The search for some explanation, any explanation, for Mohamed Mohamud’s attempted jihad mass-murder other than the texts and teachings of Islam has now begun in earnest. The first entry: Mohamud became “radicalized” after his parents split.
And it’s true: the divorce of parents has driven many an unhappy child to try to set off a bomb in a crowded place and murder hundreds, if not thousands, of people, hasn’t it?
Of course, many more terrorist attacks have been committed by Islamic jihadists who read and took seriously the Qur’an’s commands to wage war against infidels than by children traumatized by their parents’ divorce, but never mind: when it comes to exonerating Islam of any responsibility for motivating violent jihadists, government, law enforcement and media officials join Islamic spokesmen in grabbing hold of any alternative explanation, no matter how implausible.
“Neighbors say wannabe Christmas bomber Mohamed Mohamud embraced extremism after parents split,” by Lukas I. Alpert for the New York Daily News, November 28:
[…] Neighbors say Mohamud was doted on by his family but embraced militant Islam not long after his parents split up.
“He was a quiet kid, but with his folks splitting up, who knows?” Adam Napier, who lived next door to Mohamed Osman Mohamud for years told the newspaper.
Mohamud’s family moved to the U.S. when he was just 5 and were described as friendly and modern.
Mariam Barre did not wear a hijab and her husband, Osman Barre, reportedly worked as an engineer for Intel. Mohamud appeared to be particularly close to his mother, neighbors said.
“She always talked so good about him. He was just a good kid,” said Adam Napier’s mother, Stephanie.
In 2009, Mohamud parents split up, not long after he turned 18, the paper said.
Omar Jamal, first secretary to the Somali Mission to the United Nations, told KPTV that Mohamud’s father had remarried a woman in Minneapolis, which has a large Somali population and has been a hotbed for jihadist recruitment.
Later in 2009, Mohamud began communicating with jihadists abroad, and wrote articles for a website called “Jihad Recollections,” authorities said….