US Muslims fear backlash if Islamists behind Boston bombings

US Muslims are watching closely as the probe into the Boston bombings unfolds, fearing a backlash like after 9/11 if an Islamist link is confirmed to the deadly attack.

Several Muslim groups issued statements within hours of Monday’s double bombing at the Boston Marathon, strenuously condemning the attacks which killed three and injured more than 100 people.

Investigators said the range of possible culprits remains “wide open,” as speculation ranges from home-grown right-wing or white supremacist extremists to foreign Islamist groups or an al-Qaeda type cell.

A spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Ibrahim Hooper, said the Muslim group had already received “the usual hate calls,” but nothing major as yet.

Muslims in the United States allegedly continue to reject extremism by much larger margins than most other Muslim publics.