{"id":25221,"date":"2015-01-10T19:46:40","date_gmt":"2015-01-11T00:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathyschiffer\/?p=25221"},"modified":"2015-01-10T19:47:19","modified_gmt":"2015-01-11T00:47:19","slug":"nytimes-op-ed-columnist-has-his-head-in-the-parisian-sand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathyschiffer\/2015\/01\/nytimes-op-ed-columnist-has-his-head-in-the-parisian-sand\/","title":{"rendered":"NYTimes Op-Ed Columnist Has His Head in the [Parisian] Sand"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof can\u2019t figure out who\u2019s responsible for the Charlie Hebdo bombing. \u00a0And for that, I nominate him for a Lifetime Award for Politically Correct Obtuseness.<\/p>\n

In a January 7 op-ed<\/a>, Kristof asked, \u201cIs Islam to Blame for the Shooting at Charlie Hebdo in Paris?\u201d \u00a0He chastises Americans for their\u00a0rash\u00a0judgments, despite the fact that these guys apparently entered the building chanting \u201cAllahu Akbar!\u201d<\/em> 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\u00a0the slaughter: \u201cWe are defenders of the prophet\u2026. we avenged the prophet.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s avoid religious profiling,\u201d<\/em> said Kristof. \u00a0He acknowledged that \u201cthere\u2019s a strain of Islamic intolerance and extremism that is the backdrop to the attack on Charlie Hebdo.\u201d<\/em> \u00a0But Kristof then scolds his readers:<\/p>\n

\u201cTerror incidents lead many Westerners to perceive Islam as inherently extremist, but I think that is too glib and simple-minded\u2026. \u00a0One of the things I\u2019ve learned in journalism is to beware of perceiving the world through simple narratives, because then new information is mindlessly plugged into those story lines.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As time went on, as it happens, more information did come to light. \u00a0Links were established between the gunmen in the two attacks in Paris and Dammartin-en-Go\u00eble. \u00a0The attackers were discovered to be known Islamists who were on the \u201cNo Fly List\u201d 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\u00a0to bring down a plane over Detroit in 2009. \u00a0<\/span>Kristof\u2019s column was updated on January 8 to reflect new developments, but his question still stands.<\/p>\n

The conservative website WeaselZippers<\/a> linked to the article and commented, \u201cKristof is about as smart as a bag of hammers. \u00a0Actually, I take that back, I don\u2019t want to insult bags of hammers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 \u00a0 * \u00a0 \u00a0 * \u00a0 \u00a0 * \u00a0 \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

\u00a0But Kristof is not the only public figure to come to the defense of Islam and Muslims, even in the face of renewed Islamist violence. \u00a0Even as the world grieves the loss of twelve lives at Charlie Hebdo<\/em> because of Islamist violence, American officials seem determined to ignore the obvious and declare their support for Islam. \u00a0 Breitbart <\/a>reported that the White House\u2019s response was to make fighting Islamophobia a high priority. \u00a0Ben Shapiro, Breitbart News\u2019 Senior Editor-at-Large, wrote, \u201cNever mind that most Westerners aren\u2019t Islamophobic, but rather GettingShotInTheFaceForExpressingMyOpinion-Phobic.\u201d \u00a0According to Shapiro\u2019s report<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Speaking with\u00a0reporters, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the real problem is lack of leadership in defending Islam.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThere 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,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd 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. \u00a0And we\u2019re going to redouble those efforts in the days and weeks ahead.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In other words, the White House now thinks part of its job is to defend Islam and teach Americans what it really believes.<\/strong> 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.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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. \u00a0Shortly after taking office in 2009, Breitbart reports, Obama gave an interview to the Saudi-owned pan-Arab<\/span>\u00a0television news channel<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0Al-Arabiya<\/em>\u00a0in 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. \u00a0The President said:<\/p>\n

\n

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. \u00a0My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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. \u00a0Read the rest here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof can\u2019t figure out who\u2019s responsible for the Charlie Hebdo bombing. \u00a0And for that, I nominate him for a Lifetime Award for Politically Correct Obtuseness. In a January 7 op-ed, Kristof asked, \u201cIs Islam to Blame for the Shooting at Charlie Hebdo in Paris?\u201d \u00a0He chastises Americans for their\u00a0rash\u00a0judgments, despite […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":556,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[138],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-islam"],"yoast_head":"\nNYTimes Op-Ed Columnist Has His Head in the [Parisian] Sand<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof can't figure out who's responsible for the Charlie Hebdo bombing. \u00a0And for that, I nominate him for a Lifetime\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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