Al Jazeera ultimately retracted this claim, but the entire incident was illustrative of how the “Islamophobia” narrative is generally advanced: any action that is taken, and statement that is made, that is perceived to be in the slightest way opposed to the practice of Islam, including jihad violence, will result in the application of the “Islamophobia” label and the ruthless defamation of the person or group responsible. This takes place no matter how accurate the initial statement is, or how sensible the initial action is.
“Al Jazeera retracts op-ed claiming Tunisia closed mosques over Islamophobia, not Coronavirus,” by Sydney Smith, iMediaEthics, April 9, 2020 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
Al Jazeera published and then unpublished an opinion article arguing Tunisia closed mosques because of Islamophobia, not coronavirus.
The March 30 article, “Tunisia has a problem with internalised Islamophobia,” has been deleted.
The article still is available, however, via the Internet Archive, showing Safa Belghith wrote, “While the importance of prevention measures and controlling the spread of the virus is not debatable, the choice to completely close down mosques while only partially closing cafes was met with dismay.”
In a March 31 editor’s note, Al Jazeera said:
“Al Jazeera has retracted this opinion piece, in which the author argued that Tunisia’s coronavirus measures, including closing the country’s mosques, were linked to Islamophobia. Given that the closing of all houses of worship has been vital to prevent the spread of the virus, Al Jazeera can no longer be a platform for the central argument of the op-ed.“…