Tsarnaev our neighbor

The question of where to bury Tamerlan Tsarnaev was resolved last week thanks largely to the efforts of Martha Mullen, a United Methodist woman from Richmond, Virginia. “I heard the story...that he was unable to be buried and that people are protesting him,” Mullen told NPR, “and it made me think of Jesus' words: Love your enemies.”

Mullen decided to reach out to religious organizations in the area, including Islamic Funeral Services of Virginia, which eventually helped to arrange a burial plot in the Al-Barzakh cemetery in Doswell, Virginia. Tsarnaev’s family buried him there last Thursday. 

In spearheading the burial effort, Mullen, a mental health counselor and a graduate of United Theological Seminary, took particular inspiration from the Parable of the Good Samaritan. “Jesus tells us to love your neighbor as yourself,” she said. “And your neighbor is not just someone you belong with, but someone who is alien to you.”