Ethnicity of Boston Bombings Suspects Prompts Concern by Some in the Muslim Community

For many Muslim Americans, the Boston Marathon bombings presented a dreaded scenario: a terrorist attack by Muslim suspects.

Haider Javed Warraich is a resident in internal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He told host Marco Werman he was angry and disappointed when he discovered the identities of the bombing suspects.

Anger, because he hoped this event would not be about Islam or Muslims and more backlash against the Muslim community. Warraich said Muslim leaders have worked hard with local and national governments to educate them and that he hoped those efforts would not be pushed aside.

Warraich was having lunch with his wife nearby the Boston Marathon finish line when the bombing went off. He said several thoughts went through his mind.

He said his first instinct was to seek safety, then to see how he, as a physician, could help others. But then the feeling of paranoia set in as he wondered if he would be considered a suspect because of his ethnicity.

Warraich was born and raised in Pakistan and moved to Boston three years ago to pursue a residency at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.