Leftists are currently engaged in a concerted effort to bury the truth behind the catalyst for the Orlando terror attack, pushing the narrative that because Omar Mateen drank alcohol and seemed to have gay proclivities (taboos in Islam) he could not have been a religious Muslim and therefore could not have been a radical Islamic terrorist. Some, who try exculpate Islam at all cost, insist that Mateen was "never all that religious" and thus could not have been motivated to carry out the carnage in the name of Islam. 

This apologetic -- for a butcher who perpetrated the worst terror attack in U.S. history since 9-11 -- is gravely flawed on a number of levels.

To begin with, one of ISIS' trademarks is its effectiveness in radicalizing and recruiting otherwise "normal-seeming" Westerners -- even those with no prior Islamic sympathies -- in very short order, sometimes in a matter of mere weeks. So to say that Mateen never seemed all that "radical" or "religious" before means nothing, because all that can turn on a dime. But the truth is, Mateen was anything but "normal-seeming" even as far back as high school, when classmates say he celebrated the 9/11 terror attacks.

We know that Mateen's father openly supported the Afghan Taliban, thus exposing the kind of ideological upbringing Mateen likely had at home. What's more, Omar Mateen made not one -- but two -- haj's (holy pilgrimages) to Mecca in 2011 and 2012. He then found himself on the FBI's radar back in 2013 for terror ties. Former colleagues also reported Mateen for his disturbing behavior and virulent bigotry against Jews, women, and members of the LGBT community. So no, his "radicalization" did not come out of nowhere.  

In terms of Mateen's vices, those too do not negate the fact that he could simultaneously be a terrorist harboring radical views. For instance, it is well known that the terrorists who carried out the heinous attacks in Paris at the Bataclan nightclub and even the 9-11 hijackers routinely drank alcohol and visited strip clubs, and it is also well-documented that homosexuality -- including pedophilia -- is practiced even among the "pious" Taliban. In other words, it would not be the first time someone claiming piety were also a hypocrite. 

It is likewise plausible that Mateen's alleged homosexuality catalyzed an internal desire to "prove himself" in the eyes of Islam and seek redemption all the more.  

Regarding Mateen's alleged "lack of religiosity," even if true, it would not nullify radicalization. One only need look to the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat and just about every other Palestinian terrorist -- none of whom have been religious zealots but rather Arab nationalists guided by Islamic ideology -- to see that Islamic terror is not a monolith. 

And now to the heart of the matter: Mateen's own words and deeds. Before and during his bloody massacre, Omar Mateen told us in his own words -- both verbal and written -- the motivation for his attack. In addition to calling 9/11 and pledging allegiance to ISIS, Mateen also called a CNN affiliate from the Pulse night club, informing a network producer that he was indeed the Orlando shooter and that he was carrying out his attack "for ISIS." It's now also been revealed that through several different Facebook accounts, Mateen reiterated his loyalty to ISIS and vowed more attacks on the West. 

Senate Homeland Security Chairman, Sen. Ron Johnson, led his committee's investigation into Mateen's social media accounts, which have since been taken down from public view. Johnson has called on Facebook to hand over all information it has on Mateen. 

Here's a sampling of Mateen's Facebook posts during the attack, which TruthRevolt shared in an earlier post: 

“I pledge my alliance to (ISIS leader) abu bakr al Baghdadi..may Allah accept me,” Mateen wrote in one post early Sunday morning. “The real muslims will never accept the filthy ways of the west” …“You kill innocent women and children by doing us airstrikes..now taste the Islamic state vengeance.”

Rightfully, Sen. Johnson is pressing Facebook about Mateen's violent rhetoric and asking for more information on his social media activities. 

“It is my understanding that Omar Mateen used Facebook before and during the attack to search for and post terrorism-related content,” read Johnson’s letter. “According to information obtained by my staff, five Facebook accounts were apparently associated with Omar Mateen.”

Johnson’s committee uncovered Mateen's actions in the hours during the attack, revealing that Mateen accessed his Facebook account to search for media reports of the attack with search words like "Pulse Orlando" and "Shooting."

Mateen also posted the following on Facebook: 

“America and Russia stop bombing the Islamic state,” Mateen wrote.

“In the next few days you will see attacks from the Islamic state in the usa.” 

Mateen also conducted online searches for the San Bernardino terror couple and speeches given by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. 

But you know, why take Mateen at his own words? Let's instead claim he was not motivated by radical Islam ideology, but was just a self-loathing "psychopath" who could not accept his own sexuality and thus targeted the LGBT community for massacre. Let's focus on America's obsession with guns, even though Mateen told officers that he was also wearing a suicide vest.  Interestingly, guns were also used at the Bataclan nightclub in Paris and the Charlie Hebdo massacre (in one of the strictest gun-control countries in the world) -- yet those incidents were rightfully labeled as "terrorist acts." But not this. 

One would expect such false narratives from the likes of President Obama, or the leadership of CAIR, but the disturbing reality is that people of goodwill are now also buying into the lie. I'm not quite certain what good that serves -- either in honoring the dead, or in ensuring more innocent Americans don't lose their lives to terror.