The Patriots day, 15th April 2013 celebrates the first of American Revolutionary Wars, in lieu of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Every year Bostonians commemorate the Patriotism through a marathon that is labeled as The Boston Marathon. This year the Boston Marathon attended by thousands was greeted by a wretched plan by the hands of terrorists, whether Muslims or non-Muslims; they are wretched.
Two explosions went off on the Boylston Street with a little distance in between, and the marathon joined by children, women and elders alike was turned into an emergency zone. The explosions that were later identified as a pressure cooker bombs (made by placing explosives, bits of metal and bearing balls in black nylon duffel bags or backpacks inside the pressure cooker) were strong enough to injure 183 people and take the lives of 3 innocents who probably had nothing to do with terrorism, extremism, America, Al-Qaeda, secret agencies or war in general.
The Americans mourn the departed souls in deep sorrow, and the international community has also joined in the lamentation –we the Muslims seriously condemn the attack and pay our condolences to the innocent while vow complete quarantining of the world from the evil elements who do not want peace.
But at the same time as that another round of tension has started. Just like the 9/11 and its aftershocks were borne more by the innocent Muslims than the innocents who lost their loved ones; it is being feared that the Boston Marathon Bombings might reinvigorate the same prejudiced or rather skeptical behavior towards Muslims in the west and the US. Though in his speech, the American President Barrack Obama did not single out anything nor did he mention any links to the extremists groups, he did term them as senseless acts of violence and terrorism.
The pattern of reactions is similar to that of 9/11 attacks when despite having nothing to do with the terrorists and the attacks, many Muslims received ill treatment and prejudiced opinions were formed. Just because a group of people who were terrorists belonged to Islam, all the Muslims were labeled as such. As expected, some of the first in journalists and bloggers started the same array of bigotry that smelled of discrimination. For example, Pam Giller a famous anti-Muslim blogger and Eric Rush a regular guest commentator on Fox News sent quick tweets like Jihad in America and let’s kill them –a tweet that Eric later deleted.
Conservative host Glenn Beck opined that:
“No American citizen blows up a random person, that’s Middle Eastern scene, that’s not an American scene. When our crazies go off, they target the government, not streets that are crowded with people.”
Now is a time when we need to stop people from jumping to conclusion, and when we need to stop narrow minded bigots from playing their part in reinforcing the post 9/11 hatred that was unjustly creed based. It is now upon us and of course the logical and receptive minds of the west to ensure that the ordinary people get the true story or at least get both sides of the stories. This is so because it is eventually the ordinary public that holds the gun or the flag or whatever. It is the perception of the ordinary populace that lets the government take discriminatory measures –or hinder them.
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