Sorge Diaz of Western Resistance, whose site was named as was this one in S. I. Rosenbaum’s St. Petersburg Times piece yesterday, has detailed four unstated premises that led Rosenbaum to slant her article the way she did. These premises show up in many, many other mainstream media pieces about jihad and terrorism as well.
Unstated Premise 1; hate is always bad, except when it isn’t: The article’s title is telling: “Are bloggers against hate, or feeding it?” The writer examines in great detail how the actions of bloggers either lead or might lead to hatred against Muslims, but no attention is paid to hatred by Muslim themselves, or to the message of Islam. Only hatred–or “hatred”–by non-muslims is worth reporting.
Unstated Premise 2; Comments by non-muslims should be examined, comments by Muslims accepted uncritically: The message of Muslim spokesmen is never critically examined in the piece, while the message of their critics, well….
Unstated Premise 3; There is such a thing as Moderate Islam: The existence of Moderate Islam, a great, wonderful doctrine that will save us all, is assumed away; it is never looked for, let alone found. The History and Theology of Islam is conveniently ignored.
Unstated Premise 4; The Government is Always Right, when it agrees with us: I’ll give you the passage:
Daniel Sutherland of the Department of Homeland Security said the government is more interested in forging bonds with Muslims.
“There is no clash of civilizations going on here, there is no “us’ and “them,”‘ he said.Stop the presses, a guy from the Department of Homeland Security repeated the Government’s official view, it must be true! It amazes me how reporters capable of unbound skepticism of the Government in some areas, become willing peddlers of the official line when that line agrees with the “Islam is a Religion of Peace” canard.
Read it all.