You don't say.
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Now this is good stuff. Today Imran Awan is known mainly as the former IT staffer to Debbie Wasserman Schultz who was busted trying to leave the country to escape charges of bank fraud. Rob covered it in detail yesterday, but while Awan’s name is relatively new to most of us, he’s an old friend of CNN.
Back in 2014, when CNN thought it was time to publish a hectoring piece that lectured the rest of us about our latent Islamophobia, guess who they decided to call upon to write it.
Whether it’s Mohammed becoming the most popular baby name, or one in 10 babies in England being Muslimor the fact that halal meat is being served in Pizza Hut, a Muslim story always tends to generate more heat than light.
Indeed, Islamophobia is often perpetuated by fear and a sense that Muslims are taking over our jobs, our homes and our lives, thus leading to a polarizing society and the so-called clash of civilizations.
And it’s common to see issues such as the name of Mohammed being used by the far-right into vitriolic hate against Muslims. Take for example the Daily Mail headline in January 2014: “One in 10 babies in England is a Muslim: Those practising the religion ‘could soon outnumber actively worshipping Christians.’” The article, which was accompanied by an image of two Muslim women wearing the face veil, showed this pervading sense of online anti-Muslim hate emerge with comments such as: “Surprise, surprise, ban the burka now before its too late!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” and “This has to stop this is a Christian country the next thing sharia law.”
Improving media practices and media responsibility on portraying and reporting fairly on Islam and British Muslims, without bias or discrimination or intent to incite anti-Muslim prejudice, is important. The media must provide a more responsible, objective and proportionate way of reporting on stories.
I suppose it goes without saying that a guy who’s trying to flee the country to avoid criminal charges doens’t need to be lecturing the rest of us about anything, particularly in the smug manner offered up here. And in fairness to CNN, they couldn’t have seen into the future in 2014 and known this guy would end up on the lam.
But the content of the piece itself is an indictment of CNN and its decision to publish it.
Awan’s tone is mocking and dismissive, and the piece is entirely dishonest. He would have you believe that very real acts of terrorism are a non-factor, and that Americans can’t make the distinction between peaceful Muslims and radical Islamists who blow up themselves and others in the service of jihad. He’s describing ignorant rubes who think the guy with the towel on his head is going to “take our jobs” and force all our women to walk around in burkas.
That is condescending in the extreme, and as the left/media complex so often does, it completely dances around the real issue: Horrible acts of terrorism are going on, and pretty much all of them are committed by Islamists. In no way does that indict all Muslims, but it should be a concern for peaceful, honest Muslims over what is going on within their own ranks. Instead, we get smug claptrap.
Then again, it would not appear that Mr. Awan is honest, much to the chagrin of the many House Democrats who worked with him and trusted him. Maybe they should have been a little more circumspect. Maybe CNN should have as well.