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Editorial: Silence No More
Tariq A. Al-Maeena, close_encounters@gawab.com
There is a line that the media dare not cross when it comes to generalizing on any race, religious sect or the ethnicity of a people. But the US media observes no such editorial limitations when it comes to Muslims.
| He's talking about the U.S. media? |
In the latest affront to Muslims the world over, MSNBC leads off a news column with âMuslim link to Madrid blasts?â â meaning Thursdayâs bombings in the Spanish capital. The choice of words and the leading inference are nothing short of offensive.
| If you're among the easily-offended, of course... |
It is an affront to one of the largest religions in the world and to the people who follow that faith. It cleverly misleads the uninformed into believing that the 1.2 billion Muslims in this world have nothing better to do than blow up innocent people everywhere. This is a flagrant example of racism in a so-called âdemocratic and free pressâ, intent on twisting the truth and falsely representing their so-called facts.
| Islam isn't a race. It's a religion. You can be a member of any race and still be a Muslim. Of course, you have to be an Arab to be a member of the master race, but we won't go into that... |
Well, I am a Muslim and I am proud of it.
I do not condone terrorism anywhere, be it state-sponsored or by individuals and groups.
| But first on the agenda, of course, has to be dealing with "state-sponsored" terrorism, like Israel indulges in, and India and the U.S. and Russia, and all those other non-Muslim countries. Then we can all worry about the itty-bitty pittances of terrorism carried out by individuals and groups. Right? |
My religion forbids me such heinous crimes, and there is no reward except hell and damnation for all those who participate in such crimes.
| Yet there seems to be a world-wide movement devoted to perpetrating just such crimes, that uses Islam as its justification... |
But I am also extremely offended by the lack of ethics displayed today in US journalism. Can MSNBC or any US media organization print that African-Americans were behind the DC sniping, or Jews had a link in the New York serial murders or insider trading violations? Or that Christians, for that matter, were linked to the Oklahoma bombings? They would be shut down before the ink had a chance to dry.
| Actually, they wouldn't if the religion or the color had been the driver, the justification, behind the crimes. |
But they dare without boundaries when it comes to Muslims. They must be killed stopped. For the 1.2 billion Muslims the world over, a lawsuit must be prepared and slapped on MSNBC, to the tune of $1.2 billion, one dollar for every Muslim. The case must be for defamation and derogatory references to the good name of Muslims everywhere. I call on Muslims everywhere to take charge and prepare a landmark case against MSNBC, including any websites that blatantly refer to a religious group with no regard to their feelings or beliefs.
| Hurt your feelings, did it? Can't have that. Tusk tusk. |
Responsible journalism must be licensed protected. The manipulations we witnessed in the past few years by the US media have indeed sunk to very low standards and must be fought and contained. It is time to do it through their pocketbooks. Muslims will not be held hostage or put on the defensive for the actions of a few deviants that may attempt to hijack Islam, for there is nothing Islamic about such dastardly acts. Islam is a peaceful religion, a submission to Godâs will. We will not be insulted nor submit to a manipulative media anywhere.
| Apparently it's God's will that the turban and automatic weapons set blows up someplace with a large crowd of people every six months or so. There's no human intervention. It's just something that happens, so Muslims obviously can't be held responsible for the actions of a few... thousand. |
Posted by: Fred 2004-03-12 |
