Chicago Reporter for NYTimes Suggests GOP Candidates' Rising 'Anti-Muslim Rhetoric' Could Lead to Hate Crimes
The Chicago News Cooperative is -- or was -- a nonprofit journalistic entity that produces content for the Chicago edition of the New York Times. It will cease filing this weekend, having lost an expected grant. Among the delights Chicago readers will miss: Suggestions that the GOP is fueling anti-Muslim rhetoric and even hate crimes, under the label of objective reporting. David Lepeska contributed “A Group to Counter Anti-Islam Sentiment” to Friday’s Chicago edition of the Times, making unsubstantiated assertions and commiting bias by omission.
As anti-Muslim rhetoric rises locally and nationally -- some of it fueled by the presidential campaign -- a group of Chicago-area Muslims is battling back, using tactics including a television ad campaign and public forums against bigotry.
Gain Peace, an Islamic outreach organization based in Chicago, spent $40,000 in December to counter negative portrayals and produce two television ads intended to promote Islam as a just faith. The spots, which will run through March in the Chicago area on Fox, CNN and TNT, depict friendly Muslim students and professionals and display a phone number and a Web site for more information.
“This is an election year and in the Republican primaries and elsewhere, generally we have seen more discrimination, hate and misunderstanding about Muslims,” said Sabeel Ahmed, director of Gain Peace. “We wanted to take it up a notch.”
....
“What’s worse than ignorance is misinformation, and that’s what I find Islamophobia normally falls under: It’s a process of miseducation,” said Mr. Rehab, executive director of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “But what can be done, can be undone.”
That un-do list has been growing. Last November, Pat Brady, the Illinois Republican Party chairman, urged the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the state’s leading immigrant support group, to expel CAIR-Chicago from its list of affiliated organizations. He cited “CAIR’s reported ties to Hamas terrorist supporters, its anti-Israel organizing and its tolerance for anti-Semitic discourse.”
The coalition declined and called Mr. Brady’s request “a descent into anti-Muslim hysteria.”
Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer would disagree; he has criticized some of CAIR’s prominent members' "intimate links" to the anti-Israeli terrorist group Hamas.
Lepeska even suggested that GOP “verbal attacks” during the primary may result in “hate crimes” against Muslims.
Kent Redfield, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield, said the rhetoric might become more heated during the coming primary battles in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri and Wisconsin. “In reaching out to your base, there’s a tendency to throw red meat out there,” he said.
The effect of these verbal attacks may go beyond the political. Hate crimes against Muslims increased nearly 50 percent in the United States in 2010, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation report released in November. That month, officials at O’Hare Airport fired a baggage handler who was accused of writing “Burn Islam” and “Filthy Muslim” on his Facebook page.
Officials from CAIR-Chicago plan to address anti-Muslim attacks from far right groups at their annual banquet next month. Leaders of the Nation of Islam are expected to respond to Muslim discrimination during the group’s convention at the United Center this weekend.
Yes, Lepeska actually highlighted the Nation of Islam, a black supremacist group, would be speaking out against discrimination by “far right groups.” Thank goodness such a mainstream group is there to speak out against "far right" radicals!
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Comments
Maybe they are on to
Submitted by kg on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 5:46pm.
Maybe they are on to something. Look at how the left push their 'anti-Jewish rhetoric'. The numbers show Jewish hate crimes far outnumber other hate crimes.
"DumbAssity of Dope"
How about this for a story?....
Submitted by Paul G on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 5:47pm.
"Anti-American Rhetoric" Could Lead to Hate Crimes....Hmmmmm...I guess 9/11 really didn't happen...
The (k)oran's dictum...
Submitted by BBallleaper on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 5:49pm.
that all infidels (allow me: Christians, Jews and assorted others) be murdered; that all who renounce (i)slam be murdered; that all men have a right to murder their daughters and sisters should they (dis)honor them; that all (m)uslim men have the right to fornicate with whoever and whatever, but that any woman who does should be murdered,..........may actually be what causes NORMAL God-fearing men to criticize (m)uslims.
Really?
Submitted by Spinningplates2 on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 7:03pm.
That may also be the reason many people fear to criticize them, (m)uslims I mean.
The Moooslums will be fine...
Submitted by bigdaddy on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 6:25pm.
...as long as they don't burn our flag or our bible in the streets...oh wait....they already do that, sending Americans into murderous rages...oh wait....that never happens here....
Now we return to the Quran riots already in progress....
These muslims should realize,
Submitted by bassndude on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 6:30pm.
These muslims should realize, if they keep it up, we can burn every koran in the world, to ashes and at the same time eliminate most of the muslims in the arab world, in a matter of moments. The arab sands will be glass and the only place you will be able to see a koran will be in a museum.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal/troll!!
You're Grounded...
Submitted by JRobertGiles on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 6:39pm.
It's hard to stay grounded when you're chasing popularity instead of virtue. (Hint, hint Obama!) Please enjoy and share the following article. Refuse to be silenced!
Have a great weekend!
http://tinyurl.com/7sn5q8y
J Robert Giles
"Hate crimes"? Like the kind
Submitted by rbosque on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 8:38pm.
"Hate crimes"?
Like the kind where all over the world Muslims are decapitating, torturing, murdering Christians? Like the kind where Muslims set churches on fire with people inside? Like the kind where they slash the throats of little children and the murderers are treated lke heroes?
Those kinds of "hate crimes"?
you mean hate crimes like what happens in Muslim countries?
Submitted by ohio granny on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 9:01pm.
Do you mean the same kind of hate crimes that muslims commit agains christians? Like burning christian churches and killing christians? Please give me just one example of christians doing these kinds of things. muslims are the only "religion" that followers are instructed to kill anyone who does not convert to the muslim "religion".
Muslim is NOT a "religion" of peace. It is a violent "religion". Stoning women, honor killings, not allowing girls to go to school, forcing a young girl to marry. These are not actions of peace. They are actions of tyranny.
I thought libs didn't like unprovoked attacks?
Submitted by bkeyser on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 9:42pm.
It sounds like this is being done in advance of any evidence such "crimes" are taking place. Then, for the only example of a hate crime they use someone's 1st Amendment right to free speech. You'd think they could find something more substantial, unless of course the nearly 50% rise in hate crimes against Muslims is made up entirely of this one (non)incident. If they went from 2 in 2009 to 3 in 2010, they'd be pretty close on their statistic.
This is nothing more than a coordinated effort from the Obama campaign and it's allies to paint the GOP as racist. We hate women, blacks, Hispanics and Muslims. Oh, and gays. It's a wonder the left tolerates us at all. I can just hear Santorum at a townhall in Ohio:
Yeah. Red meat.
Fresh Bullpie On A Roll
Submitted by HardRightTurn on Sat, 02/25/2012 - 12:59am.
The daily crap sandwiches are starting to come hourly now.
To more fully comprehend the Left, one must read “Leftism As Psychopathy” by John Ray, M.A., Ph.D. Caution, it might scare you a little bit.
http://jonjayray.tripod.com/psycho.html
I would hope they do. Most of
Submitted by ConservativeRex on Sat, 02/25/2012 - 1:26am.
I would hope they do.
Most of us do hate muslim extremists so it's natural that there would be a little hate involved when we bash them a time or two.
It's not like they haven't done anything to earn a good bashing.
Now if a liberal would care to step in and try to stop said bashing perhaps there might be a little more incentive to continue the bashing.
Frankly, I don't care what CAIR or the NY Times thinks of such an attitude. They brought it upon themselves.
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum
Islam=Satan
Submitted by MacWell on Sat, 02/25/2012 - 7:48am.
Sooner or later the American people will tire of the childishness of the muslims and rid the world of them all. Good, bad, or otherwise muslims will cower in fear at the name American. We have been patient for too long with this nonsense called Islam. These people are trapped in a time warp and don't really care. They want to live like animals, act like animals, and in the same breath complain when civilized people fight back. Maybe it is time for a real Christian president. One who will bring America back to a time when Americans could travel the world without worrying about getting kidnapped, or worse. Americans were welcomed and respected.
If any of you think that islam is a religion only, then I have some waterfront land here in Arizona for sale. Islam is the antichrist. Until we elect a President with some backbone islam will continue it's murderous comings and goings. It's obvious to anyone with a brain, (forgo liberals for obvious reasons), that islam and the muslim hoards within will not stop this barbarian behavior, that is, unless we put an end to them all.
America has allowed ourselves to be taken hostage by a people who love death over life, and we continue to put up with them.
We the people, the former silent majority, MUST defeat this pretend american carpetbagger in OUR white house. We must also rid American politics of all career politicians.
Congress was never meant to be a career.
Congress was never meant to be a career.
Laugh In
Submitted by billb on Sat, 02/25/2012 - 8:56am.
Imagine a scene from Laugh Inn....Sammy Davis in his black robe and white wig strutting across the stage,"Here come da race card,here come da race card!"
Lamestream Media
Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Sat, 02/25/2012 - 11:30am.
If they are responsible for Obama being reelected by not asking him any questions, as they did in 2008, they should be more worried about hate crimes against themselves. As much as I dislike and mistrust Muslims, I have more good will toward them than reporters for networks and major newspapers.
Lost their grant
Submitted by mmilesll on Sat, 02/25/2012 - 1:31pm.
I'll bet nobama doesn't know this group of racist clowns lost their grant, when he finds out I'm sure he will have it restored and apologize to them. That's what the chief clown is supposed to do to Muslims who want to kill us, isn't it. Oh, and I'm sure this group is tax exempt organization.