{"id":2224,"date":"2005-06-12T16:29:00","date_gmt":"2005-06-12T21:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/?p=2224"},"modified":"2005-06-12T16:29:00","modified_gmt":"2005-06-12T21:29:00","slug":"they_were_set_up_and_the_media_knows_it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2005\/06\/they_were_set_up_and_the_media_knows_it\/","title":{"rendered":"Media relations: ‘They were set up, and the media knows it!’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The arrests of five Muslims in the heretofore unknown small town of Lodi, California as part of an ongoing terrorism probe was a most distressing piece of news. Now, we must remember that Hamid Hayat has not been formally charged with terrorism or terrorist activity, and there is no evidence Hamid Hayat had an actual plan to harm his fellow Americans. We also must remember God\u2019s advice in cases like this:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a wicked person comes to you with news, ascertain the truth, lest you harm people unwittingly and afterwards become full of regret for what you did<\/i>\u201d (49:6). This is because news such as this is liable to harm countless innocent Muslims \u2013 in Lodi or elsewhere \u2013 who may face a possible backlash by \u201cpatriotic Americans\u201d who irrationally conclude that all Muslims must be terrorists<\/a> because of Hamid Hayat\u2019s alleged activities.<\/p>\n

Yet, still, if it is true that Hayat trained at an Al Qaeda camp in Pakistan, I can\u2019t help but wonder about what his motive would have been. To get in shape? To get some fresh air? Isn\u2019t one of the motives of Al Qaeda to attack American targets and kill Americans, be they in the military or civilians? So, why else would he go there? We\u2019ll just have to wait and see. Yet, at the risk of sounding naive, I still can\u2019t believe \u2013 and am outraged that \u2013 an American Muslim would allegedly train at an Al Qaeda camp. I am sure that many other Muslims \u2013 discussing this latest string of bad news at picnics and around dinner tables \u2013 had this same reaction of disbelief.<\/p>\n

Yet, my disbelief stems from the pain of learning that a fellow American Muslim may have received training to kill his fellow Americans. Yet, I don\u2019t doubt that possibility, however painful that possibility may be to swallow. I wish I could say that about some Muslims I have come across. I remember discussing the violence that occurred in Egypt on the day that voters approved a referendum allowing multi-candidate elections. A Muslim I know said to me, \u201cWho said that?\u201d I replied, \u201cA Washington Post reporter wrote about he saw first-hand<\/a>.\u201d He refused to believe it, citing the age-old excuse of \u201cmedia bias against Islam.\u201d<\/p>\n

No doubt, there are some media that are totally and completely biased against Islam, but to say all of the media is biased against Islam is irresponsible. It is just as irresponsible, in fact, as saying all Muslims are violent fanatics. Now, I do agree that the media has a problem with selective reporting, which can give rise to very inaccurate perceptions about Islam and Muslims. For example, CAIR analyzed the news coverage of the millennium terror plots that were foiled in 2000. The arrest of the Algerian man who allegedly tried to smuggle bomb-making materials into the United States was covered in 129 stories (113 print, 16 broadcast) on the day of, and the day following, the announcement of his arrest. Twenty-one newspapers ran it on Page 1. <\/p>\n

Yet, that same month in December 1999, the arrest of two suspected militia members accused of plotting to blow up a California propane plant just outside Sacramento, Calif., which could have killed as many as half the people within a five-mile radius, received 51 stories (51 print, 0 broadcast) on the day of the arrest and the following day. Only one of the stories ran on Page 1. Many papers ran it as a news brief. And the December 1999 arrest of an American Airlines mechanic who was charged with possessing bomb-making materials after potential explosives and assault rifles were found in his home was covered in only 10 articles. The New York Times ran the story on Page 20. The Washington Post ran it on Page 8.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, whenever Muslims and terrorism mix, it is much more newsworthy. Yet, Muslims are not the only \u201cvictims\u201d of selective reporting. A few years ago, almost every day brought another news report of alleged sexual misconduct by a Catholic priest. The coverage was so intense that it gave the impression that the Catholic Church was teeming with pedophile priests. We all know that this is patently false. Yet, all the good that the thousands of Catholic priests do each and every day is not newsworthy, and so the media does not report it.<\/p>\n

It is all about getting more eyeballs to your newspaper or cable channel. Stories about the kind deeds of ordinary American Muslims or Catholic priests don\u2019t generate the same ratings as Muslims rioting over the Qur\u2019an or a priest abusing a child. It is a sad commentary on modern society, really, but it is reality. True, it may not be entirely fair, but life is not entirely fair. We simply have to get used to it and should stop whining about the media\u2019s \u201cbias.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet, more annoying to me than hearing about the \u201cmedia\u2019s bias\u201d is hearing some Muslims explain away incidents such as the Lodi arrests, or the arrest of a Muslim trying to sell shoulder-fired missiles, as \u201centrapment\u201d by the FBI. This is incredulous and a complete \u201ccop out.\u201d Let\u2019s say, for instance, \u201cMuhammad\u201d is finishing his Isha prayers and \u201cAhmad\u201d comes up to him and says, \u201cPsst! I have a plan to kill these horrible kuffar for their invading of the innocent Muslims of Iraq. You will become a martyr, my friend. Do you want to help me?\u201d If \u201cMuhammad\u201d says, \u201cAbsolutely!\u201d and then goes on to help \u201cAhmad\u201d in his evil plot, didn\u2019t \u201cMuhammad\u201d just violate the laws of God and America? Isn\u2019t \u201cMuhammad\u201d doing something haram?<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s say \u201cAhmad\u201d is an FBI agent provocateur<\/i>. Has anything changed? Does that take away from \u201cMuhammad\u2019s\u201d guilt? Isn\u2019t the real problem \u201cMuhammad\u2019s\u201d initial response? Shouldn\u2019t \u201cMuhammad\u2019s\u201d response have been this: \u201cAstaghfirullah!!! That is murder! How could you ask me to do such a thing! Get out of my face!\u201d? Now, being framed and falsely accused by the authorities is a different matter. Nevertheless, no Muslim should ever aid and abet a terrorist plot, even if that plot is an \u201cFBI trap.\u201d It is un-Islamic and immoral, never mind illegal. The fact that one of the plotters is an \u201cagent\u201d is not an excuse and really never should be. How could murder \u2013 even if only in the planning stage \u2013 ever be excused?<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/p>\n

Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Chicago physician and writer. He is the co-author of \u201cThe Beliefnet Guide to Islam<\/a>,\u201d published by Doubleday in 2006. His blog is at godfaithpen.com.\n<\/p>\n

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