Was the New York City cop killer a "devout Muslim?"

In a long, top-of-Page 1 profile, today's New York Times uses that description in the lede:

His entire life, Ismaaiyl Brinsley tried on identities as if they were new clothes. He was a bad boy with a gun, a fashionable man in Gucci and Cartier, a T-shirt maker, a film director, a screenwriter, a devout Muslim, a rap producer.

He had a nickname for every mood — Moses, Interstate, Palace, Gazava, Scorpio King, Bleau Barracuda. Online, he seemed to be screaming at people to pay attention. “Welcome To Greatness,” proclaimed a photo album on his Facebook page.

In reality, Mr. Brinsley’s short life was a series of disappointments.

Keep reading, and the Times offers three brief glimpses of the supposed Islamic faith of the gunman who shot to death officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu as they sat in their patrol car.