an older, Caucasian gentleman with a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and I'm dressed similar to how I'm dressed now, the Imam said. "So I want to try to surprise him so I go to him and I tell him, 'Howdy.' You know, 'howdy.' And so then he looks at me, and I didn't think he would know this, but he told me, 'Assalamu Alaikum.' He said, 'Peace be upon you.' So this is what we need to have; this is the interaction that we need to have."

Meanwhile, as a precaution, outside the mosque, an armed off-duty State Trooper patrolled the parking lot.