Brother of Texas Synagogue Terrorist Reveals Akram had a Criminal Record, Questions Why he was Given a Visa
The brother of Malik Faisal Akram, the UK citizen who was shot and killed after an 11-hour hostage standoff at a synagogue in Texas, has claimed that his brother had a previous criminal record.
Gulbar Akram, the brother of terrorist Malik Faisal Akram, who took four hostages at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas on Saturday, has revealed that his brother had a criminal record in comments to UK media, raising questions about how he was allowed into the United States.
According to Inzamam Rashid, North of England correspondent or Sky News, Gulbar Akram said of his brother: “He’s known to police. Got a criminal record. How was he allowed to get a visa and acquire a gun?”
Malik Faisal Akram, formerly of the Blackburn area of Lancashire, is reported to have travelled to the U.S. around two weeks ago into New York’s JFK International Airport before travelling to Texas.
In a previous statement, Gulbar claimed that his brother suffered from “mental health issues.”
Akram was shot dead after an 11-hour standoff following the release of four hostages taken in the Texas synagogue. During the hostage situation, he was heard calling for the release of al Qaeda linked Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani national who was convicted of attempting to kill American military officers while being detained in Afghanistan.
The Greater Manchester Police announced on Sunday that the Counter Terror Policing division in North West England is currently assisting in the investigation being led by the US Authorities.
Late Sunday evening, the police force announced that they detained two teenagers in South Manchester in connection to the Texas synagogue attack. The two teens remain in custody, their identities have not been made public at the time of this reporting.
Responding to the attack, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss wrote: “My thoughts are with the Jewish community and all those affected by the appalling act in Texas. We condemn this act of terrorism and antisemitism.
“We stand with US in defending the rights and freedoms of our citizens against those who spread hate.”
Following the revealing of Malik Faisal Akram as the attacker, his once-local ‘Blackburn Muslim Community’ group page wrote on Facebook in a now-deleted post, according to local media: “Faisal Akram has sadly departed from this temporary world and returned to his Creator.”
“May the Almighty forgive all his sins and bless him with the highest ranks of Paradise. May Allah give strength and patience to his loved ones in dealing with their loss.”
Apologising for the post, the page followed up on Monday morning, writing: “We posted about the death of a local individual yesterday and utilised a standard template with generic wording that is used on all of our death announcements. After learning about the full circumstances surrounding his death, the post was removed.”
“We apologise for any upset or offence caused to those directly and indirectly affected by the incident especially the Jewish community in Texas. This was unintentional and our thoughts are with them all.”
The group went on to say that they “totally condemn any threats or attacks on innocent people” and that they stand in “solidarity with people of all faiths”.
“We have always promoted peace, love and harmony between people of all faiths and none.”
The Blackburn Muslim Community said that they will not be commenting further on the matter as they are currently in contact with relevant authorities in terms of an investigation into Akram.
The Muslim Council of Britain also condemned the attack on Monday morning, saying the actions were “completely unacceptable and we condemn the action in the strongest possible terms.”
“We understand that the perpetrator is reported to be of British origin and a Muslim. His actions fall way short of what is expected of a Muslim. His family and local community in Blackburn have also condemned the perpetrator’s action and are shocked and saddened to learn of this incident. We are in touch with our regional affiliate, the Lancashire Council of Mosques, and are ready to support them and local Muslim communities during this difficult time.”
The Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain, Zara Mohammed added: “The act is all the more reprehensible since it was instigated at a place of worship where Jews were targeted. This was, quite simply, a hate crime and an act of antisemitism.
“We are thankful that the hostages are unharmed. Though some may seek to exploit such incidents for divisive ends, we must double our resolve to remain united against such hatred.”
FBI Claim Texas Hostage Situation ‘Not Specifically Targeting Jews’ Slammed as ‘Absurd’
The gunman who held worshipers hostage at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, was “not specifically” targeting the Jewish community, the Special Agent in charge of FBI Dallas claimed shortly after the attack, prompting incredulity from critics in light of “Lady Al-Qaeda’s” vociferous antisemitic rhetoric.
“We do believe from our engagement with this subject that he was singularly focused on one issue, and it was not specifically related to the Jewish community,” Special Agent Matthew Desarno said of the now-deceased suspect.
“But we are continuing to work to find [the] motive,” he added.
FBI: “We do believe from our engagement with this subject that he was singularly focused on one issue & it was not specifically related to the Jewish community.” Guy took a synagogue hostage on Sabbath to free the nearby notoriously anti-Semitic terrorist.pic.twitter.com/NCXqBxWyhn
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) January 16, 2022
The suspect, since identified as UK citizen Malik Faisal Akram (pictured, top), was heard at the synagogue on Facebook live demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani national who is serving an 86-year sentence for the attempted killing of U.S. military personnel. Siddiqui is a raving antisemite, according to the Jerusalem Post, and she blamed the Jews for 9/11.
As per the Post:
Siddiqui dismissed her legal defense team because she said the lawyers were Jewish, and she demanded that jurors in the trial take DNA tests to make sure they were not Israeli or Zionists, in order “to be fair.”
She also wrote a letter to then-president Barack Obama telling him that Jews “have always back-stabbed everyone who has taken pity on them and made the ‘fatal’ error of giving them shelter.”
“It is this cruel, ungrateful back-stabbing of the Jews that has caused them to be mercilessly expelled from wherever they gain strength. This is why ‘holocausts’ keep happening to them repeatedly! If they would only learn to be grateful and change their behavior!!” Siddiqui wrote.
After her conviction, Siddiqui said: “This is a verdict coming from Israel and not from America. That’s where the anger belongs.”
The report went onto say that the likelihood of Akram demanding Siddiqui’s release while being unaware of her anti-Jewish views is slim.
The report also noted the unlikely scenario in which a would-be attacker would “randomly” pick a synagogue to pull of a hostage situation and without knowing that Saturday morning would be when Jewish worshipers gathered there to pray.
According to the Jerusalem Post, one of the organizations that has been calling for Siddiqui’s release in recent weeks is the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Seriously @guardian? Why the f*ck is hostage in quotations? #Colleyville pic.twitter.com/lRhCecu2b9
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) January 15, 2022
In November, CAIR San Francisco executive director Zahra Billoo warned Muslims to “know your enemies” and to be aware of the “polite Zionists” hiding among Americans.
“When we talk about Islamophobia, we often think of the vehement fascists… but I also want us to pay attention to the polite Zionists, the ones that say, ‘Let’s just break bread together’… We need to pay attention to the Anti-Defamation League, we need to pay attention to the Jewish Federation, we need to pay attention to the Zionist synagogues, we need to pay attention to the Hillel chapters on our campuses,” Billoo said.
The head of the movement for Reform Judaism, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, also slammed the FBI’s characterization of the event as random, saying that Desarno’s comments “conveys a completely wrong sense of what yesterday was all about.”
“There’s no doubt that the underlying whole premise of yesterday was antisemitism,” Jacobs told MSNBC.
“The hostage-taker didn’t go to McDonald’s, didn’t go to some random place, and that is part of the story of antisemitism, to single Jews out.”
“I don’t know one Jewish person who’s in the dark about [the] antisemitic attack,” Jacobs continued.
“Obviously it’s important to know what we’re discovering about the hostage-taker, but the truth is, on a Sabbath morning, a community gathered in prayer… somebody come in bent on harm. That is hardly something we would call just an incidental detail. That is a focal point.”
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