SHOCKER: That ‘Christian Terrorist’ in France Has Been Recognized. You’ll Never Believe What He Really Is. Spoiler: Yes you will.

The French-language news site Resistance Républicaine reported Monday that “Syrians living in France and Germany” have recognized the attacker as a “madman of Allah,” and that the identification has been confirmed by others as well. The attacker, according to those who have recognized him, is actually a Muslim named Selwan Majd, “a refugee from Al-Hasakah in northern Syria.” . . .

If the people who say they have recognized Selwan Majd are correct, it would certainly explain the anomalies of this peculiar case, which from the beginning seemed less like an actual case of Christian terrorism than a Muslim’s idea of what a Christian terrorist might be like. The attacker’s shout of “In the name of Jesus Christ” was all too obviously meant to be a parallel to the jihadis’ ubiquitous scream of “Allahu akbar.” But when has any Christian anywhere committed acts of violence while screaming this phrase? It was just too neat, suggesting not so much a Christian terrorist as someone who wanted very much to be thought of as a Christian terrorist.

The narrative must be serviced, regardless of the facts.