The San Diego Mosque Killers Weren't Just Anti-Islam. They Had Another Terrifying Motive.

The attackers left a manifesto filled with bigotry toward multiple groups, including Muslims, Black people, South Americans, and LGBTQ+ people. They claimed they did not discriminate on who they hated, but they focused especially on Jews and women. Although they attacked an Islamic center and claimed not to hate Muslims, they expressed hatred for Islam and Muslim immigrants and portrayed Muslims as instruments of Jewish power. The manifesto centers on Great Replacement ideas, describing a scheme in which white Westerners are replaced by Black and brown outsiders to destroy Western civilization, with Jews depicted as the masterminds. It also assigns blame to women, linking reactionary violence to misogynistic beliefs associated with incel ideology.

"The two young men who attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing three people and terrorizing an entire community, were overflowing with hate. The manifesto they left behind teems with bigotry; there are sections for Muslims and Black people, South Americans and LGBTQ+ people (although they use different terms), the political left and the right."

"It's true that the manifesto covers many different races and religions. But the men zeroed in on two groups with particular rage: Jews and women. This may seem odd, given that the men attacked a mosque. And make no mistake, despite the men claiming in their manifesto that they didn't hate Muslims, they were clear that they do hate Islam and they hate Muslim immigrants. And they were happy to slaughter them if it meant accelerating the white Christian war on everyone else."

"The central idea of the manifesto is one that will sound familiar to anyone who has even loosely read up on Great Replacement theory: White Westerners are being replaced with Black and brown outsiders in a nefarious plot to destroy Western civilization, and Jews are the all-powerful evildoers behind this plot. It's notable, though, that the men characterized Muslims primarily as "bioweapons" of Jews (although the men used a slur in place of "Jews")."

"But there's one aspect of Great Replacement theory-and of general reactionary right-wing violence-that rarely gets the attention it deserves: These men believe women are at fault, too. More than a decade ago, the word "incel" came into the popular lexicon via murderer Elliot Rodger, who killed six people and wounded 14 others in Isla Vista, California, all because he w"

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