[aristeides]

I remember reading reports at the time that the father was a Syrian, and seeing the original name, which was an Arabic name similar to Bishop. The boy's name had been changed to Bishop.

I also remember reports that the boy had left a note expressing adherence to bin Laden's cause.

[John H K]

Was a long time ago but this is yet another one of those cases where the facts are "misremembered" the way people want to, and then repeated inaccurately.

The truth of the matter was that the boy is 1/4 Arab, and 3/4s Italian.

Father is 1/2 Arab and 1/2 Italian and doesn't speak a word of Arabic, and was born in the US.

It was either the GRANDFATHER or GREAT-GRANDFATHER that actually immigrated to the Boston area early in the century.

That's roughly the time when large numbers of Syrian-Lebanese Christians immigrated to the Boston area.

I've never seen the slightest scrap of evidence the father was a Muslim, or that the boy was, or that either had ever even set foot in a mosque.

[swarthyguy]

Original name was Bishara.