Islamophobia not the answer to US fears
As some have pointed out, there is barely anything to be said about the Boston Marathon blasts, as no evidence as to who did them has been provided. Two Chechen brothers were identified as the suspects but neither has the motive for the attack nor a group behind the attack been identified. With one of the brothers dead after a gun battle on Friday and the other arrested – albeit covered with blood – on Saturday, perhaps no further details shall come out of the matter. The themes of media and public analysis remain the same: recurring Islamophobia, sympathy for the victims, and the US being under a perpetual terror threat from within and without. The expected response would also be the same: another spate of hate crimes against ethnic browns in the US, another spate of wars abroad in newer territories and more pressure on foreign governments to reign in terrorists.
According to the details that have emerged the two suspects were US citizens, who had been living in the US for over a decade. If proven they were involved, it would require a detailed investigation as to what the apparent target of the Marathon attack was. Perhaps, more than the attack, the lockdown of the Boston area for the manhunt, which left a police officer stationed at the MIT campus dead has left a bitter aftertaste. That thousands of police officers were scavenging across Boston, with the entire public transport system shut, businesses asked not to open, also reflects an overreaction to the incident. Their father, based in Makhachakala in Russia, described the two boys as “angels,” with one of them a second-year medical student. That the police chase began after the two suspects “robbed a convenience store” should also open up some questions.
That said, President Barack Obama’s promise to “find out what turned two young US residents accused of the Boston bombings to violence” is merely rhetorical. It is impossible that he does not know the answer, only that his rhetoric before his 2008 election was not followed up in concrete policy. While, on the one side, the attack is a reminder of the threat the West faces, on the other side, it is a reminder of the futility of the current aggressive foreign policy. The use of force produces more resistance. Increasingly airport vigilance or increasing the scrutiny of those visiting the US shall not help. The point rather is for the US to concentrate on identifying the grievances of the East – and in particular the Muslim world. Spreading Islamophobia, as is being done by hawks inside the US establishment, shall produce more – not less – conflict within the US and in the world.
