By Ossama Elshamy
ANKARA
Two sources who spoke exclusively to The Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity Tuesday said that Nadir Soofi, one of two suspects shot and killed by police outside an anti-Islam event in the U.S. state of Texas, grew frustrated with American foreign policy toward the Muslim world in recent years.
The first source said that Soofi, 34, had a number of run-ins with the law during his younger years for violations that reportedly included drug possession and reckless driving.
"He is someone who did not grow up as a religious person and all of a sudden started practicing as a young adult," another source who knew Soofi told The Anadolu Agency. "Instead of sticking with the mainstream moderate Muslim community, it looks like he was sucked in by the extreme online propaganda, unfortunately."
More than a decade ago, when Soofi started becoming a practicing Muslim, he was very friendly and upbeat, sources said.
"I remember Nadir sending mass emails reminding us of Islamic values a few years before Facebook became popular," the second source said. "The messages were about kindness to one's parents and neighbors."
The first source said he remembers Soofi volunteering to visit and help elderly non-Muslims in Utah on a number of occasions several years ago.
Over the years, however, the sources said Soofi became increasingly frustrated with U.S. foreign policy toward the Muslim world, especially drone strikes that killed civilians in Pakistan, where his father is originally from, and American support for Israel.
Sunday's incident in the Dallas suburb of Garland happened during the "Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest," sponsored by the anti-Islam pro-Israel American Freedom Defense Initiative.
The organization, led by Pamela Geller, recently sparked controversy when it sponsored Islamophobic advertisements on transit systems in a number of major U.S. cities, including New York, Washington and Philadelphia.
"Texas officials are actively investigating to determine the cause and scope of the senseless attack in Garland, Texas. This is a crime that was quickly ended thanks to the swift action by Garland law enforcement," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement.
Dutch far-right, anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders also gave a keynote speech at the event.
"I think Nadir's case is very similar to the older brother (Tamerlan Tsarnaev) in the Boston Marathon bombing," the second source said. "(The cartoon event) was provocative, because the attack on his Islamic values was no longer in a distant land; it was right at home."
