Wow. You know, I can get it that the Mainstream Media (MSM) — and all of us, really — would dearly like to hear from some moderate Muslim voices in our world conversation. And in fact, there are some Muslims voices advocating a really liberal points of view (in the classic sense of the word, meaning “liberty”) — which place a high value on principles like tolerance, mutual respect and freedom.
And, here’s another.
The thing is, let’s not let our eagerness to find more Muslim moderates turn in to kind of an optical delusion of the brain. Let’s not imagine fanatics and hatemongers into the sane, liberal, moderate voices we wish there were more of out there.
In other words: let’s keep our BS & hate detectors switched ON and fully engaged.
Here’s a report of a disappointingly delusional report from, of all places The Wall Street Journal which sugar-coats the viewpoints of the radical Islamic group, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and their leader Salam Al-Marayati (nod: Little Green Footballs):
Salam Al-Marayati is notorious for telling radio station KCRW, within hours of the September 11 mass murder: “If we’re going to look at suspects we should look to the groups that benefit the most from these kinds of incidents, and I think we should put the state of Israel on the suspect list because I think this diverts attention from what’s happening in the Palestinian territories so that they can go on with their aggression and occupation and apartheid policies.”
CAMERA has a long list of similar statements by Al-Marayati, supporting extremist movements and terrorist groups, vilifying Israel, and condemning US anti-terrorism measures. It’s disappointing to see the Wall Street Journal participating in MPAC’s propaganda campaign.
By all means, let’s seek out and chronicle tolerant and liberal Muslims wherever they may be. But let’s not be so eager to find them that we start trying to make hate-filled murder apologists into the second coming of Jefferson. No matter how noble their intentions, we should demand more from respected publications like The Wall Street Journal.
March 29th, 2005 | Global War On Terror, Jihad Watch, Politics