Donald Trump claimed Muslim Americans don't do their part to prevent terrorism in the wake of the tragic shooting at Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. last week, but one Muslim man has spoken up to say that Trump couldn't be more wrong. Mohammad A. Malik, a Muslim American who knew Omar Mateen, has written an article explaining that he was the one who tipped off the FBI about Mateen in 2014.
In a story for the Washington Post, Malik, an entrepreneur from Port St. Lucie, Florida, wrote that he and Mateen knew one another from their mosque, the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce. Malik said that after 22 year-old Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha—another member of the Islamic Center—became the first American-born suicide bomber, he conversed with Mateen about radicalization:
I wondered how he could have radicalized. Both Omar and I attended the same mosque as Moner, and the imam never taught hate or radicalism. That’s when Omar told me he had been watching videos of Al-Awlaki, too, which immediately raised red flags for me. He told me the videos were very powerful.
Malik had already spoken with the FBI once, saying he didn't know of anyone in their community who showed signs of also being radicalized, but he got in touch again after speaking with Mateen:
After speaking with Omar, I contacted the FBI again to let them know that Omar had been watching Al-Awlaki’s tapes. He hadn’t committed any acts of violence and wasn’t planning any, as far as I knew. And I thought he probably wouldn’t, because he didn’t fit the profile: He already had a second wife and a son. But it was something agents should keep their eyes on.
As has been reported in the investigation into Mateen and the Orlando shooting, the FBI did indeed look into Mateen in 2014 and ultimately determined that he was not a threat.
Malik went on in his piece to call out Donald Trump specifically, calling his accusations about Muslim Americans "tragic, ugly and wrong":
I am not the first American Muslim to report on someone; people who do that simply don’t like to announce themselves in to the media. For my part, I’m not looking for personal accolades. I’m just tired of negative rhetoric and ignorant comments about my faith. Trump’s assertions about our community – that we have the ability to help our country but have simply declined to do so – are tragic, ugly and wrong.
Malik's statement that Muslim Americans speak up about potential threats from extremists is supported by law enforcement officials, according to Reuters. After Trump accused Muslim Americans of remaining silent, FBI director James Comey said during a press conference that:
They [Muslim Americans] do not want people committing violence, either in their community or in the name of their faith, and so some of our most productive relationships are with people who see things and tell us things who happen to be Muslim.
Deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department also told Reuters his department works closely with members of the Muslim community and that Muslim Americans have come forward with significant information in the past:
I personally have been called by community members about several things, very significant things. What we say to communities is that we don’t want you to profile humans, we want you to profile behavior.
While the LAPD is encouraging people to profile behavior and not people, Trump stated on Sunday that it is "common sense" to profile Muslims based on their religious affiliation alone, according to the Los Angeles Times.
