However, two people with this name have become infamous. First, the Palestinian terrorist leader Abu Nidal.

November 5, 2009, Major Nidal Malik Hasan committed a massacre in Fort Hood. A number of blog entries discussing relevant aspects can be found here.

Nidal Malik Hasan was born in 1970, four years before Sabri al-Banna assumed the name Abu Nidal (Father of the Struggle) in 1974, broke with the PLO and founded the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO). It is possible that Nidal Malik Hassan’s parents, who had come to the USA some time before his birth, called their son Nidal, in order to manifest their continued struggle with Israel. Did Major Hasan grow up in a family with a radical mindset?

Further reading:

• Major Nidal M. Hasan's Jihad Seminar Explained
• World Views Apart: Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s divided loyalties
• The Consequences of America’s Failure to Understand Islam
• Analyzing the Actions of Major Nidal Malik Hasan
• Fort Hood in light of the Quran

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