A Pakistani man arrested in Boston during investigations into the failed Times Square bombing on Wednesday sought to distance himself from terrorism and failed bomber Faisal Shahzad, whom he knew years ago as a 'typical college student who drank and partied'.
Mohammad Shafiq ur Rahman, a 33-year-old computer programmer who was arrested on immigration charges, was freed on bail last week.
Condemning terrorism, Rahman said what the Taliban is doing is "not justified by religion."
"In my faith, whatever the Pakistani Taliban is doing is a crime against Muslims. It's not justified by religion. They are killing people in mosques. I want people to know this is not the faith or Muslim religion," the Boston Globe quoted him as saying.
"The Taliban are terrorists. They are not Muslim extremists. They are terrorists. They are using the faith and devotion of the faith and manipulating the faith into wrong," he said.
Rahman, who is now fighting deportation, said he was a "dedicated husband and father and a dedicated Muslim."
He said he was swept up in the investigation because the Federal Bureau of Investigation was looking into whether a computer software company he used to work for transferred money to the Pakistani Taliban.
Rahman was among three Pakistani men, including two of his cousins from Massachusetts, who were arrested on May 13 during raids in New York and New England as part of the investigation into the attempted car bombing on May 1.
None of the three were charged with a crime, but all were held on civil immigration violations.
After his arrest, Rahman said he was questioned by FBI agents about Shahzad and a computer software company Systek that was based in Hartford and had offices in Pakistan.
Rahman worked for Systek between 2001 and 2009. He was introduced to Shahzad, who pleaded guilty in June to the attempted bombing in Times Square, by the younger brother of Systek's owner Azhar Malik in early 2001.
Rahman said he never liked Shahzad and had not seen or heard from him in more than eight years.
"He was not very good morally. He was drunk all the time," Rahman said, adding that he and the Malik brothers used to hang out in Shahzad's dorm in Bridgeport, Connecticut and sometimes play cards with him and other students.
Rahman said he was shocked when Shahzad was arrested for the failed bombing because he wasn't violent or extremist in his views.
"How did he turn into that person? It didn't make sense," Rahman said.
He told FBI agents that he had never sent Shahzad "a single cent" and "never had anything to do with him."
Rahman came to the US in 1999. His work visa was extended twice. He married Sara Rahman, an artist and mother of five, in March and she is currently petitioning for him to be allowed to remain in the United States.
