He planned to blow up a mosque, but found salvation there instead

As It Happens

He planned to blow up a mosque, but he found salvation there instead.

To say that Mac McKinney used to be Islamophobic would be an understatement.

Until about 16 years ago, the U.S. army veteran believed that Muslims were inherently evil, and that he had to do everything in his power to protect his partner and step-daughter from their encroachment on American society.

“It was a hatred that had found a home inside me, and basically became so powerful that I have often described it as being another organ in my body,” McKinney told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. “I thought it was keeping me alive, to be honest.”

Powered by that hatred, McKinney concocted a plan to build an improvised explosive device and blow up the mosque in his hometown of Muncie, Ind.

His goal, he says, was to kill at least 200 people.

But within eight months of first stepping foot inside the Islamic Center of Muncie, he not only abandoned his plan, but he joined the mosque, converted to Islam and found what he had always been searching for deep down — community.

That journey is now the subject of Stranger at the Gate, which is nominated for Best Documentary Short Film at this year’s upcoming Academy Awards.

Please see the trailer:

Then you may watch the documentary:

Please click on: He planned to blow up a mosque