Tag: terrorism

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the second suspect in the horrific Boston Marathon explosions has been apprehended. 
Presumably, we can take a break from round-the-clock coverage of the chase that has consumed the nation.

Yesterday, I read an article entitled “Please, God, don’t let the Boston Marathon bomber be a Muslim” and found it to be one of the best op-ed pieces I have ever read. And, unfortunately, the current reports show that the brothers involved in the Boston Marathon attack are, in fact, Muslim. The article as a whole, though, raises personal questions about the ideas of terror and terrorism.

American Muslim leaders said they stand against terrorism committed in the name of Islam, trying to distance themselves from the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings who were identified as Muslims with ties to Chechnya.

"We will never allow ourselves to be hijacked by this attempt, and we will not allow the perception to be that there is any religion in the world that condones the taking of innocent life," said Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Shortly after this summer’s murders at the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin, Sociology Professor Mark Juergensmeyer wrote a short article in which he reflected on the motivations of the perpetrator, Wade Michael Page. In his article, Juergensmeyer identified Page as a “Christian terrorist.”