The New York Times, not Daniel Pipes, is the Problem

Attacking CAIR? Based on what, a rumor? (Scream)

Making the rounds, around the Muslim web, comes forward after forward of a New York Times expose of how Debbie Al-Montaser's career was derailed, wrecked and ruined - but she, like a good American, is fighting back and will by the strength of a still-proud justice system win - and she is vilified and wrecked by whom but a small (and, I should add, scared and marginalized) set of activists who saw an Islamist plot in a New York City public school. Such activists are near-sighted and far-sighted; they couldn't see a problem in the mirror. (Hint: That's where the problem is.)

They are, however, out to get people like you and me; intelligent, open-minded, forward-looking, moderate citizens and immigrants, Americans and otherwise, whether Muslim or not, whether brown, black, yellow or white, their cause is to keep hyperventilating, long after anyone with any hemisphere of her brain left has realized the Iraq War was a sham and we were betrayed, as a nation. So that their hyperventilation might anxiety attack us into some kind of action. (Namely, shooting down one of the smartest ideas in the post-9/11 environment. We are being harrassed by people who believe that knowing your enemy is becoming your enemy.)

Because they want to keep us scared. They want us to think that the Arabic language education initiative championed by Ms. Al-Montaser will demolish American society, and make way for a Eurabia on "this side of the pond," which is a miraculous tension that demands comment. Such concerns as theirs are firstly dangerous, because they are predicated on deception, fear-mongering, ahistoricality, racism, xenophobia and secondly, they are amusing, or at least would be if not for concern the first: their dangerousness. Does anyone actually believe that American Islam is a covert fifth column trying to establish shari'a law? My God, in a nation of 300 million, whose fastest-growing population is Hispanic Catholic, several million Muslims scattered over one of the world's physically largest and culturally strongest countries are ... a threat? What drug are you on, and from what dealer are you purchasing it, and is its price affected by the declining dollar? (Kind of like the Eurabia panic: As Muslims are more assimilated, birth rates slow and integration takes place. Europe will have a significant Muslim minority. A minority.)

But the real danger isn't the stink from sewer pipes, it's the so-called mainstream media, supposedly objective journalism that, in the words of Robert Fisk:

"Partly because of this awful trend of American journalism where you have to give 50% of your time to each side, you end up producing a sort of matrix, a mathematical formula which is bland, lacking in any kind of passion or realism, and is a bit like reading a mathematics problem. Much of the Middle East is reported like a football match: this side did this, they kicked a goal, they replied back, the ball went through the goal post, etc. Giving equal space in your report to two antagonists is ridiculous! I mean if you were reporting the slave trade in the 18^th century you wouldn’t give equal time to the slave ship captain, you’d give time to the slaves." [Read the full interview at Goatmilk]

This is what the New York Times is doing. What's so dangerous in the hyped rhetoric of the Fascist-fascists, who see fascism in anything to which an 'o' can be appended (except, of course, fascism), is that their rumor and fear-mongering create an assumption among the average citizen, generally who does not know any Muslims, that there is something fundamentally wrong with Islam as a religion. Any claim for equal treatment is in fact a claim for terrorism, a secret strike into the heart of our good democracy, as opposed to what it is: citizens claiming democratic and civil rights. This atmosphere creates the immediate suspicion that Islam is somehow itself evil, suspicious and slitherous; it is so strange and deceptive it causes Muslims to make up words. In this respect, the puny right-wing conspiracy has been successful - and no surprise. Generating fear is easier than generating fact; scaring people is easier to do and harder to undo than communicating actual knowledge and ideas.

They have drummed up enough fear that politicians shiver at any association with Islam, Muslims or the appearance of Islam or Muslims (remember Obama's "native dress"?) And here's where the problem is: In its expose, the Times commits such vulgar, distasteful acts, fear-mongering and rumor-milling, making accusations so absurd they demand retraction.

"Ms. Almontaser had accepted an award from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national Muslim organization that critics claim has ties to terrorist groups (an assertion the group adamantly denies)."

Ties to terrorists? This is not a mild accusation; the Times makes it -- with no proof. Nothing to suggest that CAIR is a terrorist organization. But they just say it. I'm sorry, but this is b.s. plain and simple; where is the evidence to such a monumental accusation? "Critics say Joe X is a murderer. Joe X insists he's not." That's all we get; that's all I expect; my faith in the MSM has always been a dim light at the end of a hallway in the basement section of a misogynistic masjid, reserved for women and storage. This is, frankly speaking, shocking and unnerving, that an accusation peddled by critics who generally know nothing about anything, and flip out at the sight of a hijab, can be taken so seriously by the media, without informing readers of the substance of such a tremendous and frightening and career-ending and life-detaining allegation, if indeed any substance is there. (It's as strong as the case for WMD; remember the Times jumped all over that. Good for you, massive journalism resources and well-funded research teams; you have accomplished what a well-rounded education could not.)

Too true, Mr. Fisk.

Comments

[Muse]

Wonderfully put Haroon. This story unnerved me a lot, precisely because the campaign destroyed someone who's like me and my friends. Its not a campaign against terrorists "over there" but Muslims like you and me. Frankly, its hard not to feel victimized and stick your head a little more in the sand to preserve your sanity. I really cannot shake the effect this issue has had on me.

[null]

you don't interact with Eteraz any longer ?
what happened was there a fight or what ?

[Sulayman]

nice job. It started off sounding like a (deserved) rant, but it suddenly sharpened.

I wonder, if CAIR gets such harsh undeserved treatment, what is there to do? It's a massive organization, less shady than the NRA or AIPAC, etc. How did the NAACP answer such insane criticism decades ago?