Revealed, the U.S. hate preacher who inspired murderer of Lee Rigby: Killer tells how he became a Muslim after watching Islamic hardliner's sermons

One of the extremist killers of Lee Rigby has revealed that he was inspired to convert to Islam by a hardline preacher who advocates beating women and killing gays.

After he was convicted of murder this month, Michael Adebowale wrote in a letter that the radical sermons of Khalid Yasin had taught him 'the purpose of life'.

However, he complained that his horrific crimes had alienated him from his family, who do not understand him because they are not Muslims.

Inspiration: Michael Adebowale, left, converted to Islam after listening to a sermon by Khalid Yasin, right

Victim: Adebowale helped murder Fusilier Lee Rigby outside Woolwich Barracks in May this year

The 22-year-old, currently being held at Belmarsh prison, also lamented the fact that mainstream Muslims had condemned the killing of Fusilier Rigby outside Woolwich Barracks in May this year.

Adebowale and fellow jihadist Michael Adebolajo, 29, shocked the world when they struck the soldier with a car in broad daylight and then hacked at his body with a meat cleaver.

They denied murder, but Adebolajo's only defence was that he was engaged in a holy war, while Adebowale - who has suffered psychotic episodes since the killing - declined to testify in his own defence.

The pair were convicted on December 19, and they could spend the rest of their lives in prison after they are sentenced early in the new year.

The day after the guilty verdict, Abedowale wrote a letter explaining his life story to an unknown pen pal, the Daily Mirror reported.

Guilty: Adebowale, left, and Michael Adebolajo, right, were convicted of murder earlier this month

Alienated: Adebowale's mother Juliet Obasuyi has spoken out against his horrific crimes

He said that he had converted to Islam in 2009 after investigating the religion and listening to a sermon by Yasin.

'I have always been a fairly spiritual person in terms of belief in the unseen, and I suppose because most of my friends at that time were Muslims,' Adebowale wrote.

'So the combination of the two factors caused me to start reading up and learning more about Islam.

'The more I learned the more interested I became, which led to me listening to a lecture by Sheikh Khalid Yasin - you may have heard of him, he is based in the U.S.

'The title of this lecture is called "What is the Purpose of Life?" After hearing this I had to conclude that the purpose of life is to acknowledge and worship the creator.'

Yasin, 67, is a former gang member from New York City who grew up in a series of foster homes before converting to Islam as a teenager.

Hate speech: Yasin has previously called for gay people to be put to death

Controversy: The preacher was born in New York City and converted to Islam as a teenager

He has attracted attention with his extremist views, telling a documentary that gay people should be put to death, and has been accused of encouraging men to beat their wives.

His other beliefs include the claim that HIV was created by the U.S. government to oppress the third world, and that Muslims should not go to university because intellectual study is anti-Islamic.

Adebowale and Adebolajo have previously been associated with British hate preacher Anjem Choudary and with Anwar Al Awlaki, a terror suspect who was assassinated in Yemen by a U.S. Army drone.

However, in his letter Adebowale complained about the backlash against Fusilier Rigby's murder from the vast majority of Muslims.

'I have had little support as you can imagine,' he wrote. 'Many people are shocked and many Muslims sadly ill-judged me.'

He also told his recipient that he found it hard to get on with his relatives, many of whom publicly spoke out against his crimes.

'Even though I received letters from my family they aren't Muslim so unfortunately I never get that sort of "click" with them,' he wrote.

Adebowale's mother Juliet Obasuyi told the Mail this month: 'I lost my son. He's not dead, he's still alive, but I lost him to the Jihad people.'

MICHAEL ADEBOLAJO’S BROTHER CLAIMS LEE RIGBY’S MURDER WAS JUSTIFIED BY ISLAM

This typically Daily Mail article presents what Khalid Yasin says about killing gays and beating women as if it were his own eccentric -- "hijacked," no doubt -- version of Islam. Yasin, the clueless Daily Mail tells us, "claims that the Koran gives men permission to ‘beat women lightly’ and thinks all Muslims should shun anyone who does not follow their faith."

In reality, this is not just Yasin's "claim" -- the Qur'an does indeed say this: "Men are the managers of the affairs of women for that God has preferred in bounty one of them over another, and for that they have expended of their property. Righteous women are therefore obedient, guarding the secret for God’s guarding. And those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them" (4:34). Abdullah Yusuf Ali's popular English translation adds "lightly" after "beat them," but that word is not in the Arabic original.