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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