Brian Glyn Williams teaches Chechen history, as a professor of Islamic History at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.
That’s the same college attended by Boston Bombings suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Williams had brief contact with him, when Tsarnaev was a high school student and researching his Chechen roots for a school project.
“I’ve had a little criticism for providing him with information on Chechnya,” Williams says. “But that’s like criticizing someone for giving information to an Irish person about Ireland for fear that they might join the IRA. It doesn’t make any sense.”
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!