Editor's Note: By CNN's Robert Howell in Killeen, Texas. In March, CNN's Soledad O'Brien will be premiering a documentary about being Muslim in America, looking at the controversy over the building of a mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
When Wagdi Mabrouk heard the news about the shootings on Ft. Hood he remembers thinking how close he was to the alleged shooter.
"Nidal Hassan, I knew him very well. I prayed right beside him."
Mabrouk, a retired command Sergeant Major was overseas for work on Nov. 5, 2009 when Major Nidal Hassan allegedly opened fire on this base of over 50,000 soldiers. Though so far away, the news hit very close to home.
"It happened right outside our backdoor, it was unbelievable, it was just unbelievable. It just took us by surprise," Mabrouk said.
Mabrouk leads prayers at the Killeen mosque
Hoping to help heal the emotional and spiritual wounds that still remain from the tragic events of last year, Mabrouk now serves as a Distinctive Faith Group Leader on Ft. Hood, leading Friday prayers at the interfaith chapel on post.
"We have practiced this peaceful religion for over 1400 years and nothing in the past, since the beginning of Islam, would give us any idea that this is the right thing to do for whatever reason," he said.
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Muslim life in Killeen
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