Hasan Avoided Politics at Md. Mosque

SILVER SPRING, Md. - Army Major Nidal Hasan, the named suspect in the murderous rampage at Ft. Hood, Texas, apparently avoided political discussions when he attended prayer services at his mosque in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Hasan was a devout Muslim. When posted at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he would attend the Muslim Community Center on New Hampshire Avenue seven days a week, according to members.

"I never discussed politics with him," said, Mohamed Abdullahi, the current imam of the mosque. "He was someone who [did] not seem to be interested in politics."

Several members described Hasan as quiet. The suspected shooter would sometimes wear his Army fatigues to prayer services. Dr. Asif Qadri, a cardiologist who operates a free clinic at the mosque, said Hasan appeared to like his job as a psychiatrist for the Army.

"He said [Walter Reed] was a great place to be working," remembered Dr. Qadri. "He was so proud to be working in the Army and was so grateful to have been educated in the Army."

That contradicts what some of the suspect's family members have said. Noel Hasan, of Falls Church, Va., told the Washington Post that her nephew, "...wanted out of the military."

At some point Hasan tried to find a wife at his mosque, asking the former imam, Faizul Khan, for a "suitable" partner who prayed five times a day. The effort failed. Khan told the AP, "[Hasan] had too many conditions."

To watch the full interview with Mohamed Abdullahi, the current imam of the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, where Hasan was a member, click on the video below: