Fox News Lie Machine Bullies Texas Muslims
This past Saturday, Dallas community members came together under the banner of One Love, to confront a racist, hate mongering protest co-sponsored by Fox News Channel and attended by paranoia profiteer Pamela Geller. Americans of different ethnic backgrounds, faiths, and political values took a stand, despite threats of violence from right-wing Islamophobes on social media, to deliver a simple message: We are all American; there’s room enough for everyone.
Organized under the pretense of supporting free speech, Pamela Geller and her sheep travelled from across the country to descend upon a Dallas suburb, where a Muslim American media group had organized an event called: “Stand with the Prophet Against Terror and Hate.” Geller, unilaterally re-termed the event “Avenge the Prophet” to falsely associate these (and all) Muslims with the Charlie Hebdo murderers, when in fact the event was specifically aimed at driving home the point that these and other terrorist acts were to be condemned.
When Geller promulgates a baseless lie, she is transparent. Taking center stage at her hate rally, she preached: “When you come to these rallies, you have to know something. You have to know that you’re walking onto a stage, you have to know that this is a theater and the media is the director.”
Fictional theater for Ms. Geller has tangible and devastating consequences for Muslims in America. I have never experienced that level of hate in such close proximity, real, palpable hatred. Protesters waved signs like: “Bible & Gun,” “Go Home & Take Obama With You,” and “Islam Breeds Hate.” Bikers circled Muslims praying, revving their engines to drown out the prayer, and shouting epithets through megaphones while Muslims prostrated. Protesters pushed and screamed, attempting to provoke violence, but One Love Rally members refused to engage, linked arms, and protected one another. In life, things are rarely 100% pure, but if there was ever a pure contrast, Saturday was the moment — one side exemplified bitter hatred and the other love and compassion.
The Fox News machine, however, worked tirelessly to defame and mischaracterize the One Love Rally’s simple message of peace and inclusion. Bill O’Reilly Show correspondent interviewed an American war veteran whose wife serves in the U.S. Air Force, and pejoratively labeled him as a radical. When the correspondent couldn’t find adults to make outrageous statements, he sought out a child. Unlike (empty) talking head Pamela Geller, Fox New holds itself out as a news organization, but it shows absolutely no interest in representing facts.
To put it simply, Fox News lies
Fox News lied about Imam Siraj Wahaj. Last week, Bill O’ Reilly claimed the event keynote speaker, Imam Siraj Wahhaj, was “an unindicted coconspirator to the ’93 World Trade Center bombings.” Black’s Law Dictionary defines unindicted coconspirator as “A person who has been identified by law enforcement as a member of a conspiracy, but who has not been named in the indictment charging the person’s fellow conspirator with conspiracy.”
Imam Siraj Wahhaj has never been named by law enforcement as a member of any conspiracy, aside from conspiring to clean up the drug infested streets of Brooklyn along with law enforcement, for which he’s been repeatedly praised and honored. It was his expert testimony that was used in court to state that there is no situation in which the killing of innocent people is sanctified by the religion of Islam. His track record and community activism is long-standing and inspiring, he perfectly combines what it means to be a patriotic American and a devout Muslim.
Imam Siraj’s name was, however, listed by U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, along with 171 other names after being pushed by defense counsel to provide evidence for repeated claim that others were working in conjunction with the Blind Sheikh. Because Ms. White lacked any actual evidence, she did what lawyers do, and made a non-binding, ambiguous statement so that she wouldn’t be accused of lying to the court: “Enclosed is a list of unindicted persons who may be alleged as coconspirators.” Anyone who can read the English language understands that this letter could theoretically contain anyone’s name. To date, no one employed by the Department of Justice has alleged the Imam as an unindicted co-conspirator because there’s no evidence to support that claim. Of course, Fox isn’t bound by things like facts and evidence.
Fox News lied about Muslim no-go zones. Last week, Fox featured career Islamophobe and panic merchant Steven Emerson lying about “no-go zones” for non-Muslims in Birmingham, England and Paris, France. His lies were so outrageous that the Mayor of Paris announced plans to sue Fox News, and conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron responded, “When I heard this, I frankly choked on my porridge, I thought it was April Fool’s Day. This guy is clearly a complete idiot.” Yes, he is, but why is Fox empowering this idiot to disseminate false information? Fox News has hosted Steven Emerson for years, providing him a pulpit for his conspiracy theories of “jihad in America,” “the Muslim takeover,” and the “shariah threat.” Emerson got so comfortable lying on Fox that he forgot that most people now know how to use Google.
Fox News head, Rupert Murdoch, tweeted, “Maybe most Moslems peaceful, but until they recognize their growing jihadist cancer they must be held responsible.” 1.6 billion Muslims among countless countries, sects, and languages are not a monolith, and his statement is beyond absurd, but it echoes the hateful rhetoric that greeted our One Love Rally. Rupert Murdoch is the CEO of NewsCorp, Fox News’ parent company, and Fox News spreads lies, incites hatred, and pushes its supporters to violence and threats. They invaded my home in North Texas, and told me that I was the one who had to leave. And I hold Rupert Murdoch responsible.
