Bomb maker Ahmad Rahami disliked American culture, recently became more outwardly religious

This probably won’t come as a shock but a new report from Fox News indicates that bomb maker Ahmad Rahami was not a fan of American culture in general and gay people in particular:

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Maria, whose full name is being withheld by FoxNews.com, said her high school sweetheart, Ahmad Khan Rahami, didn’t pay child support and often railed against American culture. The 26-year-old, who spoke after her grandmother called her for a reporter who produced his press credential and identified himself at the grandmother’s home in Elizabeth, said she had not seen Rahami in two years.

“He would speak often of Western culture and how it was different back home,” she said. “How there weren’t homosexuals in Afghanistan…

At Edison High School, where Rahami and Maria met, Rahami got along with classmates and was known as the class clown, she said. But he often criticized American culture, comparing it to the strict Islamic code of his homeland.

Maria also told the reporter that Rahami failed to pay child support for their daughter together. She wouldn’t say why their relationship ended but did mention that she didn’t want him around her daughter.

Fox News also spoke to a friend/acquaintance of Rahami who says he learned Rahami was on vacation in Afghanistan when speaking to his younger brother at the family’s chicken restaurant. Flee Jones told Shepard Smith that when he saw Rahami after his return from the trip his appearance had changed. “His whole attire and appearance was different.” Asked to expound on that, Jones added, “He more was into dressing into his religious…and from back then he, like, dressed like a normal person, like regular.” “So he wore more traditional Muslim garb?” Smith asked. Jones replied, “Yes.” This was apparently about two years ago.

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It’s also being reported that back in 2011 Rahami’s family sued local police claimed they were being discriminated against because they were Muslim. Apparently neighbors had complained about the chicken restaurant being open all night. The community board forced them to close at 10pm and one of Rahami’s brothers actually got in a scuffle with police when they came to close the restaurant. The BBC reports the brother was not prosecuted over the incident because he fled to Afghanistan.

Here’s the Fox News interview with Flee Jones:

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