Boing Boing has an updated bullet point about the conspiracy theories floating around. You have to scroll down a little past all the pretentious Iraq hand-wringing, but there's a decent argument there that Ismail (from Cho's "Ismail Ax") could mean anything across different religions - Abraham is, after all, a patriarch for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Of course, that misses a seemingly true point being made by the conspiracy theorists - Ismail appears to be a spelling that's more common in Arabic sources than in Christian or Jewish ones. But the final conclusion is correct: who knows what it meant to that particular lunatic?

Oh, and let the record show that Lynn-B has had it with you people. Her patience being of a fairer and more gentle variety than ours, it took her a day longer to snap. But snap she has. Welcome to the club ma'am. We have t-shirts and hats in the corner.

Again - if it turns out that he was Muslim and that the media isn't saying so out of sensitivity, that's a media critique issue. But it still wouldn't prove anything about anything about whatever incoherent combination of petulance, anger, and voices made him do this.

References:
* VA Tech shootings: world perspective
* NOT important
* Va. Tech Anti-Conspiracy Theory Intervention

Previously:
* 77 Year Old Israeli Holocaust Survivor Shot While Saving Students In Va. Tech Massacre
* Arab and Muslim Conspiracy Theories - Iranian Holocaust Denial Edition
* [Video] What You Get When You Vote For Democrats - Empowering Conspiracy Theory Wackos