http:\/\/youtu.be\/uJknGtKV34I<\/a>\n<\/p> As the drama keeps unfolding in and around Boston, it\u2019s safe to say that journalists now face crucial decisions about the role of religion \u2014 specifically radical forms of Islam \u2014 played in the motives behind this act of terrorist.<\/p>\n There is no way to read everything that is being written, at the moment, but we\u2019re trying to stay informed (even while, in my case, teaching classes). However, over on the journalistic left, Mother Jones<\/em> has published this sobering information<\/a>:<\/p>\n Authorities have identified the deceased suspect in the bombing of the Boston marathon, which killed three and injured more than 170, as Tamerlan Tsarnaev. A user by that name has posted a video to his YouTube playlist extolling an extremist religious prophecy associated with Al Qaeda. It is not clear yet whether the user is the same Tsarnaev as the deceased suspect.<\/p>\n The YouTube page includes religious videos, including one of Feiz Mohammad, a fundamentalist Australian Muslim preacher who rails against the evils of Harry Potter. One playlist includes a video dedicated to the prophecy of the Black Banners of Khurasan, which is embraced by Islamic extremists\u2014particularly Al Qaeda. The prophecy states that an invincible army will come from the region of Khurasan in central Asia.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a major hadith (reported saying of the prophet Muhammad) that jihadis use, it is essentially an end-time prophecy,\u201d says Aaron Zelin, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy \u201cThis is definitely important in Al Qaeda\u2019s ideology.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Buzzfeed has posted a virtual shopping list<\/a> of information about the accused brothers, who continued to be identified as Chechen even through these appear to be ties that are rooted in emotional rather than lived experience and upbringing.<\/p>\n The Muslim card is clearly in play, after social-media links provided quotes such as these \u2014 drawn from Tamerlan Tsarnaev\u2019s \u201cWill Box For Passport\u201d mixed martial arts site.<\/p>\n \u201cOriginally from Chechnya, but living in the United States since five years, Tamerlan says: \u2018I don\u2019t have a single American friend, I don\u2019t understand them.'\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cTamerlan says he doesn\u2019t drink or smoke anymore: \u2018God said no alcohol.\u2019 A muslim, he says: \u201cThere are no values anymore,\u201d and worries that \u2018people can\u2019t control themselves.'\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n To what degree is it news that there are radical Muslims who look at American and feel primarily anger, as opposed to millions of other Muslims who have come to have varying degrees of acceptance and affection for this nation and its emphasis on religious freedom?<\/p>\n What are the crucial questions at this point?<\/p>\n GetReligion readers will not be surprised to learn that I think the best questions are the old ones, the questions that might yield factual information that journalists can use when attempting to portray the degree to which faith did or did not drive those behind these acts. It is also crucial to learn everything that can be learned about the form of Islam that the brothers claimed, repeat \u201cclaimed,\u201d to have been following. Why? Because the world is Islam is large and complex and there is no one monolithic Islam that can be described in simplistic language.<\/p>\n What kind of questions are we talking about?<\/p>\n I was struck by one claim that I have seen in several publications. Here is the Buzzfeed take:<\/p>\n Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, is the remaining suspect in the Boston marathon bombings \u2014 the subject of a massive manhunt Friday morning in Watertown, Massachusetts, multiple sources reported Friday morning. His brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, has been identified as the first suspect and died overnight following a firefight with police.<\/p>\n NBC News\u2019 Pete Williams said earlier Friday morning that the two suspects likely had \u201cforeign military training,\u201d and had been in the country for about a year.<\/p>\n Later he said they were brothers, and added, \u201cThey were legal permanent residents. They were in this country legally, at least a year. They appear to be from Turkey, possibly Chechens from Turkey. That seems to be the nationality here.\u201d<\/p>\n Just before 7 a.m. Friday morning, the Associated Press confirmed Williams\u2019 reporting and naming Tsarnaev.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Foreign military training?<\/p>\n Now, hours later, some of those claims are in question \u2014 primarily since it appears the brothers had been in America for a number of years (as verified by some family members). This NBC interview with an uncle<\/a> is getting lots of attention:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Authorities were not sure of a motive and cautioned that other people may be involved. NBC News learned that counterterrorism officials were examining possible links between the brothers and the Islamic Jihad Union of central Asia, a terrorist group. Chechnya is predominantly Muslim. \u201cWhat I think was behind it: Being losers,\u201d he said. \u201cOf course we\u2019re ashamed.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Once again, what kinds of questions should reporters being asking?<\/p>\n I hate to say this again, but I addressed this just the other day<\/a> \u2014 in a post that some GetReligion readers misread, thinking once again that I was attempting to focus negative attention exclusively on Islam. Actually, the post included material focusing on questions reporters needed to have asked when investigating that massacre in Norway<\/a>, and the life and times of Anders Behring Breivik.<\/p>\n So let\u2019s try this once again:<\/p>\n \u2026 What are journalists looking for? \u2026 We need to know what he has said, what he has read, what sanctuaries he has chosen and the religious leaders who have guided him.<\/p>\n Also, follow the money, since Breivik certainly seems to have some. To what religious causes has he made donations? Is he a contributing member of a specific congregation in a specific denomination? Were the contributions accepted or rejected?<\/p>\n
\n\u201cSomebody radicalized them, but it wasn\u2019t my brother,\u201d the men\u2019s uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, told reporters Friday from Montgomery Village, Md. He encouraged his nephew to turn himself in and said the two had brought shame on Chechens. He said that he had encouraged his own family to stay away from that part of the family.<\/p>\n