Rolling Stone Boston Bomber Cover Sparks Debate

18 Jul, 2013

Accused marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has made the cover of Rolling Stone — an iconic spot coveted by rock stars — prompting an immediate Twitter storm over the treatment of the suspected terrorist, while the accompanying profile reports his slain brother Tamerlan felt like “two people” and his mother pushed him toward Islam rather than a psychiatrist for a cure.

Rolling Stone is promising a “riveting and heartbreaking account of how a charming kid with a bright future became a monster” in contributing editor Janet Reitman’s article. Tsarnaev, with his brother, is accused in the bombings that killed three people at the Boston Marathon finish line April 15, and the April 18 murder of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier.

The news of Rolling Stone’s cover article last night prompted immediate outrage on Twitter, with a flood of remarks such as: “Rolling stone (expletive) you,” “I’ll be canceling my subscription. Big difference between edgy, and crossing line of decency,” and “Wow. Rolling Stone should be ashamed of themselves for this. Absolutely terrible cover.”

Material promoting the article at rollingstone.com states: “Around 2008, Jahar’s older brother Tamerlan confided to his mother that he felt like ‘two people’ were inside him. She confided this to a close friend who felt he might need a psychiatrist, but Zubeidat believed that religion would be the cure for her son’s inner demons and growing mental instability, and pushed him deeper into Islam.”

Reitman’s story, citing interviews with Dzhokhar’s friends, family and law enforcement, features “revelations” such as he was in a Muslim prayer group at high school and “took his religion seriously,” that he had a “troubled” home life, he once told a friend that terrorist attacks could be justified, and that an FBI agent speculated that during the Watertown boat standoff Tsarnaev could have been moved to give up by the mention of his high school wrestling coach’s plea for him to surrender.

The article is headlined on the cover: “The Bomber: How a Popular, Promising Student Was Failed by His Family, Fell into Radical Islam, and Became a Monster.”

Images of Tsarnaev such as the one on the Rolling Stone cover — doe-eyed with curly locks — are believed to have built a marginal fan base for the accused killer.

The emergence of a group of supporters — young women who insisted they weren’t swayed by his teen heartthrob looks, but believe he is innocent — prompted reactions of disgust and anger at Tsarnaev’s court appearance last week.

Boston Herald

Mentioned In This Post: