• In 2012, Robertson said he "attended a meeting of Egyptian and American intelligence officials."
• In the videos dating around 2008, Robertson has expressed his strict opposition to western culture and upbringing abroad
• Robertson has also blamed the American ideals of freedom as the root-cause of homosexuality

A senior official in the Law enforcement has identified Abu Taubah, a Florida-based cleric, as the mentor to Omar Mateen, who killed 49 at a gay nightclub in orlando.

Abu Taubah, formerly Marcus Dwayne Robertson, has been a convicted bank robber and the trustworthy body-guard of the 'Blind Sheikh' alias Omar Abdel Rahman. The Daily Mail had reported in 2015 that Robertson had radicalized 36 of his fellowmen inside the prison which ultimately led to his solitary confinement.

"As a result of the horrific harm his religious principles are teaching his other inmates," Abu Taubah was confined to solitary imprisonment. Lesser known facts about Robertson are his previous job with the Marine and various stints as an author and teacher of Islamic Education across US and Egypt. He was also involved with the secret police, working as an undercover FBI agent.

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In 2012, Robertson said to a news portal, counterjihad.com that he "attended a meeting of Egyptian and American intelligence officials." He further added that his job was "to perform covert operations in places that American government had no credible operatives."

A three-part video series entitled "Khutbah (Homosexuality)" illustrates Robert's views on the topic. These are samples of what motivates people like Omar Mateen who do not bother to go deeper into religious texts but chose to get radicalized by extremist preaching of certain self-declared Islamic clerics.

In the videos dating around 2008, Robertson has expressed his strict opposition to western culture and upbringing abroad, which contradicts his own childhood spent in New York. He holds homosexuality as "sinful, illegal, worthy of penalty."

Robertson has mentioned the Quranic story of Lut (Lot), and the devastation of Sodom and Gomorrah as the right way to look at homosexuals. He further states that the Muslim community has been "too weak and not ready" to deal with this issue "in a proper manner." In the stated example, however, clerics like Robertson tend to go overboard with their extremist views by forgetting that the story of Lot is one where calamities were brought by a supernatural force, and not by the direct action or violence of different communities.

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Robertson has also blamed the American ideals of freedom as the root-cause of homosexuality, saying, "The concept of America is that you are God: you do what you want to do; you follow your desires."

While Robertson claims being a preacher, it is essential to refer to his own actions and compare them with Islamic ideals for a better understanding of the difference between radical Islam and the real Islam. In a November 5, 2012 government memo, his criminal history is summarized as:

"The defendant, MARCUS DWAYNE ROBERTSON, has been an extremist for many years. In the early 1990s, the defendant was a leader of the 'Forty Thieves,' which was a group of Muslims who conducted numerous armed robberies of Government installations and banks to generate funds that were used, among other things, to buy weapons and explosives. As part of his crimes, the defendant murdered several individuals; participated in assassination attempts; used pipe bombs, C-4, grenades, other explosives, and automatic weapons; participated in a robbery resulting in a hostage situation; and attempted the murder of police officers. Following the first Gulf War, the Forty Thieves stockpiled weapons and explosives in preparation to fight against the perceived threat of internment of Muslims by the United States. The defendant served as personal protection for the Blind Sheikh, Omar Abdel-Rahman, and personally gave over $300,000 of the stolen funds to mosques that the defendant attended."

All three of Robertson's siblings have served in the Armed Forces, the CIA, the NSA and the military police. While his is a family history of community service and dedication, Robertson's extremist views can be blamed for him becoming mentor for such Muslims who do not pay heed to verses of the Qur'an that strongly condemn killing of innocents.

In contrast to aggressive preaching and sowing seeds of hatefulness against 'non-believers' which is prominent among Muslims like Omar Mateen and Abu Tawbah, Muslims who sadly look at their television screens at such events are suffering the brunt of Islamophobia. These are Muslims who know the significance of living in peace with other communities, not enforcing religion upon others, and not killing innocents as depicted in varieties of examples throughout the religious scriptures.

– by NewsGram team with assistance from Maariyah, an intern at NewsGram

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