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That had to be taken seriously. Born in Indiana as Ernest McGee, Khaalis, 54, was discharged from the Army in World War II on grounds of mental instability. While working as a jazz drummer in New York City, he switched from Roman Catholicism to the Nation of Islam and rose to a trusted position before he broke with the Black Muslims in 1958. In the mid-1960s he formed his own group, the Hanafi. In 1968, he was arrested for trying to extort money from a bank, but charges were dismissed after he was found to be mentally disturbed. In 1972 he attacked the Black Muslims in an open letter, an act that is thought to have led to the execution of his family.
The fact that five of the killers of his family were eventually convicted and given life sentences did not satisfy Khaalis. His religion, he felt, demanded justice in a jihad—a holy war. For years he brooded; then last week he struck.
Machete Drill. Some time Wednesday morning the terrorists left their headquarters, located in a quiet Washington neighborhood six miles north of the White House. They were armed with rifles, shotguns and machetes. A neighbor later told police that he had seen the group drilling with machetes in the yard.
The first assault occurred shortly after 11 a.m., when seven Hanafis, led by Khaalis himself, burst into the headquarters of B'nai B'rith, the world's largest and oldest Jewish service organization. Moving upward floor by floor, they seized dozens of hostages, shooting at some, slapping and cutting others, shouting that they were ready to die for Allah. The hostages were herded into a conference room, the windows of which were then painted over.
The second strike came just after 12 noon. Three terrorists entered the Islamic Center, a showcase for Muslim culture on Embassy Row, and rounded up eleven hostages, including both staff and visitors. As if to be in keeping with the elegant, hushed precincts, no shots were fired and nobody was injured. The last and bloodiest attack took place at 2:20 p.m., when a pair of trigger-happy gunmen invaded the District Building, two blocks from the White House and only 300 yards from the Washington Monument. They began shooting indiscriminately. A black radio newsman, Maurice Williams, 24, was hit and killed instantly. A city councilman, Marion Barry, was shot in the chest. Two other people were wounded.
The primary concern of police quickly became the B'nai B'rith Building. The Hanafis had chosen this target as a symbol of their grudge against Jews. Throughout the siege Khaalis denounced the Jewish judge who had presided at the trial of his family's killers. "The Jews control the courts and the press," he repeatedly charged.
The Hanafis imposed a harrowing routine on the hostages. They were forced to lie face down on the floor. "Don't talk, don't move," commanded Khaalis. "If you do, we'll kill you. I am not a bad man, but I am a mean man."