Dorrie's Picks, 3/17/09

http://news.msu.edu/story/6072/
MSU faculty tackles inaccurate, simplistic portrayal of Islam, Muslims in the media
Reporters sometimes underestimate the complexities of Islam and Muslims, according to Michigan State University faculty who will use a grant to create a multimedia Web site designed to foster accurate and balanced reporting of the religion and its followers.

“If you look at the coverage of Muslims in the press in this country, there are either over- simplifications or distortions – such as combining the terms Arab and Muslim despite the fact that only 20 percent of the world’s Muslims are Arabs,” [and the rest are what? Blacks in America, Canada, and Europe?] said Mohammed Ayoob, director of MSU’s Muslim Studies Program and University Distinguished Professor of international relations at James Madison College and the Department of Political Science. “This problem has become particularly acute in the wake of Sept. 11.” [And he's inferring what, here? That non-Believers have been out there making life miserable for the Believers living in the U.S.? Not true. We’re plenty fooled in this country about Islamic pacifism; way too fooled, to my liking. This article will simply add to the soft lulling of the American hearts that desperately do not want to know about Islam's real aims.]

Add to that commonly misunderstood – and misused – terms like jihad, militant Islam and Islamic fanaticism. [They are misused how? Somebody's saying they don’t exist? Somebody's saying they aren’t mandated activities in the Qur’an? They are exactly that. I might agree that “fanaticism,” and I’ll add “radical” Islamist are misused terms: These people are simply very active activists in the Party of Jihad that Muhammad designed 1400 years ago.]

. . . “The Web site will offer examples of ideal and poor [which will undoubtedly be the truth about Islam] reporting on stories and a list of best practices on reporting on Islam to help journalists make sense of this subject matter before trying to inform their masses.” . . . [Translated: we’re indoctrinating you PC-ers to be even more PC-ish. And we’re teaching it to your kids, too.]

This is almost a criminal waste of Michigan’s taxpayers' money.

http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2009/03/muslim-blames-american-culture-for.html
Muslim blames American culture for beheading
In our moments alone, we too may ask, "How can any Muslim really be trusted, if, living in a so-called civilised country like the US [he’s questioning us being civilized?], he remains capable of murdering his own wife?"

Yes, excellent question. How can any Muslim man be trusted anywhere in the world? The men are taught they are dominant beings and their women can be used, abused, and discarded as they like. Every time someone like Hassan kills his wife, he’s just proving the norm.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/03/16/2009-03-16_taking_risks_with_terror_naive_us_justic.html
Taking risks with terror: Naive U.S. justice system is turning terrorists loose
The "terrorists to the bone" taunting by five Al Qaeda architects of the 9/11 attacks was a painful reminder that more than seven years after the murders of 3,000 Americans, the U.S. has failed abysmally in the application of justice.

Those who committed the unspeakable should no longer have the capacity to speak. They should be dead. . . .

.http://michellemalkin.com/2009/03/09/analysts-to-obama-there-are-no-taliban-moderates-you-nitwit/
Analysts to Obama: There are no Taliban “moderates,” you nitwit
“Obama’s comment resembles a dream more than reality,” said Waheed Mozhdah, an analyst who has written a book on the Taliban.

“Where are the so-called moderate Taliban? Who are the moderate Taliban?” asked Mozhdah, who was an official in both the Taliban and the Karzai governments. . . .

Indeed, name me any “moderate” Muslim. I know of two. They aren’t invited to the White House as experts.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/4996052/Barack-Obama-adviser-urges-talks-with-Hamas.html
Barack Obama adviser urges talks with Hamas
"I see no reason not to talk to Hamas," [maybe because they aren’t a country and have no diplomatic national status? They are a terrorist organization . . .?] Mr Scowcroft told the Boston Globe. "The main gist is that you need to push hard on the Palestinian peace process. . . .”

Mr Obama has made peace in the Middle East a central goal of his presidency. . . .

And the junior president from the U.S. has surely not taken into consideration that the Qur’an uses the word “peace” only once, and it had nothing to do with non-Islamic nations, and never will.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/indonesia/4688668/Hillary-Clinton-courts-Muslim-world-with-Indonesia-visit.html
Hillary Clinton courts Muslim world with Indonesia visit
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has courted the Muslim world by visiting Indonesia and hailing its blend of democracy and Islam.

This is really scary. It shows the complete lack of understanding of Islam that our gov’t types have, either willingly or from ignorance. Indonesia is governed 100% by Sharia law. 100%! The muttawa (religious police) murder Christians, Hindus, and Bhuddists on an almost daily basis. There is no freedom of or for anything in those islands. Yet Mrs. Clinton “hails its . . . democracy.” Not a chance.

The only result of this type of salaam-ing will be is to hearten the jihadist Muslims in the States.

http://204.96.138.161/p17940.xml
Sharia’s “Brotherhood”
Frank Gaffney explains what is wrong with the "U.S.-Muslim Engagement Project” that is being aggressively promoted to the Obama administration and Congress by a number of its non-Muslim participants (this opening by Robert Spencer):

On Friday, President Obama reiterated for the umpteenth time his determination to develop a "new relationship" with the Muslim world. On this occasion, the audience were the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Unfortunately, it increasingly appears that, in so doing, he will be embracing the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood - an organization dedicated to promoting the theo-political-legal program authoritative Islam calls Shariah and that has the self-described mission of "destroying Western civilization from within." . . .