Interesting.



If a practicing Muslim committed any of these recent atrocities, he would be linked to other documented cases of acts of terrorism committed under the banner of Islam. Whether or not anything he wrote or said mentioned Islam, jihad,etc..Also if the acts were done by men resembling Tony Shalhoub.....regardless of what they said or wrote...the perception would be that they were linked to "radical Islam"


The recent cases seem to be lone wolf lunatics, not part of any larger organization....unless I'm mistaken.

Modern day definition of the word points to acts done as part of an identified larger group seeking to prove a point. The instance of the young Nigerian man trying to detonate either a belt or shoe bomb on a plane years ago....in the name of some group which proclaims to be championing certain beliefs of Islam ......was viewed as terrorist act.

Because the face was not one that is normally associated with "radical Islam" brand of terrorism, the public react and media coverage wasn't quite the same as it would have been for a man with swarthy complexion and middle eastern features.

On paper...all of these incidents are terrorism....but post 9/11, acts that are seen as being done as part of a larger campaign of terrorism under the banner of Islam are going to produce stronger public reactions.