Buruma's Reasons To Write A Murder In Amsterdam

A) Research Question: Buruma was motived by a multitude of reasons to write a Murder in Amsterdam, however, the most curious and pressing question being, what pushed a relatively young normal man to commit such a ruthless act and still stand behind his horrific action?

B) Thesis: Buruma argues that Bouyeri never felt a sense of identity, which in turn, lead to his breaking point of devoting his life to a radical version of Islam faith, lots of angry and resentment towards others, and an act of murder.

C) Evidence:

• At Bouyeri’s trial, Bouyeri stands before the court and makes a statement damning himself even worse than imagined. “I acted out of faith. And I made it clear if it had been my own father, or my little brother, I would have done the same thing. If I were ever released, I would do exactly the same, exactly the same” (A Promising Boy, page 189). Bouyeri makes his stance crystal clear to the court room and the public that his faith comes before anyone or anything else, no matter how rash that may seem. Buruma included this scene in the book to drive home that faith is above all for Bouyeri. Bouyeri felt as if he had no else to turn but to his faith. He protected his radical faith and his views at

A history teacher recalls seeing how intelligent Bouyeri was and pushing Bouyeri to do better and work harder. However, the teach admits the push to do better could make some adolescents angry and high-strung. Buruma attributes this as factor in Bouyeri’s later pent up anger. His peers remember Mohammed, or “Mo” as they called him, determined to be a hard worker and going out of his way to help and tutor others. They said he seemed to be a happy person. The question then becomes, when did Bouyeri change? After facing many setbacks in high school and college, Bouyeri simply began to become angry. Rejection was his worst enemy and it merely fueled him to become