Boston: The deceased Boston bombing suspect recently described the Bible as a copy of the Quran during an argument about religion, a former neighbor claims.
Al Ammon, whose apartment is in the same building in the Boston suburb of Watertown where Tamerlan Tsarnaev once lived, told CBS television`s "60 Minutes" that the dispute between the two took place about three months ago.
"I remember the first thing I said to him was that it`s always good to have an open mind towards other religions. And then he went into the Bible and the Quran," Ammon said in an excerpt of an interview set to air later Sunday.
"He was explaining how the Bible is actually a copy of the Quran and how it`s used for the American government as an excuse to invade other countries."
Christianity predates Islam by 600 years.
Tsarnaev and his 19-year-old brother Dzhokhar are the main suspects in Monday`s double bombing of the Boston Marathon, which killed three people and wounded about 180.
While Tamerlan was killed in a shootout with police, Dzhokhar was captured alive and taken to a Boston hospital where authorities say he is in serious condition.
Tamerlan began posting militant videos on social media sites in recent years, and made a six-month trip to Dagestan, which borders Chechnya, in 2012. Both Russian regions host separatist rebel groups.
AFP
