The Christchurch killer made it clear in his manifesto that his decision to murder Muslims was entirely tactical. He regarded non-whites as "invaders," but chose Muslims simply because the growth of Islamophobia worldwide made them unpopular. He knew this, and he wanted his actions to set off a global conflagration, starting a race war in which whites would fight other ethnic groups. He thought, because of the current political climate, that Muslims were the tinder most likely to burn a global white supremacist fire.

QUESTION: How does targeting an unpopular group maximize the chance of ratcheting extremism? Worth exploring the strategic logic of hate violence.

Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Gl…, loc. 212