NYTimes Op-Ed Columnist Has His Head in the [Parisian] Sand

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof can’t figure out who’s responsible for the Charlie Hebdo bombing.  And for that, I nominate him for a Lifetime Award for Politically Correct Obtuseness.

In a January 7 op-ed, Kristof asked, “Is Islam to Blame for the Shooting at Charlie Hebdo in Paris?”  He chastises Americans for their rash judgments, despite the fact that these guys apparently entered the building chanting “Allahu Akbar!” and terrorist Cherif Kouachi, who picked up the phone and talked with a journalist while still in the Charlie Hebdo offices, explained his reasons for the slaughter: “We are defenders of the prophet…. we avenged the prophet.”

“Let’s avoid religious profiling,” said Kristof.  He acknowledged that “there’s a strain of Islamic intolerance and extremism that is the backdrop to the attack on Charlie Hebdo.”  But Kristof then scolds his readers:

“Terror incidents lead many Westerners to perceive Islam as inherently extremist, but I think that is too glib and simple-minded….  One of the things I’ve learned in journalism is to beware of perceiving the world through simple narratives, because then new information is mindlessly plugged into those story lines.”  

As time went on, as it happens, more information did come to light.  Links were established between the gunmen in the two attacks in Paris and Dammartin-en-Goële.  The attackers were discovered to be known Islamists who were on the “No Fly List” for airlines here in the United States. New developments on Saturday, January 10 included claims linking one of the Charlie Hebdo attackers with the so-called underwear bomber, who attempted to bring down a plane over Detroit in 2009.  Kristof’s column was updated on January 8 to reflect new developments, but his question still stands.

The conservative website WeaselZippers linked to the article and commented, “Kristof is about as smart as a bag of hammers.  Actually, I take that back, I don’t want to insult bags of hammers.”

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 But Kristof is not the only public figure to come to the defense of Islam and Muslims, even in the face of renewed Islamist violence.  Even as the world grieves the loss of twelve lives at Charlie Hebdo because of Islamist violence, American officials seem determined to ignore the obvious and declare their support for Islam.   Breitbart reported that the White House’s response was to make fighting Islamophobia a high priority.  Ben Shapiro, Breitbart News’ Senior Editor-at-Large, wrote, “Never mind that most Westerners aren’t Islamophobic, but rather GettingShotInTheFaceForExpressingMyOpinion-Phobic.”  According to Shapiro’s report:

Speaking with reporters, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the real problem is lack of leadership in defending Islam.

“There are some individuals that are using a peaceful religion and grossly distorting it, and trying to use its tenets to inspire people around the globe to carry out acts of violence,” he said. “And we have enjoyed significant success in enlisting leaders in the Muslim community, like I said, both in the United States and around the world to condemn that kind of messaging, to condemn those efforts to radicalize individuals, and to be clear about what the tenets of Islam actually are.  And we’re going to redouble those efforts in the days and weeks ahead.”

In other words, the White House now thinks part of its job is to defend Islam and teach Americans what it really believes. The stunning comment came in response to a question from a reporter who asked if the administration is concerned about a similar attack happening in the U.S. and if any plans are in place to raise threat levels in response to the attack.

This is not the first time the Obama Administration has missed the opportunity to express genuine sympathy and solidarity, and has instead bolstered its support for Islam.  Shortly after taking office in 2009, Breitbart reports, Obama gave an interview to the Saudi-owned pan-Arab television news channel  Al-Arabiya in which he explained that his job as president encompassed apologizing to the Muslim world for evil America, and explaining to Americans that Muslims are the cream of the religious crop.  The President said:

My job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives.  My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy.

Shapiro lists four more such incidents in which U.S. leaders in the Obama Administration apologize for being America, and embrace the goodness that is Islam.  Read the rest here.