Original version

BBC World Service South Asia

Heart and Soul

Documentaries

Religion & Ethics

Personal approaches to spirituality from around the world.

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service News Internet

Heart and Soul: Joining the mosque I planned to destroy

Magazines & Reviews

Joining the mosque I planned to destroy

08/11/2019 GMT

BBC World Service - Heart and Soul, Joining the mosque I planned to destroy

Richard McKinney planned to bomb the mosque he now prays at

Richard McKinney hated Muslims and planned to bomb the local mosque he now prays at

Richard McKinney has made an extraordinary life journey – from a US veteran who planned to bomb a mosque, to a d Muslim who prays devoutly at the very Mosque he planned for 2 years to blow up.

A veteran of the US Marines, Richard returned traumatised from combat in Afghanistan. That turned into a deep hatred of Islam. At his home in Muncie, Indiana, Richard was producing a device to blow up the town’s Mosque which he hoped will kill 200 people. But he decided to give the community he so hated ‘one more chance’. He visited the Islamic Centre, and was given a Koran to take home and read.

Just eight weeks later, he had converted and within a few years he had become President of the very Mosque he yearned to destroy.

Colm Flynn hears how Richard could have been one of America's most notorious mass murders, but is now a devout Muslim and advocate for peace and understanding.

Producer and Presenter: Colm Flynn

(Photo: Richard McKinney. Credit: Colm Flynn/BBC)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Heart and Soul

Joining the mosque I planned to destroy

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service South Asia

About BBC World Service