In a time where we have movies and television shows which routinely ridicule Christianity, atheism, Judaism, and more, why is it that we don't see similar attempts at parodying or debunking Islam? Christopher Hitchens:
Before me is a recent report that a student at Pace University in New York City has been arrested for a hate crime in consequence of an alleged dumping of the Quran. Nothing repels me more than the burning or desecration of books, and if, for example, this was a volume from a public or university library, I would hope that its mistreatment would constitute a misdemeanor at the very least. But if I choose to spit on a copy of the writings of Ayn Rand or Karl Marx or James Joyce, that is entirely my business. When I check into a hotel room and send my free and unsolicited copy of the Gideon Bible or the Book of Mormon spinning out of the window, I infringe no law, except perhaps the one concerning litter. Why do we not make this distinction in the case of the Quran? We do so simply out of fear, and because the fanatical believers in that particular holy book have proved time and again that they mean business when it comes to intimidation. Surely that should be to their discredit rather than their credit. Should not the "moderate" imams of On Faith have been asked in direct terms whether they are, or are not, negotiating with a gun on the table?
The Pace University incident becomes even more ludicrous and sinister when it is recalled that Islamists are the current leaders in the global book-burning competition. After the rumor of a Quran down the toilet in Guantanamo was irresponsibly spread, a mob in Afghanistan burned down an ancient library that (as President Hamid Karzai pointed out dryly) contained several ancient copies of the same book. Not content with igniting copies of The Satanic Verses, Islamist lynch parties demanded the burning of its author as well. Many distinguished authors, Muslim and non-Muslim, are dead or in hiding because of the words they have put on pages concerning the unbelievable claims of Islam. And it is to appease such a spirit of persecution and intolerance that a student in New York City has been arrested for an expression, however vulgar, of an opinion.
This has to stop, and it has to stop right now. There can be no concession to sharia in the United States. When will we see someone detained, or even cautioned, for advocating the burning of books in the name of God? If the police are honestly interested in this sort of "hate crime," I can help them identify those who spent much of last year uttering physical threats against the republication in this country of some Danish cartoons. In default of impartial prosecution, we have to insist that Muslims take their chance of being upset, just as we who do not subscribe to their arrogant certainties are revolted every day by the hideous behavior of the parties of God.
Hitchens is right, although not entirely. I think another reason we don't see as many negative media portrayals of Islam as other religions is that most Americans have very little exposure to it. It's hard to debunk a religion that no one really knows anything about.
—Matthew Sheffield is Editor of NewsBusters.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
This is Lunacy
July 31, 2007 - 13:57 ET by mytwocentsI agree this has to stop. In Muslem countries, if they want to burn the entire place down if someone desecrates the Qu' ran, so be it, but here in America it should hold no weight whatsoever.
Fearing Muslims...
July 31, 2007 - 14:01 ET by Six String SpiffThe media fears offending Muslims because they are another group for them to 'protect' and take under their wing so as to make the US look like the bad guy. They don't dare show any truth behind why no major Muslim figurehead has stood up and denounced the attrocities commited by some of their people.
I guess what I'm trying to say is the media understand how violent some Muslims can get. They don't want to do two things:
1: Point out the truth of their practices.
2: Have a jet liner flown into their HQ building.
What the MSSM doesn't report can kill you.
I agree with your first
July 31, 2007 - 14:14 ET by dervishI agree with your first point. But I don't think the media are afraid, as a group, of physical intimidation (individually is a different matter). If the KKK were credibly threatening them with destruction, they'd still be defiant, and meanwhile make sure that we all appreciated how brave they've been.
This is rooted somewhat in romantic anti-Americanism, like the twits wearing Che t-shirts. But most of it is good ol' political correctness, sticking up for the downtrodden against the Western devils even if they have to lie, cheat, and hold their noses to do it.
Are you sure? Didn't Comedy
July 31, 2007 - 14:19 ET by sarcasmoAre you sure? Didn't Comedy Central, on that one South Park Mohammed episode we covered here, actually admit to fear of physical violence? I recall applauding them for the honesty at the time, despite being upset over the situation because fear isn't conducive to good comedy.
JMR
i agree its the fear of
July 31, 2007 - 16:13 ET by TruthMongeri agree its the fear of violence
intolerant fundies like me are just way too tolerant
we need to riot more and cut off some heads once in a while dammit
We have put ourselves in a
July 31, 2007 - 17:22 ET by motherbeltWe have put ourselves in a situation now where, when we are in their country, we have to conform to their customs. When they are in OUR country, we have to conform to their customs.
Kudos to British Airways for putting that Qatari group off the plane, (the women wouldn't sit next to men who were not in their party) and to the passengers who wouldn't give up their assigned seats to accommodate them. Maybe next time they'll book their flight early enough to arrange their seating appropriately.
Bull hockey dervish. The
July 31, 2007 - 15:18 ET by bassndudeBull hockey dervish. The MSM dosent fear violence here in the US because they know they are protected by the courts, and most Americans just blow them off. Put them in a situation where repriseal is a part of what they do, and watch them cower in the green zone, just like the little cowards they are.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!
Bassndude
July 31, 2007 - 15:25 ET by Six String SpiffHammer, nail, head. BINGO
What the MSSM doesn't report can kill you.
Just the truth Six Save
July 31, 2007 - 15:29 ET by bassndudeJust the truth Six
Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!
OK, partial concession
July 31, 2007 - 15:57 ET by dervishI had forgotten the cowering about the South Park episode -- so you're right, fear is a factor at least when it comes to satire. I didn't see the Danish cartoons in any newspaper.
But I've seen smackdown political commentary about Islamism in magazines like Weekly Standard and American Spectator without subsequent fires or assassinations, and the angels in the MSM still won't go there. I don't know whether it's that the Islamists have a particularly quick trigger with Mohammed, or if the MSM just doesn't want to take any chances.
(And I did say credible threat, like a foiled bomb plot -- hate mail doesn't count.)
I didn't see the Danish
July 31, 2007 - 17:28 ET by dahliatraversI didn't see the Danish cartoons in any newspaper.
"Free Inquiry" magazine printed them. Because of that, Borders Bookstore stopped carrying "Free Inquiry".
Your point is pretty much intact; I am unaware that anyone else printed them. Would they have hesitated if the cartoons had denigrated Christianity? Would Borders have stopped carrying "Free Inquiry"?
I don't know whether it's
July 31, 2007 - 17:51 ET by motherbeltI don't know whether it's that the Islamists have a particularly quick
trigger with Mohammed, or if the MSM just doesn't want to take any
chances. -dervish
It's the MSM not taking any chances. It's a case of "self-censorship" to avoid what might offend. This is why I think that someday we might find ourselves under Sharia law, not by force, but by accommodation.
And they said the "Hate
July 31, 2007 - 14:13 ET by Chris NormanAnd they said the "Hate Crimes" law wouldn't be used to infringe on free speech. I guess it isn't, as long as it's Christ you're dunking in urine...
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.
- Arabian Proverb
And some naïve people say
July 31, 2007 - 14:11 ET by Mean Gene Dr. LoveAnd some naïve people say violence (or the threat of violence) doesn't work.
This is proof positive that violence is effective. Now, if Americans had the intestinal fortitude and resolve to retaliate in kind, the terrorists would quickly find themselves out of business.
There are good reasons people don't taunt or mess with pit bulls.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." --Thomas Jefferson
O'Reilly enters 'anti-swift' boat mode. Again.
July 31, 2007 - 14:41 ET by Jack BauerI was very disappointed with Bill O'Reilly last night debating Michelle Malkin; he thought it was just peachy that this guy had been arrested for a "hate crime."
However it appears Bill also repeated a misrepresentation. He stated that the corran was "taken" from some official room in the university. The implication being theft.
Now I don't condone the theft and the subsequent "vandalism" of another person's property. That should be prosecuted under any circumstance.
Nor do I condone abusing books, though Mao and Hitler's rants I exclude from that diktat. Burn baby burn. I am more interstedd in pursuing those who abuse kids, dogs, cats and animals for their own quasi-serial killer pleasures.
But I've just read that it appears Bill's characterization was incorrect. Apparently the private citizen paid his own money and purchased a book from a private business and then disposed of it.
And for that he is facing a felony charge. A FELONY CHARGE. Digest that. FOUR YEARS in prison. For dropping a book in toilet bowl.
Compare that to Sandy Burglar, who committed a semi-teasonous act. Is this a Monty Python skit: the Life of Abdul Abulbul Amir?
What is the United States becoming : CUBA, VENEZUELA, SOVIET UNION, CHINA, the EU, or NAZI FRACKIN' GERMANY?
I guess he should have
July 31, 2007 - 15:13 ET by Dan The Man 2I guess he should have dropped it in a couple sheets at a time or as needed. I am so tempted to make a video pissing on the Koran and put it up on utoobe and then they of course take it down promptly.
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
I saw that segment too. I
July 31, 2007 - 18:29 ET by LighthouseJI saw that segment too. I disagreed with O'Reilly on what a hate crime is. To rephrase what he said (so people can correct my misinterpretation), he proclaimed all actions done with the intent on hating a persons or groups gender, race, religion, etc... was a hate crime. The law as I understand it first requires an actual crime (theft, vandalism, bodily damage). The next component is to show the crime was done to deliver a message of hate.
If I were to purchase my own Qu'ran, Torah, Bible, crucifix, menorah, American flag, depicition of a religious symbol, ad naseam and then demonstrate its desecration/destruction publicly, that's not a hate crime but arguably protected freedom of expression.
If I were to kill a person, that would obviously be an ordinary homicide. If that person happened to be Jewish or Muslim, still a homicide. If the prosecution were to prove to a jury that I comitted that crime out of hate, that would then become a hate crime.
}}}----> Fear, pure and simple
July 31, 2007 - 14:31 ET by Cool ArrowWe don't know where they are. The government doesn't care.
We are hostages in our own country and all we know for sure is that the members of this "Peaceful Religion" are not averse to plastering our disembodied heads all over the internet.
Even our courts have abandoned us and given comfort to our enemies. Easier to reason on the side of cowardice than find in favor of the Constitution.
"When I check into a hotel
July 31, 2007 - 15:09 ET by AtheistRepublican"When I check into a hotel room and send my free and unsolicited copy of
the Gideon Bible or the Book of Mormon spinning out of the window"
Are you sure that those are free and not you know, part of the hotel room? I know stupid question but I was under the impression that those aren't meant to be taken.....
you can take em - they are
July 31, 2007 - 16:11 ET by TruthMongeryou can take em - they are free from the Gideons - the Bibles anyway that is:)
It goes to my drumbeat -
July 31, 2007 - 16:02 ET by FastEdthat the msm (Lsm) are cowards. When was the last time, anyone, in the media TRIED to explain the religion of hate? I say that in all sincerity, as there is NO mention of contrition in that book. If you cannot be sorry, then all's fair, even killing, especially those who don't 'think' like they do.
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
Godless media is into saving themselfs!
July 31, 2007 - 16:46 ET by upcountrywaterOh if you have the right diet, proper exercise. You will be saved by your own internal power.
So if the godless meets the killers they have one trump card to play, that is to become a moslem. So it's their de facto religion of choice.
IRANIAN URANIMUN, 220 lbs and counting.
I don't know if this has
July 31, 2007 - 18:02 ET by Mean Gene Dr. LoveI don't know if this has much to do with the points on this thread, but reading some of the comments jogged my memory a bit.
I seem to remember reading about a scientific experiment where several monkeys were in a pen with a lever they learned to pull to obtain food. After all of the monkeys learned that pulling the lever resulted in being able to eat, the scientists then energized the lever so that when touched, the monkey would receive a shock. After a few tries, the monkeys all became afraid to touch the lever and began to starve. A new monkey that was trained to receive food by pulling an identical lever (but never experienced the shocks) was introduced to the group and any time he attempted to pull the lever the other monkeys would forceably prevent him from doing so. Over time new monkeys were introduced and the original monkeys that experienced the shock were removed one by one, each time being replaced by a "new" monkey. Pretty soon all the monkeys in the pen had never experienced the shocks, but they would still prevent the new monkey from touching the lever.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." --Thomas Jefferson
Great question,
July 31, 2007 - 18:02 ET by dahliatraversGreat question, Matthew.
I don't think the msm's kid glove treatment of Islam stems from either fear or a lack of knowledge. They honestly (and wrongly) think that they are being open-minded by filtering their coverage of Islam but vigilant by being critical of Christianity. Possibly they need to be reminded of the concept of consistency.
Remember also that the condemnation of the fatwa on Salman Rushdie (a religious death sentence for, in this case, an expression of free speech) was notably muted. The reaction in too many cases, here and around the world, tended towards the almost patronizing, "their religion was insulted" and an attendant undercurrent that "we cannot expect more; they really don't know better".
I wonder how much of this prejudice - yes, prejudice - also plays a role in the msm's coverage of Islam in general? And would they have quite so readily pointed out the insult to a religion if the Vatican had issued a religious death sentence on similar grounds?
Think about this --- at the
July 31, 2007 - 18:09 ET by usinkoreaThink about this --- at the same time a segment of our society is calling a president of the United States a "nazi" and claim his administration is destroying freedoms we hold near and dear --- by data mining and warrantless taps on international calls of individuals who are highly suspected of being connected to global terrorism --------- the same segement of our population is pushing for law-and-order to arrest people for their speech being a "hate crime"....
The MSM wants muslims to be future democratic voters
July 31, 2007 - 18:58 ET by LighthouseJI know what it is: The MSM wants muslims to be future democratic voters
The problem I see is that Islam can be likened to how the Christian church was so tied to the United Kingdom. You either belonged or you were disadvantaged. Out of the oppression, this great country was born with the explicit instructions that people shouldn't be compelled even in the least to take up any form of religion.
To us, it's a form of expression but to people who IMO aren't evolved enough to acknowledge personal expression. It's like the thing about the school installing Islamic footbaths. The MSM and other morons are too quick to ingratiate themselves at the cost of revealing their biased nature. Maybe it's an unconscious bullying factor.
time for the msm to take thier lumps.
July 31, 2007 - 20:41 ET by PKi remember 30-40 years ago the msm used to destroy people without reason. so many persons whose livelyhood depended on reputation were just plain taken on because they did not agree with the junior journalists of the day. not that they had done anything wrong per se but that they, in some cases did not attack richard nixon with adequate ferocity for example.
there was a certain congressman who after having been pilloried in the national news for having committed some particular horrible sin was found not guilty of the act by a congressional investigation.
i remember his question:
WHERE DO I GO TO GET MY REPUTATION BACK?
well now its their turn. i for one cannot feel any qualms if the current msm gets some of it in the neck.
as a matter of fact where is the ACLU? they told us that NAZIs' marching in skokie illinois were not bad. that thousands of christmas scenes were unconstitutional, that large crosses on mountaintops were bad things.
let them stop dancing on the head of a pin and start doing what they told us for years that they were doing.
if they have a little problem with nitrogen releasing compounds under the seat of thier cars etc. they're just catching up for past misdeeds.
C
Cowards do cowardly things
July 31, 2007 - 21:24 ET by reelman46The media (90% liberal=secular socialist) is cowardly...
witness most any liberal being challenged by a single Fox News
reporter on their turf... they run and hide like cowards (because they are)... they
cannot defend the emotion-based decisions they make so... here we are.
At least one lib filmmaker said he would not use any moslem (cult of
allah) in a negative light because they would "blow you up"... he knows
other churches whine and pray for justice when hammered (its called christian values) but will not
bomb their film location. Note: Libs preach "violence solves nothing"
but it solves a lot if you are a moslem wanting all positives all the
time in the media. go figure.
Islam gives all religions a bad
name and gets away with pushing libs around (because libs are naturally
fearful and sympathetic to any group they think is a "minority"... its
what they do... for votes also)... they will stop the pandering when
the moslems reach them with their demands for cultural change... not a day before. Treat
women as cattle, no prob for the brave liberal media-politicos, tell me that makes
sense without pure cowardice.
The ACLU is silent as the moslems repeatedly demand
and often get to boldy cross any church-state legal line they wish.
That tells you all you want to know. The modern liberal panderfest will slowly kill
us all.
Doug Schexnayder, Ph.D. (theconservativecrawfish)
could be, now that you
July 31, 2007 - 21:58 ET by PKcould be, now that you mention it.
C
Just remember the whole
July 31, 2007 - 22:58 ET by ahusserJust remember the whole country of Spain capitulated to the demands of muslims after bombing of a train, ushering in a totally new (and more socialist) government, pulling out of Iraq etc. This very, relatively speaking, economical use of violence changed the course of a whole nation. Who says violence doesn't change anything? Anyone who says otherwise is either incredibly naive or an imbecile.
Islam is not a religion: It
August 1, 2007 - 06:02 ET by AlgerHissIslam is not a religion: It is a hideous, sick, demented cult.
Rochester, Minnesota: A Fem_Leftist City!
What Would Mohammad Do?
August 1, 2007 - 07:42 ET by RedGuyBlueStateGood question. They have no trouble stomping all over (Rosie's) "Radical Christians" who are every bit as dangerous. :)
"This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it."
-- Fred Thompson as Admiral Josh Painter (The Hunt for Red October)
The Media revere Islamic Society
August 1, 2007 - 12:30 ET by ThisnThatThe media probably aren't afraid; they simply revere the society so much. Let's list the things Muslims have provided to the world since, say, 800AD:
The media is so admiring of Muslims that they won't even recognize these wonderful characteristics and contributions to society.
And look what Western culture has provided: Freedom; science; art; technology; literature; inventions; and culture.
And one more thing -- strength, morals, decency, and respect for human beings. Given these differences, I am wondering why the leftists/media/intellectuals of this country are continuing to kow-tow to this depraved religion.