Cousin: US shooting suspect felt anti-Muslim bias

RAMALLAH, West Bank — A cousin of the man suspected of shooting fellow soldiers at a Texas military base says he had little contact with his Palestinian relatives in the West Bank but had told family there that he suffered discrimination in the U.S. Army because he is a Muslim.

Mohammed Malik Hasan told the AP he had not heard from his cousin since a visit to the West Bank 15 years ago but that he heard from other relatives in the U.S. that he was distressed on learning he was to be deployed to Afghanistan. Hasan said his cousin had hired a lawyer to seek a military discharge.

Speaking in Ramallah Friday, he described Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan as "religious and not very social but ... very normal."

Thirteen people were killed in Thursday's shooting.

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Nov 06, 2009 - 4:23 p.m. EDT

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