Fictional Dramas Are More Detrimental Than The Words And Actions Of Actual Muslims?

Last night I was watching The O'Reilly Factor, and there was a segment on complaints regarding the portrayal of Muslims in the current season of "24." O'Reilly's guest was Arsalan Iftikhar, the legal director for CAIR.

O'Reilly had just made a point that there are actually jihadists who are actively involved fighting against America, and that the writers for dramas shouldn't be chided for realistically depicting those enemies. Iftikhar responded that the argument allowed people to say that shows such as "24" are based in the reality of the world we live in and that is why they are portraying Muslims as terrorists, but then to hide behind the fact the the show is fiction when Muslims complain about that portrayal. He finished his rebuttal with the following statement. [Note: I created this transcript because I wasn't sure if I would be able to find a transcript online today; the comments in the brackets were added by me to fill in the context of what was being discussed.]

"Yes, you know, there are people [who are Muslim and are enemies of the U.S.], and as American Muslims we are as committed to the protection of our national security as everyone else. But when shows [such as "24"] paint an entire demographic group as being complicit in terrorism when they have, you know, [a] Muslim family as the next sleeper cell, you know, obviously to Americans who don't know anything about Muslims or Islam, it's going to give them a lot of pause when they deal with their Muslim friends, neighbors, and co-workers."

Arsalan Iftikhar, legal director for CAIR, discussing the portrayal of Muslims in the Fox drama "24" on the 19 January 2007 edition of "The O'Reilly Factor."

The problem I have with Iftikhar's argument is that, if Muslims weren't this year's villains on "24," would he be as vehement about the negative perceptions created in the minds of "Americans who don't know anything about Muslims or Islam" when Imam Abu Usamah at-Thahabi "calls for the public crucifixion of all 'kuffar' and says they should be 'left there to bleed to death for three days.'?" Or how about when Omar Brooks, aka Abu Izzadeen, says that "Mohammed's message to nonbelievers is: 'I come to slaughter all of you.'?"

One would think that those statements from actual Muslims would have just as much, if not more, of a derogatory effect on the public perception of Islam and its adherents. Further, since one of those Muslims, Abu Usamah at-Thahabi, regularly spews his venom at the Green Lane mosque in Birmingham, England, wouldn't it be a logical leap to tie all of those Muslims who attend that mosque to those same violent and terroristic concepts and ideals?

I just checked CAIR's website this afternoon, and while there were references on their home page to the impact of the portrayal of Muslims on "24," there was not a single mention of the firebrand Muslims who have been highlighted recently by CNN and other news organizations.

Again, as I said in my post on this yesterday, Muslims need to worry more about the image created for them by the words and actions of other Muslims. Once they have cleaned up the radicals and extremists who preach hate in the mosques attended by Muslims (who we are to believe are just regular moderates, and not affected by the sermons they hear weekly), then they may be able to make a reasonable argument regarding their portrayal in fictional dramas.

Until that happens, I will continue have a difficult time taking their concerns over portraying Muslims in television programs seriously, especially since those fictional portrayals are far too similar to the reality of the words and actions of Muslims in incidents which take place daily around the world.

USMC 9971 OUT

Muslims Are Whining About "24"

This should really come as no shock, but Muslims are concerned about how they are being portrayed on the Fox series "24." For example:

"I think that TV has quite an effect on how people think," said Nadeem Mazen, past president of the MIT Muslim Association. "So much of what we hear on Muslims is hearsay - an expert opinion by people with a personal agenda and not necessarily motivated by truth. And then a show like this comes along that perpetuates the 'them' factor." [...]

Of course, it's a show. But TV not only reflects the zeitgeist - it also influences it, some say, meaning the writers of "24" have to be careful, said Rabiah Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"I saw '24' (on Monday) and we do have concerns with the show," Ahmed said. "We are monitoring it and will be contacting our contacts at Fox to discuss those concerns." [...]

Syed M. Ali Khan of the Muslim Community Support & Services in Braintree just hopes audiences consider the source, so to speak.

"TV shows are out to make money and get ratings," he said. "They aren't there to create awareness. I hope people realize that it's just a money-making machine and (are) not stupid enough to buy into the propaganda."

Instead of being concerned about how Muslims are being portrayed on a television series, maybe these same advocates should be concerned about the perception that people will have of Muslims based upon the actual words and actions of imams and other adherents to Islam.

Abu Usamah at-Thahabi, who preached at the Islamic Center of Peoria in 2001, is the subject of a British news documentary that revealed Monday how he regularly exhorts worshippers at the Green Lane Masjid, or mosque, in Birmingham to hate Westerners, whom he calls "pathological liars" and "kuffar," a derogatory term for non-Muslims.

Abu Usamah also calls for the public crucifixion of all "kuffar" and says they should be "left there to bleed to death for three days."
American-Born Imam Spews Message of Hate in England


At a recent debate over the battle for Islamic ideals in England, a British-born Muslim stood before the crowd and said Prophet Mohammed's message to nonbelievers is: "I come to slaughter all of you."

"We are the Muslims," said Omar Brooks, an extremist also known as Abu Izzadeen. "We drink the blood of the enemy, and we can face them anywhere. That is Islam and that is jihad."
Radicals vs. moderates: British Muslims at crossroads


Samaira Nazir rejected Pakistani suitors chosen by her family and planned to elope with her Afghan boyfriend. The penalty for her defiance: death from 18 stab wounds inflicted by her brother and cousin at the family home in Southall, England.

More than a dozen women are killed for violating community standards each year in the U.K., according to police. While Nazir's killers were jailed for life, U.K. police ignore hundreds of "honor crimes" to avoid inflaming relations with Muslim enclaves as they work to head off homegrown terror plots, say lawmakers and women's rights advocates.
U.K. 'Honor Crimes,' Cloaked in Silence, Stall Police


Talal Chahine, the 51-year-old owner of the La Shish restaurant chain, left the country in September 2005 after federal agents used a search warrant to raid his company headquarters in Dearborn.

A May 2006 indictment charged him and his wife, Elfat El Aouar, the chain's former financial manager, with four counts each of income tax evasion, alleging they concealed more than $16 million in cash during the 2000-2003 tax years.

Prosecutors said Chahine had ties to the militant Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah, which the U.S. government classifies as a terrorist organization.
Restaurants struggle as owner linked to terrorists, tax evasion


Youssef Aoun Bakri, 36, pleaded guilty in federal court as he stood before US District Judge Gerald E. Rosen. The original indictment charged Bakri and other defendants with operating a criminal enterprise to traffic in contraband cigarettes and counterfeit goods, producing counterfeit cigarette tax stamps, and laundering money.

Most troubling was the fact that part of the profits made from the illegal enterprise were given to Hezbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization (DFTO), according to the indictment.

Bakri faces maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Two other defendants, Imad Majed Hamadeh, 51, of Dearborn Heights and Theodore Schenk, 73, of Miami Beach, Fla., have already entered guilty pleas to basically the same indictment.
Michigan's Hezbollah Connection Uncovered

Nadeem Mazen, Rabiah Ahmed, and Syed M. Ali Khan all need to worry more about the image created for Muslims by the words and actions of other Muslims. Once they clean up their own house (or mosque), then they can more validly claim "negative portrayal" in regards to Muslim characters on a television show.

USMC 9971 OUT

Six Imams Whine Over Being Removed From Flight

Muslims tick me off. End of story. There, now my bias is out in the open. Of course, big parts of that irritation stem from the repeated terror attacks in the name of Islam, calls for violence against my culture and country, and the incessant whining over "intolerant" Westerners victimizing the poor, little Muslims through stereotyping. Cry me a river, Omar, because I really don't care. Look at the violence in the Middle East and the violence perpetrated by Muslims worldwide; maybe there is a reason for that stereotype.

So, with that said, the latest crisis that CAIR feels should warrant an investigation into our intolerance was the recent removal of six imams from a US Airways flight.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called Tuesday for an investigation into the behavior of airline staff and airport security in the removal of six Muslim scholars from a US Airways flight a day earlier.

A passenger raised concerns about the imams three of whom said their normal evening prayers in the airport terminal before boarding the Phoenix-bound plane, according to one through a note passed to a flight attendant, according to Andrea Rader, a spokeswoman for US Airways.

CAIR wants "an investigation into the behavior of airline staff and airport security" because they acted on a concern relayed to them via a note passed on to a flight attendant from another passenger. Does CAIR believed that airline staff and airport security should not have acted on such a concern? If the passenger's concern turns into an issue during the flight, then the airline and the airport will need to turn around and answer why they did not act on that concern prior to the flight. If that is a problem for you, Omar, then drive a flippin' car.

And then there was this line from Omar Shahin, president of the North American Imams Federation and one of the six imams who was removed from the flight.

Shahin said they went as far as notifying police and the FBI about their meeting in advance.

Hey, Omar, why would you notify the police and the FBI about your little convention in advance if there is nothing tying Islam to violence or other problems? It seems that Shahin is well aware of the greater scrutiny in this country to those tied to a religion that has also been tied to terrorism, he just hopes to get some mileage and victim status out of situations when the actions of a few Muslims raise concerns.

Omar then goes on to say this.

Shahin expressed frustration that despite extensive efforts by him and other Muslim leaders since even before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks so many Americans know so little about Islam.

"If up to now they don't know about prayers, this is a real problem," he said.

What? Is that self-absorbed Muslim really trying to tell me that the true problem lies with the greater population of the U.S. not understanding them? Choke a pork chop, Omar. If we still associate your religion with terrorism, I'd say that the real problem is that you have not been able to stop the violence being carried out by fellow Muslims in the name of your religion, and also your inability to present a decent image of Islam. Don't blame us for your inadequacies.

If Shahin really wanted to avoid shining a light on the problems with Islam, he may want to avoid the press play that he and CAIR are performing for the media. When they complain about being discriminated against, especially where aircraft are involved, it reminds many people of the morning of September 11th, and that causes many Americans to remember just who it was on those aircraft who were murdering thousands of our own. You're exacerbating the problem, Omar.

Besides, it wasn't just those six imams who were inconvenienced. Everyone else on that flight was delayed and put through a big run-around.

The other passengers on the flight, which was carrying 141 passengers and five crew members, were re-screened for boarding, Rader said. The plane took off about three hours after the men were removed.

Next time, Omar, before you get on your high-horse, you may want to consider that people get yanked from flights all the time for issues that are not related to Islam. People get removed for having too much to drink, for being too ornery with the staff, and even for breast-feeding. Get over yourself, Omar.

Oh, and fly US Airways. They, regardless of political correctness, will listen to the concerns of their passengers.

USMC 9971 OUT

Your God Started It

I love this one! President Bush said in Green Bay on Thursday that the foiling of the latest terror attacks planned by Muslim terrorists was part of our "war with Islamic fascists."

Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR, wasn't as enthusiastic about the President's remarks and said, "We believe this is an ill-advised term and we believe that it is counter-productive to associate Islam or Muslims with fascism." He went on to say that, "We ought to take advantage of these incidents to make sure that we do not start a religious war against Islam and Muslims."

I have a little history lesson for Mr. Awad. Back in March of 2004, Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantisi addressed thousands of supporters in Gaza and said, "We knew that Bush is the enemy of God, the enemy of Islam and Muslims. America declared war against God. Sharon declared war against God and God declared war against America, Bush and Sharon. The war of God continues against them and I can see the victory coming up from the land of Palestine by the hand of Hamas."

In case anyone doesn't know who Rantisi was, he was the leader of Hamas for the very brief period of 23 March 2004 through 17 April 2004. His reign ended when he had automotive troubles caused by his car striking a missile.

But, more importantly, let's not forget that Rantisi's rantings are reflective of the words that have been coming from the Muslim world for years. We are not starting a religious war against Islam and Muslims, Mr. Awad; apparently Allah has already declared war on us.

USMC 9971 OUT