You want to correct Western perceptions of Islam? Stop blowing things up and cutting off peoples' heads while shouting, "Allahu akbar." Turn your energies to stopping the Muslims who are blowing things up and cutting off peoples' heads while shouting, "Allahu akbar," rather than to making Western non-Muslims stop noticing.
"We Must Correct Western Media Perception On Islam, Says Rais," from Bernama, June 9 (thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist):
KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 (Bernama) -- The key to ensure better relations between the Muslim world and western nations is by correcting the foreign media's perception of Islam as a religion of terror synonymous with the Al-Qaeda movement, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said Monday."One of the stumbling blocks is the power of the media in the West that doesn't seem to give a margin for us to come in into understanding Islam more objectively.
"The coverage they give is more about sensational news about terror, about captivity, about war and not on the other side of Islam which I have always been stressing -- the life of Muslims.
It is not up to the news media, even if this were true, to show Muslims being good. That isn't news, any more than it would be news if anyone else is being good. But the oft-repeated contention that the mainstream media isn't interested in non-terrorist Muslims is completely belied by the facts. In fact, the media is avid to find Muslim moderates, and often features pleasing moderate Muslim fellows, many of whom have their hearts in the right place but who actually have no following among Muslims and do not express an orthodox Muslim point of view.
"Therefore, the tenets of Islam urging us to be calm and be appreciative of beauty and the world have never been put forward in a manner that is coercive enough or effective enough. There lies the problem," he said in his welcoming remarks at the "Third International Conference On the Muslim World and The West: Bridging the Gap".
Maybe, but the problem is that these beautiful tenets haven't been enough to stop jihadists or Islamic supremacists. If they had succeeded in doing that, Rais might have a stronger case.
Rais stressed this point owing to rising Islamophobia among westerners.Rais said even the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and other Islamic organisations and associations had never taken steps to correct this wrong point of view painted by the western media which equates Muslims and Islam with the Al-Qaeda.
What a lot of hooey. What Western media ever does this? I don't do it, and I am high on the spurious and propagandistic list of "Islamophobes." I don't know of anyone else who does it either.
"Actually, this is not the reality, it is a political movement by the Al-Qaeda. Islam is not Al-Qaeda. This notion has not been dispelled by any group, be it the OIC or regional Islamic organisations in the world.
Indeed.
"As such, every time when the Al-Qaeda issue crops up in Britain, it is equated with Islam. This is the wrong perception which we need to address.
Fine. But you should be addressing it among Muslims who approve of al-Qaeda, not among non-Muslims.
"How do you do this?. I think it is only with the concerted efforts of our own Islamic media to project the truth. We have to have the forum, we have to have the media treatment and we have to have the political will among OIC members to project this sort of idea and image," he said.
"In fact, the media is avid to find Muslim moderates,"
In his book "The West's Last Chance," Tony Blankley considers the so-called moderate Muslims to be "covert sympathizers."
Me, too. Covert Sympathizers. That is, I believe, the truest phrase about so-called moderate Muslims I have ever seen.
As Mo said, "War is Deceit." One face to the world, another behind closed doors. Er, make that "closed mosque."
You want to correct Western perceptions of Islam? Stop blowing things up and cutting off peoples' heads while shouting, "Allahu akbar." Turn your energies to stopping the Muslims who are blowing things up and cutting off peoples' heads while shouting, "Allahu akbar," rather than to making Western non-Muslims stop noticing.
-- from Robert Spencer's first paragraph above
That's a start. But it's only a start, and it could be most misleading if, because of a combination of expensive and exhausting efforts by Infidel security services, and a recognition by many Muslims who have no moral qualms about terrorist acts but may have concluded that at this point they damage the cause of Islam, that is the Jihad or "struggle" to remove all obstancles to the spread, and dominance, of Islam -- a Jihad which can be more effectively promoted not through acts of terror but by staying away from acts of terror, and using the Money Weapon, Da'wa, demographic conquest, and along with them constant pressure on Infidels, sometimes adequately resisted, sometimes not, for changes in everything -- in the foreign policies, in the legal and political institutions, on the social understandings -- of Infidel states and societies.
The beheadings will continue until the West changes its perception of islam.
The media is already way too soft on Islam. If Muslims want to "correct" the media's misperceptions on Islam, they should be careful what they wish for.
I didn't need al Qaeda or 9/11 to equate Islam with terrorism. Muslims did that themselves, repeatedly.
It began with the Islamic Revolution in Iran. That was the first time I heard that all non-Muslims were bad. I heard "experts" tell us that Khomeini didn't speak for all Muslims, that Shiism was a minority sect and that the Sunnis were our friends.
In the 1980s I saw a wheelchair-bound man shot and pushed overboard into a harbor. Then there was Lebanon, Libya, the Berlin bombings, tourists shot in airports, the list goes on.
After almost three decades of this, it's hard to have any "misperceptions" about Islam.
That said, we must indeed correct "the Western media's misperceptions about Islam". They still buy the tripe that Muslims don't believe in violence, whether or not they practice it as individuals. They interview the one person who has never fired a gun or set off a bomb, ignoring that person's support of those who have. They interview the person who says suicide is wrong, ignoring the Islamic idea that a Muslim who blows himself up isn't necessarily committing suicide; he is engaged in jihad, an honorable activity and a religious duty.
Hugh,
I'm aware of that, thanks. In fact, I'm writing a book about it. Funny thing, I sent a few of the chapters-in-progress to someone I know not long ago, hoping he would look them over and tell me what he thought, but he never got back to me. Maybe you know him?
Yrs
Robert
This problem, the demands, the supremacy is world wide. In Canada the Muslim sock puppet for the Canadian Islamic Congress has an offer we can't refuse:
"Muslims must 'demand that right to participate' in national media, Khurrum Awan, the primary witness in the Maclean's magazine hate speech hearing, told a weekend conference of the Canadian Arab Federation. ... And we have to tell them, you know what, if you're not going to allow us to do that, there will be consequences. You will be taken to the human rights commission, you will be taken to the press council, and you know what? If you manage to get rid of the human rights code provisions [on hate speech], we will then take you to the civil courts system. And you know what? Some judge out there might just think that perhaps it's time to have a tort of group defamation, and you might be liable for a few million dollars,"
[...]
"Mr. Awan described his increasingly high-profile struggle "against particular elements in media that are misusing and abusing their responsibility" in writing about Islam."
[...]
"He said that the argument for limitless free speech 'is really a far-right Republican argument that is being imported into this country.' "
[...]
"So the only practical remedy that is available are the human rights commissions," he said, calling it 'the only process in which you as the complainant have control.' "
Yep. It's a plot. Get it dhimmis?
Oops!. Link for the quotes above:
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=573457
Yes, Robert, I was just getting to that. But what with the weather, and the consequent pina coladas, and the siestas, and suchlike, I've been a little slow.
lol, the banter betwixt RS and Hugh is fun and amusing! JW - an immensely civilized place - how enjoyable!
Am I misunderstanding the 11,226 terrorist attacks since 9-11?
Am I misunderstanding the Qur'an?
Or the Ahadith or the Sira?
Am I misunderstanding the history of Islam?
What about the Armenian Jihad? The government of Turkey can say all it wants to regarding the denial of this event - but history says otherwise.
The Armenian Jihad happened within the last 100 years and is just another example of the Islamic Jihad that was unleashed on the World since the prophet Mohammed slaughtered the Jews of Medina.
How is the West responsible for these events?
How is the perception of the western media responsible for these events?
Aren't Muslims responsible for them?
Well, mister foreign minister, as to tying islam to religious terror, I'd say it's too late as the cat is out of the bag owing to the allah akbars that are said whenever terror operations are conducted.
As to the western media providing misperceptions about islam: certainly he has to be kidding as the media has bent over backward showing how moslems are just like every other law-abiding citizen except when they are demanding that society-at-large succumb to provisions of sharia law under the threat of dire consequences (cab drivers not carrying passengers with guide dogs or alcohol, mosques being established in public buildings like at George Mason University in VA and cashiers not touching pork products in Minnesota). The biggest hypocrisy was after 9/11, the moslems clerics condemned bin laden not for the acts that were perpetrated but because he hadn't called the US to islam before conducting jihad against us.
Like I've said before, all I need to know about islam, I learned on 9/11 (and during the Munich Olympics, after the capture of John Allen Mohammed, etc) and on Jihadwatch.
Interesting,, here is a article that just came out on MEMRI, couple of days ago,,
http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD195108
from Glen's site,, www.thereligionofpeace.com
seems some in the medieval east,, and finally figuring out why the WEST is FED UP WITH ISLAM!!!
)0(
namaste
solsticewitch13
"do NOT annoy the bikers"
In fact, the media is avid to find Muslim moderates, and often features pleasing moderate Muslim fellows, many of whom have their hearts in the right place but who actually have no following among Muslims and do not express an orthodox Muslim point of view.
.................................
Actually, we are even more eager than this this implies to find moderate Muslims. How often have actual supporters of Shari'ah and violent Jihad been named "moderate Muslims" by the press? If Ali Gomaa, or Tariq Ramadan, or--God help us--even Mahmood Abbas says anything that can be considered "moderate", they are lauded by the media. This is true no matter their history, their connections to "extremists", or what they have to say to Arab audiences.
We are desperate to find moderate, peaceful Muslims, sometimes so eager that we often don't vet self-proclaimed moderates all that closely.
And the media runs human interest stories all the time about the Muslim community celebrating Ramadan, or holding "interfaith" get-togethers, or about Muslim singers, or writers, or artists.
As for the "if it bleeds, it leads" nature of Western news, complain away. Certainly Westerners complain about this all the time. Perhaps if fewer Muslims were causing all of this horrific bloodshed, all over the world, public perception would change.
The west in my opinion is creating a decent platform for muslims to handle the problems of muslims.
Many muslims I know are so sick and tired of this violence, perhaps they do have a little grudge, but mainly they just dont care.
Someone I know long ago mentioned that he was trapped by his own religion explaining in detail that islam is a framework of slavery and the masters of islam plays this card all the time.
He was the first guy that spoke in a mini forum in southern malaysia about why wasnt 9 surrounding countries of Israel permitted to kill innocent muslims while they take israel for a beating for defending their country? I think it was 250:1 in ratio.
He also accused the middle east policy to enforce hatred among muslims and non muslims to distract them from the real issue, MONEY & POWER.
I believe 'this' guy was there as well. He said nothing for this.
Back to the topic. Dr rais is a smart guy, but things that he says made him a national clown before.
There are many pending issues about islam in malaysia that he needs to address before taking the global centerstage.
1. It was his government that destroyed hindu temples that triggered angered hindus protesting for their right. 1 TEMPLE IS DESTROYED IN 3 WEEKS.
2. In Malaysia, no one could question Islam, but the islamic government could detain, ban any materials that referred to god (to be one with god)
3. It was his government that banned the bible in Malay language.
4. It was his government that dictates the curriculum about islamic studies for everyone to learn, where writes rubbish about other religion.
5. It was his government that does not permit the freedom of religion.
6. It was his government that spent millions on mosques in expensive key areas, millions more in the Da' Wa process that employed thousands, where other religions resort to begging for funds or donation.
7. It was his government that spend millions on islamic malay schools, scholarships and jobs on muslims where non-muslims are deserve 100x more than the average malay gets less than 1% of anything.
8. Malay muslims (mostly 98% muslims in malaysia) enjoy so much benefir from 7-10% discount on Property, given State land for free, shares in company at least to 30%.
--
Does Islam has a perception, yes, ITS A FRAMEWORK FOR SLAVERY, WEALTH AND POWER. A normal good frame of mind has no way to escape this slavery, the mental slavery.
When non-muslims fight for their right, they are usually treated as cockroaches.
Muslims would not eat non-muslims food, would you eat food prepared by a roach?
I first handedly heard an islamic teacher preaching about non muslims level are lower than a dog (1996) in a school!
And when we talk about it, muslims (I dont are what percentage) will fight with the intent to kill with islam and koran.
The islamic goverment was successful in using people to fight and kill their brethren in the banner of islam, and they do it again and again.
This is the perception i have. Prove me wrong!
That was a heartening link, solsticewitch13. Let's find some more.
If anything the Western media has pampered Islam and refused to show the true barbarity of its implications in the form of Political Correctness.
Anything that shows Islam in a bad light or the relationship of its religious text to terror is banned.
"Therefore, the tenets of Islam urging us to be calm and be appreciative of beauty and the world have never been put forward in a manner that is coercive enough or effective enough
"Coercive enough"? Yes that's it, my muslim brothers. You must emphasize more strongly through word and deed that criticism of islam as being violent will force muslims to ever greater violence.
Great idea. Muslims...working hard to bring understanding to the west. Great news that the understanding is growing. Rock on my muslim brothers. You freeking morons. Yes, more and more of us are beginning to wake up and "get it". The day will hopefully come when western life becomes uncomfortable and you will all go back to live in the ratholes...ah...islamic paradises you came from.
Here's an excerpt from what the then-ruler of Indonesia, Mahathir Mohamad, or Mohamad Mahathir (I forget which), said to the O.I.C. meeting in 2003. He was received with great enthusiasm:
"To begin with, the governments of all the Muslim countries can close ranks and have a common stand if not on all issues, at least on some major ones, such as on Palestine... We need guns and rockets, bombs and warplanes, tanks and warships...We may want to recreate the first century of the Hijrah, the way of life in those times, in order to practice what we think to be the true Islamic way of life l.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews. There must be a way. And we can only find a way if we stop to think, to assess our weaknesses and our strength, to plan, to strategize and then to counter-attack. As Muslims, we must seek guidance from the Al-Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet. Surely the 23 years struggle of the Prophet can provide us with some guidance as to what we can and should do..."
>>
That was a heartening link, solsticewitch13. Let's find some more.
Posted by: skevin
>>
Yes,, skevin,,
I was very happy to see this link,,
http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD195108
ESPECIALLY on MEMRI!!!
I hope to see many more article like this one,, coming out of the muslim world.
I hope every (SANE) Muslim in the middle east AND the WEST,, reads this article.
This BRAVE,, SANE man,, Dr. Ahmad Al-Baghdadi, needs to be applauded and supported,, for his clear thinking.
I hope the truly peaceful Muslims,, take this man's example,, and stand up, and support him and speak out,, against, all this insanity and violence, being done in the name of ISLAM!!!
*fingers crossed* LOLOL!!
)0(
namaste
solsticewitch13
"do NOT annoy the bikers"
HD4EVR
Re Solsticewitch and Skevin,
Thanks for that link, I agree that it is encouraging.
Notice the link back to where that came from, -
http://www.aafaq.org/english/Index.aspx
A site worth exploring further for any who have not already done so.
hi Hugh,
its Mahathir Mohamad, from Malaysia
and not only the actions of the last 30 years against victims both Jewish and "infidel" but look at what they do to their own women...how many "honor" killings are done in the name of Allah by fathers, brothers, uncles, to their own daughters, sisters, nieces...
these excuses for men even film and put out on the web the stoning and mutilation of these women. This is not al-Queda or any other special interest terror group, these are "regular" Muslim males killing their own...
>>>
Re Solsticewitch and Skevin,
Thanks for that link, I agree that it is encouraging.
Notice the link back to where that came from, -
http://www.aafaq.org/english/Index.aspx
A site worth exploring further for any who have not already done so.
Posted by: StephenA55 >>
HI Stephen,,
Wow,, I was so excited about the Memri article, I didn't even think to check out the originating page!
THANKS that looks like a good evening of reading!
solsticewitch13
Malaysia should first learn to respect other religions before this clown goes pontificating. They have destroyed hundreds of ancient Hindu temples in Malaysia and gagged other religions. And this clown talks about misconceptions? Truth about Islam is emerging and that is why the squirming.
Many muslims I know are so sick and tired of this violence, perhaps they do have a little grudge, but mainly they just dont care. \i>
tjwork,
Next time you hear that, tell them they had better begin to care. If they remain silent in the face of this murder, no one will call them innocent.
They can't evade responsibility by telling us they had nothing to do with it.
The tactic is to lie, misdirect, obfuscate and draw attention away from the truth.
The MSM does it as well. Their motive is $$ & power. I think that is why the love affair between them. Two peas in a pod with different motives. Both are based upon pride, willful ignorance and selfishness.
Sorry I depressed you!
As for the link, I have not read through it but I am very skeptical to start with. Would not be surprised that words had different meanings. Not that we have learned this before.
Malaysia should not worry they will fix this 'media' problem soon.
Pakistan is telling the European Union to stop the 'free speech' or else.
Saudi Arabia is calling OPEC together for a review to increase output to lower the price of fuel. Saudi Arabia will only do this for political compramise, i.e. start censoring your media.
Islam does not want a 'fair and balanced' reporting of islam, Islam wants 'NO reporting'.
"Malaysian Foreign Minister: We must correct Western media's misperceptions of Islam"
Oh, STFU. What do you think we are? Stupid? We have created and invented virtually EVERYTHING - so, STFU.
You have created and invented virtually NOTHING - except your Terrorist Manual Book of War.
"Malaysian Foreign Minister: We must correct Western media's misperceptions of Islam"
Oh, STFU. What do you think we are? Stupid? We have created and invented virtually EVERYTHING - so, STFU.
You have created and invented virtually NOTHING - except your Terrorist Manual Book of War.
Uh, hello, we can certainly understand barbaric Islam!
Sounder, thanks for posting the link to the National Post story about the assault on freedom of speech in the Canadian "Human Rights" councils.
It is clear that Mr. Awan wants to use misguided Canadian "Human Rights" laws as a blunt cudgel against anyone who has the temerity to question violent Jihad.
This is the most stunning quote from the article:
He said that the argument for limitless free speech "is really a far-right Republican argument that is being imported into this country."
........................
In Canada, where anti-Americanism is almost reflexive for some, this is the ultimate condemnation: the idea that the great Western Enlightenment tradition of freedom of speech, embraced and championed by Conservatives, Moderates, and Liberals, is no more than a Neo-Con affectation championed by no one but the evil and discredited American lame duck president, George Bush.
Canada needs to stand up for their values and rights, before they are so eroded as to become meaningless.
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=573457
I submit to all that "the truth" and "Islam" are mutually contradictory terms.
gravenimage: Should Canada's values and rights become meaningless, it will be entirely the doing of the Modern Left, which is the most collective idiot I've ever come across in all of man's history. Even totalitarian types like fascists, Marxists and Muslims have at least not engaged in the monumental stupidity of self-loathing. The Modern Left is so stupid that it hasn't even avoided this insanity.
The crudeness of this sort of stupidity really causes me to despair of seeing any sort of improvement in the mohammedan zone in our lifetimes.
Even if every last one of us non-mohammedans were absolutely convinced that the mohammedans indeed were, to the last man, a bunch of lying, murdering, hate-filled assassins, it would hardly make the slightest bit of difference in the affairs of the world.
We need the oil, they need to sell it, they would use the leverage to extort concessions, our side would give in too often.
So what? What would be different?
This parasite doesn't even know what he wants.
What he seems to be hoping for is control of our minds, but he doesn't even know why he wants that.
It's really too disgusting.
=============
Reminds me a little of the Borg creatures on the Star Trek TV show.
Only more repulsive.
This pompous moron is badly mistaken if he really believes the Western media projects the wrong image of islam! It's quite the opposite; the Western media bend over backwards to project a false, misleading, and politically correct image of islam instead of the unbiased truth. Most of the Western media is clueless about islam and consider muslims to be poor, pitiful victims because they are members of a minority group in the West. A 1.5 billion member world community, the umma, doesn't fit the endangered species criteria and its collective, incessant demands resonate throughout the Western world, hardly a meek voice in the dark. I'm sick of hearing about islam, muslims, and all the bad press islam gets. It doesn't get nearly enough bad but true press.
The Western media's only crime is to report snippets of the daily atrocities committed by rabid muslims because these heinous acts are news, and news is their business. They take great pains to keep these nasty news items short and sweet, omitting many relevant but damning details. Furthermore, intelligent people do not rely on the mainstream media for all of the news and certainly not for reliable information on the meaning of islam or the muslim psyche.
Millions of concerned people have taken the time to do their own research on islam, after which the news stories they read every day concerning islamic terrorism and the crazed behavior of muslims make perfect sense. The news media cannot stifle news or change public opinion about this insidious death cult, but muslims could stop providing endless fodder for the media's alleged distorted and inaccurate projections of islam.
It's so nice to know that the OIC, UN, and islamic heads of state have joined forces to demand that Western nations abolish free speech and freedom of the press because these cherished, unalienable rights offend muslims and threaten islam. Islam means nothing to most of us beyond the immediate threat to our security posed by muslims, which is real and proven. I can't wait to see what they demand we relinquish next to bridge the bottomless chasm between them and us. That problem would be solved if muslims removed themselves from our immoral, decadent societies immediately. The utter gall of these self-absorbed, megalomaniacs is beyond belief!
"Islam is not Al-Qaeda. "
Sorry I'm not buying any. Al Qaeda is very, very Islamic.
Besides: the jiziyah is an extortion racket, which makes Islam a criminal organization.
I don't care about the 'image' of Islam which the spin-doctors and the da'awa creeps like to sell. I know what they do. I have seen what they do. Don't tell me about my lying eyes. Take your camel and move on, Mr Islamaniac, I will remember your image till the end of my days.
Islamic logic is simple. If one's views of Islam are negative, then they are 'misconceptions' of Islam. If one's views of Islam are positive, then they are correct conceptions of Islam.
Similarly, if you highlight a violent or negative passage in the Koran, you are taking it 'out of context'. If you highlight any positive passages of the Koran, you are not taking it 'out of context'.
Wellington wrote:
gravenimage: Should Canada's values and rights become meaningless, it will be entirely the doing of the Modern Left.
................................
Sadly, I agree. The great Liberal tradition of championing freedom of speech seems all but dead.
Incidently, my charactarization of the current administration above was meant to be an ugly caricature such as Awan would use. Not sure if that came through in my post.
We hope you like the changes in new, improved progressive fascism!