Rashad Khalifa was an American imam who headed a mosque in Tucson, Arizona, until his murder.

Rashad's teachings had been idiosyncratic. He called himself a “messenger” for God, and he believed he had discovered a sort of mathematical code that unlocked hidden truths about scripture. He claimed two verses in the Qur’an were “Satanic,” and he did not consider them part of the text. Taken together, some religious militants and fundamentalists found these teachings blasphemous.

In January 1990, Rashad was found dead near his mosque’s kitchen. It would not be until more than two decades after this murder that a conviction would be secured for the perpetrator, Glen Francis, who had fled and hidden in Canada. His extradition back to the U.S. was secured with the help of new DNA evidence.

Prosecutors argued that evidence indicated Francis had moved to Tucson, adopted a pseudonym, and joined Rashad’s congregation with the express intent of killing him, likely due to a belief that Rashad’s teachings were blasphemous. The jury was convinced of these arguments; more than 23 years after Rashad’s murder, Glen Francis, age 52, was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole only after 25 years.

Rashad left behind his son, Sam Khalifa, who played in the MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Following his father’s murder, he stopped playing baseball and retired.

“I know Cal Ripken lost his father one year and he later joined his team, which is respectable, but it wasn’t for me. I think it would have been hard for me to focus on the game.” - Sam Khalifa, Rashad’s son, on his decision to quit baseball