Another source, a Franciscan priest from the Holy Land who wished to remain unnamed for safety reasons, denied that the online video shows the murder of the priest.
He suggested that the confusion may be due to the fact that "the video was released around the same time as his death."
Fr. Mourad was well known in the region, where he had retired several years ago to live the life of a hermit. He had finished his Franciscan novitiate for the Custody in Rome, but had left the order to live a contemplative life. He had become a Syrian citizen, the Custody of the Holy Land reports.
The 49-year-old priest had helped start construction on a monastery dedicated to St. Simeon the Stylite in Ghassanieh. After the monastery was bombed at the start of the Syrian civil war, he moved to the Franciscan monastery for his own safety and to minister to those who remained.
Archbishop Jacques B. Hindo, of the Syrian Catholic Archeparchy of Hassake-Nisibi, told Fides News Agency that he had been in contact with the priest before he was slain.
"Lately, Father Mourad sent me some messages that clearly showed how conscious he was of living in a dangerous situation, and (he) offered his life for peace in Syria and around the world," the archbishop said.
Since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011, at least 93,000 have died and 1.5 million have become refugees in nearby countries, most of them in Jordan and Lebanon.
An additional 4.25 million Syrian people are believed to have been internally displaced by the war.
Kevin J. Jones is a senior staff writer with Catholic News Agency. He was a recipient of a 2014 Catholic Relief Services' Egan Journalism Fellowship.