Tom Brokaw On Dzhokhar Tsarnaev: 'He's Also A Muslim' (VIDEO)

Tom Brokaw On Boston Bombing Suspect: 'He's Also A Muslim'

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NBC's Tom Brokaw and MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry had differing approaches to the fact that suspected Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is a Muslim.

Though Tsarnaev has begun responding to investigators' questions, the extent to which his religion motivated his alleged actions is not yet fully known.

Brokaw, though, tied Tsarnaev to what he called "Islamic rage."

"There's a lot we still need to know about what motivated him, obviously," he said on Sunday's "Meet the Press." "He's a Chechen, but their beef is with Russia, not with us. But, he's also a Muslim. And the fact is that Islamic rage is still out there. We saw it in Times Square. We were very, very fortunate under those circumstances. So there has to be more vigilance, obviously."

Harris-Perry, meanwhile, took the opposite tack.

"We don't really know," she said. "I mean, the younger brother, he's getting all kinds of tweets from his friends, he seems pretty assimilated. I think part of the answer is that it's still an open question. But it does worry me when even as we saw these open questions, we are already beginning to talk about it as a policy matter."

"I keep wondering, is it possible that there would ever be a discussion like, 'Is this because of Ben Affleck and the connection between Boston and movies about violence?'" she added. "And of course, the answer is no."

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