Jewish
World Review
May 5, 2004
/ 14 Iyar, 5764
CAIR's
war on talk radio
By Michelle Malkin
http://www.jewishworldreview.com
|
The Council on
American-Islamic Relations won't condemn Muslim fanatics, but it
has declared war on outspoken Americans who will.
CAIR, which calls itself "America's largest Islamic
civil liberties group," has lately focused its wrath on
conservative radio talk show hosts. A new report by the group
released this week attempts to tie talk radio to a dubious
"sharp jump" in (self-reported) "Islamophobic
hate crimes" in the U.S. CAIR fights dirty — fabricating
quotes, taking comments out of context, indulging in the cult of
victimology, and exploiting a gullibly sympathetic press. By
manufacturing an anti-Muslim hate epidemic that doesn't exist,
CAIR obfuscates its own suspicious role in fomenting
anti-American extremism.
The most recent target of CAIR's campaign to stifle critics of
radical Islam is Boston-based radio talk show veteran Jay
Severin. On April 23, CAIR issued a press release headlined:
"Boston Radio Host Says Kill All Muslims; Islamic Civil
Rights Group Calls for Host's Termination." On April 25,
the Boston Globe parroted the charges in a story that quoted
CAIR spokeswoman Rabiah Ahmed accusing Severin of saying on his
show, "I've got an idea, let's kill all Muslims."
Just one teensy problem with the story. It wasn't true. On April
27, the Globe was forced to publish a correction admitting that
Severin never said "kill all Muslims." CAIR, however,
has refused to admit the fabrication and continues to call for
Severin's termination.
In Washington, D.C., CAIR took aim at local talk show host and
JewishWorldReview.com columnist Michael Graham for making an
"implicit" call for violence against all Muslims and
for advocating common-sense security profiling. Singling Graham
out for criticism, CAIR announced a new initiative
"designed to counter anti-Muslim hate on radio talk
shows" called "Hate Hurts America." Like Severin,
Graham refused to be intimidated. (To read article, please click
HERE.).
"What CAIR does is try to portray all criticism of all
Muslims everywhere as bigotry," Graham responded.
"They singled me out because I said on the air (and have
said in print as well) that Islam is a uniquely dangerous
religion, that the religion itself needs a reformation much
like those experienced by Catholicism and Mormonism, and that
the one distinguishing attribute of 'moderate' Muslims is
their reluctance to publicly criticize the actions of the
Islamo-fascist extremists who continue to spread terror. Now,
you might agree with me or you might disagree with me, but
this is hardly bigotry. 'Stating the obvious' is a more apt
description. But any criticism from an infidel like yours
truly is unbearable to the folks at CAIR, and so they've
launched their attack."
National radio personalities Paul Harvey and Dr. Laura have
also come under fire for expressing opinions about Islam and
calling on Muslims to disassociate themselves from terrorists.
Harvey caved in to CAIR's pressure after members of the group
besieged advertisers with threats and complaints because the
veteran broadcaster alluded to Islam as "a religion which
encourages killing." The ever-feisty Dr. Laura stood her
ground, refusing to apologize for advising a mother not to let
her daughter attend a field trip to a local mosque unless it was
"one that has done its best to rout out terrorists in its
midst."
CAIR attacks the "hate-filled rhetoric" of
conservative talk show hosts, but as Middle East scholars Daniel
Pipes, Robert Spencer, and others have amply demonstrated,
several of the group's past and present leaders have refused to
criticize the hate-filled rhetoric — and bloody acts of
violence — of terrorist organizations such as Hamas and
Hezbollah. Three former CAIR officials have been indicted on
charges of terrorism, money laundering or fraud-related charges.
Most recently, Ismail Royer — a former CAIR
"communications specialist" who "wrote
investigative pieces on anti-Muslim organizations" — was
sentenced to 20 years in prison for weapons convictions related
to his participation in a network of militant jihadists centered
in Northern Virginia.
CAIR publicity hounds remain uncharacteristically silent about
Royer's conviction. Instead, they fulminate about the civil
rights of Muslims being violated whenever someone offers even
the mildest public dissent from Religion of Peace propaganda.
These people won't rest until they have achieved the Al
Jazeera-fication of America's airwaves.
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contributor Michelle Malkin is the author of, most recently, "Invasion:
How America Still Welcomes Terrorists Criminals & Other
Foreign Menaces to Our Shores". To comment, please
click here.
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© 2004, Creators Syndicate
