|
U.S.
Muslim Body To Discuss Bias Control With Media Giant Fox
 |
CAIR alerted the Muslim community to what the group said is the latest incident in a pattern of Islamophobic coverage by Fox
|
WASHINGTON,
September 29 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Council on
American Islamic Relations (CAIR) published a statement on its website
saying that U.S. media giant Fox News Channel told them that they are
receiving thousands of complaints about anti-Muslim bias in the
network’s news and commentary. In response, CAIR has requested a
meeting to discuss ways in which Fox’s coverage of issues related to
Islam and Muslims can be improved.
On
August 22 CAIR published a report on the status of American Muslims
after September 11 deadly attacks.
The
report said that nearly 67 percent of respondents said the media have
grown more biased against Islam and Muslims and 45 percent of
respondents said that Fox was the most biased and that PBS, BBC and
ABC were worthy of praise for their coverage.
Last
week, CAIR alerted the Muslim community to what the group said is the
latest incident in a pattern of Islamophobic coverage by Fox.
CAIR's
alert cited the network's inflammatory reporting on the recent
"terror scare" in Florida, the tendency to ambush and abuse
those Muslims who do appear on its programs and a September 18th
"Hannity & Colmes" on which televangelist Pat Robertson
spoke derogatorily on the Prophet Muhammad.
Robertson
also called Islam "a monumental scam" and the Quran, Islam's
revealed text, "a theft of Jewish theology." "To think
that this is a peaceful religion is fraudulent," he said.
According
to CAIR, host Sean Hannity failed to challenge, and even seemed to
encourage, these anti-Muslim slurs.
As
an example of the bias promoted by the network, CAIR also cited an
e-mail message to Fox News Channel CEO Roger Ailes (that was copied to
CAIR). That e-mail, sent from the account of a Pennsylvania
businessman, and complemented Fox for it's good coverage of the
"deviant cult of Islam" and for exposing Muslims as
"murderous lowlife subhuman filth."
"This
is just the kind of hate that is inspired and incited by Fox's biased
coverage of Islam, Muslims and the Middle East. Fox is neither fair
nor balanced when it comes to these issues," said CAIR
Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
There
are an estimated seven million Muslims in America and some 1.2 billion
worldwide. Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in America.
Last
July, Israeli Communication Minister Reuven Rivlin said he would not
object if cable stations request to remove BBC and CNN from the basic
broadcasting package, for economic reasons or due to viewers’
requests, Israel Radio reported Sunday, June 23.
Rivlin
said that the Israeli satellite broadcaster YES is planning to submit
a request to the Cable and Satellite TV Council to cease airing the
BBC. The satellite broadcaster YES decided over the week-end to give
the pro-Israeli Fox News equal time with CNN. The cable companies are
also looking into broadcasting Fox News in Israel, reported Ha’aretz .
|
