6/3/2014

Friends of Moner Mohammad Abusalha Saw No Indications - NYTimes.com

http://nyti.ms/1pPBxsX

U.S.

N YT
NOW

Searching for Clues to a Florida Youths

Radicalization
snoitacidnI oN waS ahlasub A dammahoM renoM fo sdneirF

By FRANCES ROBLES

JUNE 3, 2014

VERO BEACH, Fla. The storefront Islamic center tucked in a

nondescript shopping center here has no imam, so the task of leading the
small group of men and boys gathered to pray usually falls to the eldest, or
the one who knows the Quran the best.
Moner Mohammad Abusalha was only a teenager, but the honor
would sometimes go to him.
They would encourage him, because he was so enthusiastic, recalled
Brandon Blanchard, who attended the center and knew Mr. Abusalha for
eight years.
Now Mr. Abusalhas friends and family are trying to piece together
how and where that passion for Islam and teaching children about
the Quran turned into something more disturbing. Mr. Abusalha, 22, died
last week in Syria when he drove a truck loaded with 16 tons of explosives
to a mountaintop restaurant where government forces often gathered. It
was one of four suicide bombings in that province that day, in which a

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/us/friends-of-moner-mohammad-abusalha-saw-no-indications.html?rref=homepage&module=Ribbon&version=origin&region

1/4

6/3/2014

Friends of Moner Mohammad Abusalha Saw No Indications - NYTimes.com

total of 37 people died.

The F.B.I. is also investigating how Mr. Abusalha became radicalized
and whether he had connections to other Americans who traveled to Syria.
F.B.I. agents have interviewed family members in Florida, and bureau
analysts are examining whether the Nusra Front, the rebel group Mr.
Abusalha joined, played a role in radicalizing him before he left the United
States.
Mr. Abusalha was born in West Palm Beach to an American mother
and Palestinian father. The parents had lost touch with their son over a
year ago and were distraught when they saw his photo in the news on
Friday, Dr. Taher Husainy, the leader of the community Islamic center,
told TCPalm, a local news site.
The Abusalhas have denied requests for an interview.
The father had a feeling he was afraid of this, Dr. Husainy was
quoted as saying. But you know when youre afraid of something, but you
hope it wont happen to you.
Mr. Abusalhas name is pronounced Mo-neer, but his classmates
called him Mo. One of four siblings, he spent his middle and high school
years in Vero Beach.
He loved to play basketball anywhere, said TaQuan McDew, who
played with Mr. Abusalha in both middle and high school. He was really
funny and really outgoing. We never discussed religion.
The two hung out at his house doing typical adolescent things, such as
playing video games. On Facebook, he posted Islamic prayers and sayings
alongside selfies he took to show off his biceps. He liked the Miami Heat
and Call of Duty.
His parents stressed the need for him to get an education, but his
attendance in school grew increasingly sporadic. When his parents insisted
he stay home to study, he would sneak out to pray instead, Mr. Blanchard
recalled.
I thought it was really cool that he would do that, he said.
Mr. Abusalha dropped out of Sebastian River High School and not

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/us/friends-of-moner-mohammad-abusalha-saw-no-indications.html?rref=homepage&module=Ribbon&version=origin&region

2/4

6/3/2014

Friends of Moner Mohammad Abusalha Saw No Indications - NYTimes.com

long afterward, his mother enrolled him at St. James Academy, a

correspondence school in nearby Fort Pierce where, for $150, a high school
diploma is earned by completing assignments at home.
James Mason, the schools director, remembers meeting Mr.
Abusalha, who had been having problems at his school and had clearly
been dragged to St. James by his mother. Mr. Mason said he remembered
her, because she was dressed in traditional Muslim clothing and made a
point to call the office and insist that the boys surname be spelled with a
hyphen. On his two Facebook accounts, Mr. Abusalha spelled it as one
word.
One way or another, he was going to have a high school diploma,
Mr. Mason said. His mother was going to make sure he graduated. This
way she could control it, because the work is done at home.
Mr. Abusalha completed all the coursework in just two months. He
graduated in March 2009, earlier than he would have if he had stayed in
high school.
He first enrolled at Keiser University, a private school, but stopped
attending by March 2010, according to a school spokeswoman. He later
took preparatory classes for physical therapy assistant associate degree
program at Indian River State College, but he lasted there for only two
semesters.
He then transferred to Seminole State College in August 2011 to
pursue an associate in arts degree. He was enrolled part time during the
spring of 2012, but a school spokesman said the last contact with him was
through an adviser halfway through that semester.
Mr. Abusalha told friends he was moving to Orlando with his brother.
Then he said he was moving again, this time to Jordan. He said he had
taken courses to become a nursing assistant, and his father had lined up
work for him in Jordan.
I just know he was tired of being in the United States and wanted to
be in an Arabic-speaking country, Mr. Blanchard said.
He all of a sudden disappeared, Dr. Husainy told TCPalm. Then he

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/us/friends-of-moner-mohammad-abusalha-saw-no-indications.html?rref=homepage&module=Ribbon&version=origin&region

3/4

6/3/2014

Friends of Moner Mohammad Abusalha Saw No Indications - NYTimes.com

appeared in Jordan and said he was working at a hospital (as a nurse).

After two months or so he disappeared again. Then after six months or
something, he sent an email to the parents saying Im OK, Im happy.
His friends believe Mr. Abusalha was recruited after he left Florida.
When he left, that was the furthest thing in his mind, Mr. Blanchard
said. He just wanted to be a good nurse and help people out. None of this
was even in his vocabulary. If he did lie, he did a good job, because I
certainly did not expect this. He wasnt supposed to do that. We were
supposed to go to college, pray and study the Quran.
Veronica Monroy, a friend of Mr. Abusalhas, said she last heard from
him about two years ago.
He deplored any kind of negativity, and was always the first to lend a
hand if you needed one. He was religious, but definitely not an extremist,
she said in an email. He was loving and caring, and I know he came from
a strong, loving, supportive home. Nothing hurts more than not being able
to have been there for him, to try to stop him, or to at least just say
goodbye.

2014 The New York Times Company

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/us/friends-of-moner-mohammad-abusalha-saw-no-indications.html?rref=homepage&module=Ribbon&version=origin&region

4/4