On the next State of Belief Radio – with the Boston bombing suspects dead or in custody, the victims are embarking on the long road to recovery, and the rest of us can return to our normal lives. But things are more complicated for Muslim-Americans – and others who may be perceived as Muslim. Will wall-to-wall media coverage of the Tsarnaev brothers’ claim to be followers of Islam result in hate crimes and acts of bias flaring up the way they did after 9/11?
We’ll address that question with Sikh-American civil rights activist and filmmaker Valarie Kaur. Valarie’s the Founding Director of www.groundswell-movement.org, and wrote about these concerns in the Washington Post in an article titled For Sikhs and Muslims, fear after a terror attack.
You’ll also hear from Eboo Patel, a popular Muslim writer, activist and the founder of Interfaith Youth Corps. He’ll expand on his Huffington Post column headlined 3 Reasons Interfaith Efforts Matter More Than Ever.
Also: what started as a Facebook wall post from a Bostonian away at Seminary in Rome has been forwarded and republished tens of thousands of times. The essay is in the form of a letter to the younger bombing suspect, and begins with the words: “Dear Dzhokhar, You don’t know me, but you tried to kill my family.” You’ll meet the writer, Rev. Mr. Michael Rogers, S.J., on this week’s show.
And Welton has some thoughts to share on the events that have followed the bombing attacks since April 15th.
We also remember a leading human rights activist who passed away this week: former Congressman Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, President of Common Cause.
That’s all coming up next time, on State of Belief! Here’s how to listen.