Daniel Patrick Boyd: Homegrown jihadist?

"Daniel Patrick Boyd is an unlikely symbol of the homegrown terrorist threat," said Carrie Johnson and Spencer S. Hsu in The Washington Post. The son of a Marine, he lived "a typical American childhood" in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., and recently blended with his family into "a picturesque" neighborhood in Raleigh, N.C. But law-enforcement officials say Daniel P. Boyd, a Muslim convert, is "the latest example of a radicalized American who exported jihad."

The arrest of Daniel Patrick Boyd, said Jim Kouri in Examiner.com, along with six other suspects, on charges of supporting terrorists and plotting to kill Americans overseas "reminds citizens of one simple fact: Most U.S. elected officials appear to be oblivious to the continuing terrorist threat." As the Daniel Boyd case unfolds, maybe our leaders will start paying closer attention to the "deadly influence" of Islamic extremists.

Clearly, the "North Carolina Muslim gang is a PR nightmare" for American Muslims, said Brad A. Greenberg in GetReligion.org. The coverage of the arrests of Daniel Patrick Boyd, his sons Zakariya and Dylan, and four others has focused on their alleged plans to wage "violent jihad," without explaining how Daniel P. Boyd's teachings contradict "the values extolled in most American mosques." No wonder so many Americans think Muslims are the enemy.

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