The man accused of trying to blow up a plane on Christmas Day spent 17 days in Houston last year.
Umar Farouk Abdul-Mutallab is charged with trying to bring down the Northwest Airlines flight.
The Nigerian national was restrained by passengers after he tried to set off an explosive before landing.
Federal officials are following leads as to why Abdul-Mutallab was in Houston. The details are classified.
Airline bomb suspect studied Islam at Houston school with Detroit branch
The man charged with the Christmas bombing attempt of an airliner headed for Detroit took classes at an Islamic institute in Houston that also has a branch in metro Detroit, an institute leader said today.
Nigerian defendant Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, in federal custody in Milan, attended classes in 2008 in Houston at the AlMaghrib Institute, said institute Vice President Waleed Basyouni.,p> Abdulmutallab told instructors he was studying mechanical engineering and finance in London, Basyouni said.
“AlMaghrib Institute is working with the authorities and will continue to cooperate as needed on this case,” he said in an e-mail to the Free Press. In Houston, besides operating the institute, Basyouni is the imam or religious leader of a major Muslim worship and community complex called Clear Lake Islamic Center.
The institute’s Web site shows 14 sites in North America, including one listed as “Dearborn/Windsor,” and says it is a nonprofit organization with thousands of students — mostly from the United States — that teaches about Islam in depth. Abdulmutallab attended while in Houston on Aug. 1-17, 2008, paying $2,250 for seminars on Islamic manners and history, Basyouni said.
The institute discourages talk of religious war and terrorism among students, Basyouni told the Houston Chronicle today. Of Abdulmutallab, he said, “He showed no signs of extremism.”
Thank you MamaDearest for the ping.