The brothers came to the USA with their parents in 2002 from Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic in southern Russia. Dzhokhar worshiped at the Islamic Society of Boston mosque in Cambridge, a former classmate told The Boston Globe.

Ashraful Rahman, a senior at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School which Dzhokhar had attended, said they were on the wrestling team together and would hung out together at Dana Park in Cambridge.

“We just chilled out man, just average teenagers,” Rahman said. “He never stated that he was against the government or for anarchy or anything,” Rahman told The Globe. He said the last time he saw Dzhokhar was on Ramadan in 2012, at the Islamic Society of Cambridge. “He said ‘what’s up’ to me,” Rahman said. “He seemed peaceful, actually.

The Cambridge mosque’s web site specifies: “We practice and promote a comprehensive and balanced view of Islam. We strive to embody the ‘middle path’ to which the Qur’an calls – a path of moderation that is free of extremism. We believe that the core teachings of Islam are universal and timeless, providing guidance and instruction for all times and all peoples.”

The mosque is affiliated with the The Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in nearby Roxbury but neither could be reached for comment. The Cultural Center religious leader, Imam Suhaib Webb, a native of Oklahoma, posted on his Facebook page, “We are all Bostonians -we mourn with the city.”

The website for the center in Roxbury explained: “After the terrible and sad events of last night, the criminal of the bombings on the loose, and the strong recommendations of our Governor, the ISBCC will be closed until further notice.”

The site also said the imam recommended that all pray at home rather than attend local mosques. “Please be safe and pray for our city and state,” the Web page concluded.

Also on Friday, the head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement condemning terrorism “in all its forms.”

CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said, “We must remain united as a nation as we face those who would carry out such heinous and inexcusable crimes.”

His statement concluded with gratitude for “local, state and national law enforcement authorities for their diligence in bringing the perpetrators to justice and offer condolences to the loved ones of the officers killed and injured in efforts to detain the suspect.”

The CAIR website lists case by case, year by year examples of consistently condemning any form of terrorism. However, the Islamic community is constantly pressured to react to every situation as if everyone were responsible for every misdeed by anyone of their religion.

According to their website: “Any Muslim who plans, attempts or carries out a terrorist attack would be acting outside the boundaries of his or her faith and would be repudiated and condemned by our community.”

Interfaith Alliance president Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy released a statement from the national group saying that any hatred or violence expressed toward Muslims because the brothers were reportedly Muslim would be “against everything we stand for as Americans.”

Gaddy said, “Regardless of the religious background or the ethnic origin of the suspects, it says no more about the broader communities from which they come than Timothy McVeigh’s actions said about Christians when he bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on this very day 18 years ago.”

Source: USA TODAY