Synagogue attack

The hours-long hostage situation at a synagogue in Texas ended with only one casualty — the attacker. None of the hostages were harmed in the incident which appears to be a lone-wolf attack by a British Muslim. Investigations into the attack are still ongoing, with reports of two teenagers being interrogated by police in Manchester, UK, and new information that the attacker entered the US from New York City and initially stayed in a homeless shelter before going to Texas, acquiring weapons along the way.

The early hours of the attack, some of which were streamed live on social media because of a feed set up to broadcast the Shabbat service, saw substantial speculation by US and foreign media outlets — and outright lies from Indian ‘news’ outlets — including over whether or not the attacker was a brother of Dr Aafia Siddiqui and what weapons the attacker had with him. It is now clear that the attacker was not related to Siddiqui. Although he referred to her as his sister during the live stream, it would appear this was not a literal claim. In fact, Siddiqui’s actual brother has condemned the attack and noted that it did a disservice to the cause to get her justice. Several countries, Muslim groups in the US and the UK, and even the attacker’s own family, have condemned the incident and the apparent anti-Semitic nature of the attack.

On that note, it is disappointing that there was no condemnation of the incident by the Pakistani government. Even though the attacker was not Pakistani, his aim was to get Siddiqui released from prison. That also happens to be a top priority for Islamabad, according to the government. The only difference is that the government is peacefully appealing to the US to show leniency while the terrorist went for the hostage exchange route, similar to Daesh and other terrorist groups that have offered to exchange prisoners for Siddiqui. As Siddiqui’s brother noted, the threat or use of violence only hurts her — extremely remote — chance of being shown leniency or clemency by the US government.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2022.

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