He is the sole survivor of four pirates who hijacked the MV Maersk Alabama in April 2009 and then held Captain Richard Phillips for ransom.

The crew attacked and held Muse hostage while Richard Phillips offered him and the pirates money to leave Maersk Alabama safely on the ship's lifeboat.

A more recent case, 2008's United States v. Shi,[6] which was quoted in his indictment, involves murder and a crew member taking over a ship and holding a hostage.

[2] Muse was to stand trial in New York because of the local FBI office's expertise in handling cases where major crimes were perpetrated against Americans in Africa, such as the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.

On 20 April 2009, CBC News reported that U.S. officials indicated that investigators had confirmed Muse was over 18, which removed additional steps that would be required to prosecute him had it been determined that he was a minor.

[14] Muse's mother, Adar Abdurahman Hassan, stated in a telephone interview with the Associated Press that U.S. authorities had both his name and age wrong.

[22] Muse was initially incarcerated (and currently resides) at the Federal Correctional Institution, Terre Haute in the Communications Management Unit.

Muse worked as a prison orderly, although his wage was garnished to pay the restitution he owes for the hijacking as well as a court fee.

While in Terre Haute he received his first English lesson from Mufid Abdulqader who had been sentenced to 20 years in prison after the Holy Land Foundation trial.

[24] Muse was portrayed by Somali-American actor Barkhad Abdi in the 2013 film Captain Phillips, a dramatization of the events in 2009, also starring Tom Hanks as the titular character.