Commanding to Good

Only when the underlying philosophy of a nation is fairness and justice can such a report as the FAIR Report be published. American Muslims, disheartened by the presence of Islamphobia in the media, can now hold onto a tangible sense of hope that someone has heard their prayers.

FAIR, a national media watchdog group, has been offering well-documented criticisms of media bias and censorship since 1986. They describe themselves as follows: “We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints. As an anti-censorship organization, we expose neglected news stories and defend working journalists when they are muzzled.” 

Unlike the innumerable reports watchdog groups issue, the FAIR Report (see link below) actually provides the names of journalists – the “dirty dozen” – as well as case studies of how these journalists have manipulated the media to promote their own point of view and to discredit Muslims in America. The Report’s authors provide a critical behind-the-scenes account, detailing the specific strategies and tactics of this highly-effective smearcasting.

One of the co-authors, Isabel Macdonald, describes how some right-wing pundits use mainstream media to smear American Muslims. She says:

Islamophobia has emerged in the 2008 presidential election, from nefarious whisper campaigns directed at Sen. Barack Obama to the recent distribution of the anti-Muslim propaganda DVD “Obsession” to 28 million newspaper subscribers in swing states. 

She quotes a co-author of the FAIR “Smearcasting” Report, Steve Randall:

These Muslim-bashing attacks have a real impact, not only on Muslims in America but on our civil discourse We’re in the middle of a historic election in which Islamophobia has already played a role, and I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the dirty tricks and the smearcasting. Media need to step up and do their job of separating fact from innuendo, and they should distinguish the impartial experts from the smearcasters.

Whereas the Qur’an asks humanity to “command to the good and prohibit evil,” which the FAIR Report does, we find a group of people commanding evil and hatred. This commanding evil and hatred is the same tactic used by Muslim extremists, to instill hatred against anyone who disagrees with them. Both groups are what scripture describes as hypocrites. Though they outwardly claim to “try to make things right,” their real intention is to pit human beings against each other, to separate and divide between them. They use misinformation and innuendo against entire ethnic and religious groups. 

This is exactly why many Americans – or their ancestors – immigrated to our great country: to avoid hate and persecution and to enjoy the fruits of tolerance and freedom. Yet, with the rise of Islamophobia, American Muslims have had this hope in the American dream tarnished by certain journalists and media personalities. They attempt to distract our country from its historical position as “the world’s developed conscience,” just as Muslim extremists move our religion away from its historical position of “a faith based in conscience” and back to the Age of Ignorance and tribalism. 

What the “dirty dozen” and Muslim extremists have forgotten is that humanity is one. Our goal must be to teach and practice love and respect for one’s fellow human being. While the ugly face of hatred has indeed reared its head in the America that we love, the FAIR Report represents an important step in the right direction. 

 

Laleh Bakhtiar, Ph. D.

 

The below link features the interview with FAIR senior analyst Steve Rendall:

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2008/10/10/07

 

For those of you who have yet to see the report you can find it at: www.smearcasting.com