Those who knew Naveed Haq said Saturday that to them he was an enigma, a puzzle that they wish they could have solved before his deadly rampage in a Seattle Jewish center.Another SeattlePI story about this incident proclaims: "Interfaith community expresses solidarity." That's nice.
Stunned and saddened by the news, some of Haq's acquaintances recounted many of what they saw as the contradictions of his life.
He held a degree in electrical engineering and was the son of a successful engineer, yet he couldn't keep a regular job. He was smart, creative and skilled as a writer. He recently won an essay contest for a U.S. Institute of Peace scholarship.
Yet Haq was frustrated at his lack of friends and female companionship.He told friends he felt alienated from his own family, in part because his career had disappointed his father and also because he had disavowed Islam last year, converting to Christianity.
Haq had begun studying the Bible, attending weekly men's spiritual group meetings, only to stop coming a few months after his baptism.
He had told the group's leader that he seen too much anger in Islam and that he wanted to find a new beginning in Christianity.
Yet in the midst of his shooting spree in Seattle Friday, he declared himself an angry Muslim.
Acquaintances said he never seemed the fanatic religious extremist he played out on Friday. Instead some think his anger was really directed at problems in his personal and professional life.
"Naveed had the profile of the guy who just couldn't get things together," said Erik Neilsen, a Richland resident who let Haq live with him for three months in 2004. He said he thinks several problems compounded for Haq, and he just exploded . . .
At the Islamic Center of Tri-Cities, a senior member, Muhammad Kaleem Ullah, said that Haq stopped attending regularly after he graduated from Richland High School in 1994. He said Haq would attend off and on while visiting his parents and that he surprised members on a Friday two weeks ago with a visit.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
SeattlePI: "Shooting suspect was baptized"
I am not complaining too much about this story. It is all newsworthy. The story is pushing the "the guy who just couldn't get things together" angle, and note Haq's reappearance at the Islamic Center two weeks ago.
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