In FrontPage this morning I discuss NBC's search for "Islamophobia" at NASCAR, and what the network and American Muslims should really be doing (news links in the original):
NBC’s Dateline has never fully recovered from its rigged 1992 broadcast purporting to show General Motors trucks exploding on impact; now the credibility of this "news" program has taken a fresh hit. Attempting to capture incidents of anti-Muslim bias on camera, the show sent Muslims to a NASCAR race at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway.NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston was indignant. He declared:
It is outrageous that a news organization of NBC’s stature would stoop to the level of going out to create news instead of reporting news. Any legitimate journalist in America should be embarrassed by this stunt. The obvious intent by NBC was to evoke reaction, and we are confident our fans won’t take the bait.NBC denied any attempt to go after NASCAR in particular, explaining in a statement:
We were intrigued by the results of a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll and other articles regarding increasing anti-Muslim sentiments in the United States. It’s very early on in our newsgathering process, but be assured we will be visiting a number of locations across the country and are confident that our reporting team is pursuing this story in a fair manner.
It is striking that upon learning that a poll shows that more Americans think Islam is violent in 2006 than they did in 2001, NBC would immediately begin searching for incidents of prejudice among non-Muslims, rather than examining the words and deeds of Muslims themselves. The same is true of the original Washington Post story reporting on the poll: the rise in negative perceptions of Islam appeared to be entirely the fault of non-Muslim politicians and Western media. It quoted a number of man-on-the-street types, including a bus driver in Chicago who proclaimed, "Some of the best families I’ve ever had were some of my Muslim families." The Post then notes irrelevantly, "he now works for a Palestinian Christian family, whose members he says are ‘really marvelous.’"While the experts in the article spent a lot of time talking about how politicians and the media can improve public perceptions of Islam, no one mentioned what Muslims might be able to do. Here are a few suggestions. If Muslims around the world don’t want Islam to be perceived as encouraging violence, they should take these five steps:
1. Stop committing violent acts.
2. Stop justifying those violent acts by reference to the Qur’an and Sunnah.
3. Stop saying violent or hateful things in private when they think no non-Muslims are around. For example, the imam Umar Abdul-Jalil, executive director of ministerial services for the New York City Department of Correction, was secretly recorded last year while speaking at an Islamic conference in Arizona. Muslims, he said, invoking Qur’an 48:29, must be "compassionate with each other" and "hard against the kufr [unbeliever]." In Britain, Hamid Ali, imam of the mosque frequented by the July 7 bombers, praised the bombers and called their terror attack "good" in a conversation secretly recorded by an undercover journalist. Publicly, he had condemned the attacks. In a mosque in the Czech Republic, a Muslim secretly filmed by a documentary filmmaker says Islamic Shari’a law, including the stoning of adulterers, should be adopted by the Czech Republic. Cleveland imam Fawaz Damra, who has since been deported for failing to disclose his ties to terror groups, signed the Fiqh Council of North America’s condemnation of terrorism, despite having declared at an Islamic conference that "terrorism, and terrorism alone, is the path to liberation."
Do such incidents mean that every Muslim who professes to have adopted Western notions of pluralism and the equality of dignity and rights of non-Muslims and Muslims is dissembling? Of course not. But they do mean that non-Muslims are perfectly justified in being suspicious of Muslim protestations of moderation and opposition to terror. Consequently deeds, not just words, are needed. To conclude my five recommendations, genuinely anti-terror Muslims should:
4. Begin comprehensive international programs in mosques all over the world to teach against the ideas of violent jihad and Islamic supremacism.
5. Actively work with Western law enforcement officials to identify and apprehend jihadists within Western Muslim communities.
If Muslims did these five things, and they would find, voila, that perceptions of Islam around the world would begin miraculously to improve. Rather than sending ringers to NASCAR races hoping to manufacture incidents of bias, NBC would do well to send reporters to mosques in the United States and elsewhere, asking them whether or not they have implemented or will implement the five points above, and if not, why not.
But NBC is instead focusing its energies on sending Muslims to the races and hoping they will be insulted there. This is neither helpful nor illuminating. Nor is it, in any sense, journalism.
If Dateline would like to do more undercover work they might go into mosques across the land and discover what the sentiments of American Muslims are concerning jihad...I'd certainly tune in to that one...
Will Dateline be sending Jews to a camel race in Jeddah and report on that?
Perhaps "dateline" could visit Churches in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, oh, wait, there aren't any. Instead they could visit the underground home Churches in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, oh, wait, that would be too risky because the Islamic Police might break in at any minute and shoot everyone for no reason.
Rush has the media termed right by calling them "drive-by media"! they dont report the news, but make the news, and only cover what they want you to know. they twist it, their polls they ask in a certain way that they get the results they want in order to make the news. they reported how peaceful the protests were in Dallas, and then report how one lowly anti immigration protester caused a problem, be he gasp,, flew the AMerican flag! this poor guy had water bottles thrown at him, for this he was called a trouble maker! the media refused to call them illegals, but instead "undocumentated workers".
l refuse now to even put on the news its so biased!
This site and story is being read/quoted on talk radio right now at
http://www.wcbm.com/
Talking about Spencer and his books. Yeah.
Dateline is now a "waste of time" as a news magazine. NBC just like CBS thimk that they are so above the law that they can generate news instead of reporting it. No wonder the average, true, Red, White, & Blue American is turning off the mainstream media and switching to conservative talk radio. You never have to worry about Rush Limbuagh trying to set up fellow Americans to be made to look hateful or intolerant.
From the above post;
"We were intrigued by the results of a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll and other articles regarding increasing anti-Muslim sentimentscin the United States. It's very early on in our newsgathering process, but be assured we willbe visiting a number of locations across the country and we are confident that our reporting team is pursuing this story in a fair manner."
This statement reeks of anti-Americanism by NBC. Instead of searching the United States for resentment towards Muslims, why don't they (NBC) search for resentment of Muslims against the United States? And why is the liberal press polling for American resentment towards Muslims anyway. The last time that I read the newspaper, I didn't come across any articles reporting mosques burnings or the burning of korans. I've yet to come across an article reporting that an iman, sheik, or Muslim minister being arrested and processed for deportation for conducting an Islamic service in a mosque. There is no news out of the major U.S. cities or rural America of Muslims being attacked and beaten to within an inch of their lives. So what is the deal about this as of yet unheard of poll by the Washington Dhimmi Post/ABC News? Why are they so surprised that most Americans think that Islam is violent? Aren't they the ones that are reporting this stuff to the American public? Aren't they the ones showing the American viewer all of the bombings in the Middle East of Muslim mosques? I guess that when you're in the business of creating the news instead of reporting it, you tend to forget little things like that.
The average American thinks Islam is violent because, IT IS!!! HELLO!!! Every time you see or hear about terrorism it's always from the Middle East. The September 11th terrrorists, Muslims. the July 7th bombers, Muslims. The Madrid Train Station bombers, Muslims. Are you seeing the trend here? Pakistanis are burning down churches and burning up Bibles. Fraudi Arabia is arresting priests and deporting them from their borders for being Catholic and conducting a Catholic service. Priests are beaten in Turkey, Somalia, and Iran. Bible believers are forced into slavery by Muslims in Somalia and the Sudan. But NBC wants to "investigate" Americans at NASCAR events for possible anti-Muslim sentiments.
NASCAR has become just as American as football in this country. So why not go there. It's where you'll find the most intolerant folks on earth, Rednecks! But when the NASCAR fans didn't react the way that NBC thought that they should react, they were hurt. And now it has backfired on them. As great as NASCAR is, liberals are always trying to put it down. But just like America, it just keeps getting better and better. I've got a relative that builds cars for NASCAR. He loves it. And the "Rednecks" don't bother him at all. Unless it's to get him to put on a special piece of equipment. My kin also races stock cars. I'm glad that NASCAR officials have taken a stand against NBC and NBC Waste of Time. Liberals need to be told that "We the People" are sick and tired of them taking the side of the enemy against the United States.
Liberals can't help being what they are, I guess. I just wish that they would get a clue and go to the ones that really hate and investigate them. But I guess that's too easy. they might find what they're looking for!
Liberty, From Sea to Shining Sea,
and all Across the Fruited Plains!
I'm sure Dateline NBC has now given a true islamic terrorist every reason to go to a NASCAR race and blow himself up, knowing far less scurtiny will be placed upon him...or HER because of this stupid stunt by NBC.
we will be visiting a number of locations across the country and are confident that our reporting team is pursuing this story in a fair manner.
___
This is the same news network that always tells the truth.....
"We were intrigued by the results of a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll and other articles regarding increasing anti-Muslim sentiments in the United States. It’s very early on in our newsgathering process, but be assured we will be visiting a number of locations across the country and are confident that our reporting team is pursuing this story in a fair manner."
-- from the NBC statement above
Possibly NBC should begin by finding out whether or not learning about Islam, reading Qur'an and Hadith, studying the history of Jihad-conqeust and subjugation of non-Muslims, is or is not correlated with "increasing anti-Muslim sentiments"? Would that not be the most intelligent way to proceed, rather than attempting to construct some sort of Moral Tale where only people who derive pleasure from watching cars whirr around tracks, and who are, therefore, among the hopelessly benighted -- as far as the kind of people who prepared this program and the whole set-up, in every sense -- apoparently think?
Why not find out what those who have endured, as Copts in Egypt, Maronites in Lebanon, Assyrian Christians in Iraq, Christians and Hindus in Pakistan, Christians and Hindus and Buddhists in Indonesia, as Buddhists in southern Thailand, as Christians in Nigeria or Sudan, the full welcome and wonderfulness of Islam, what they think about this belief-system? Wouldn't that make more sense?
Why not interview, behind screens if necessary, Ibn Warraq and Ali Sina, Azam Kamguian and Irfan Khawaja, and Wafa Sultan, and a hundred or a thousand others, to find out what they think contributes to an "increase in anti-Muslim" attitudes?
Might that increase be attributed to -- knowledge?
I want to know why there are not any muslim Nascar drivers? This is an outrage. Surely a zionist conspiracy to keep the muslim down.
Oh yes, we demand our muslim right to drive very fast.
Hey January Man;
Don't laugh. According to the "Honorable Calypso" Louis FarraConman, this is true. Along with the conspiracy to keep the "African American" down.
And you know how accurate "Calypso" Louis was about the levees in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina!!!
I imagine it would be pretty dangerous for a mohammedan to drive too fast. Some of those unstable nitrate compounds they like to pack in trunks can be pretty touchy with all the ziggin' and zaggin'.
Up and coming new Nascar driver Mohammed "Grease" Ali was accidentally killed when he inadverdently entered a Demolition Derby. He exploded on contact.
Why is everyone being so hard on Dateline? The show's producers must have just got mixed up and thought that NASCAR's fans are "racist" fans and not "racing" fans.
/sarcasm
I'm Canadian and very seldom watch TV so I've never seen Dateline, but over on another thread a blogger sites one of Dateline's meat puppets as refering to the notorious Um Nidal, newly elected member of the Hamas government in the PA as having "lost three sons to the occupation" and not as the woman who had three sons blow themselves and a number of unarmed Israeli civilians up and got to use the blood money Arafat and Saddam gave her to fund her election campaign and would only be too happy to give all of her brood of seven for the glorious purpose of exterminating Jews from the Holy Land.
Time to throw away your newspapers and blow up your TVs, folks!
Before she leaves for her new anchor position, Katie Quran should do some investigating into the armories in America that Muslims refer to as Mosques.
Avatar;
NBC is known for this kind of journalism. A few years ago, NBC aired a report about the fatal flaws in the buttelproof vests of the police. Despite pleads from the law enforcement community NBC aired the report. I won't repeat the flaw out of respect for the law enforcement community. Their job is hard enough. But NBC felt that the "right of the People to know" was more important than the lives of our law enforcement representatives. This was too important a story to keep quiet. Everyone had to know about this, including the criminals!
News sensationalism is better than regular reporting. Every law-abiding gun owner understands this line about the mainstream media better than anyone! NASCAR is just the latest target in the crosshairs of the mainstream media. This should come as no surprise to Americans.
Anything that's American, guns, the Boy Scouts, the married male/female/child/children family, honest hard work, progress, baseball, football, fireworks on the 4th of July, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, national defense, pride of country, the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Mom's apple pie, a good T-bone steak, big cars, SUVs, protecting our borders, Ole' Glory, John Wayne, Ronald Reagan (aka Ronaldus Magnus), and now NASCAR, the liberals in the mainstream media will attack.
All in the name of fairness to Muslims.
NBC News should merge with CBS News. Throw in CNN's editorial board, and voila!, so much lying-ass energy would erupt that there would be bright light emitting from the Holy Grail, and free energy for every hybrid car on Earth.
Despite pleads from the law enforcement community NBC aired the report.
I happened to be working a consulting gig for a major city police chief at that time. Man, were they ever pissed.
LOL. Anti-Muslim sentiment in America? Not nearly enough.
Dateline and any other Apologists and ignorant-of-Islam's-true-nature Pollyannas will not take me, my friends, my family and my fellow Americans down a road to self-destruction with more well-crafted lies, entrapment and dogma.
Again, just more reason to ignore the mainstream Press in the U.S.A.
NBC is afraid of reporting about the true behavior and thinking of your average infil-traitor Muslim.
They know that the NASCAR non-Muslims won't threaten to kill the reporters' families in retailation for "bad press" (if there were any... which there obviously wasn't) so they go for the safe [non]story.
Sending them (and all like them in every media outlet) a white feather every time they do a 'Promoting the Suicide of the West' puff piece like this should come back into fashion.
The classic symbol of cowardice.
Nothing
But
Crap
Or is that
Nihilistic
Braindead
Cretins?
LOL, either one will do, profitsbeard! My salutation (in my e-mail of protest) to Dateline was: Dear Pompous Pricks
If it's racist reaction that NBC is try to solicit, all they need only put Stone Phillips in a Star of David T-shirt, and send him into Salina or any of the other Muslim neighborhoods of Detroit.