I don't want to sound the alarm, but I do want to open something up for discussion. I have long been a fan of Bill Maher. Of course, this doesn't mean I agree with everything he says, but he is obviously intelligent and does seem to have a good bullshit meter on many things. He is also able to criticize both parties (though he is clearly more liberal than Republican), which I appreciate. Sometimes I think his show is one of the few worth watching on T.V.
I was disappointed by this past weekend's interview with Brigitte Gabriel of ACT! (American Congress for Truth). I had never heard of her before, but apparently she is an Arab-American who speaks out on Muslim issues. Bill wanted to ask her about the recent murder of Aasiya Z. Hassan, a Muslim woman living in Buffalo, by her husband, Muzzammil.
The irony to Bill and Brigitte is that Muzzammil ran a TV station called Bridges, which was designed to promote positive images of Muslims. Bill begins speaking to Brigitte about the murders at about 1 minute 45 seconds in. And oh, what chuckling ensues! It is as if they are discussing a wonderful comedy! Isn't it hilarious that--hehehehe--a MUSLIM man who wanted to promote POSITIVE images of Muslims then goes and CUTS OFF his wife's head with a SWORD? DO YOU THINK HE KEPT IT AROUND THE HOUSE TO SAY, "LOOK HOW FAR WE"VE COME?"
Substitute any other group in America for the Muslims in this case. Could you get away with making fun of a murder without heaps of criticism? Here is a recent article about the Muslim couple from the Buffalo News:
Ironically, it was the wife, Aasiya, who, according to the several stories from the Buffalo News, actually had the idea to start the station after Sept. 11. Some posit that, though she filed for divorce and protection orders many times, she might have stayed with her husband so a public outing of his abuse wouldn't damage the mission and reputation of the station.
I decided to do what research I could about Brigitte Gabriel. Why, other than being an Arab, would she be picked to speak about this case? Here is an interesting article I found on israelenews.com:
Its author, Bruce Wilson, has contributed to the DailyKos and in May 2008, publicized the anti-Semitic remarks of pastor John Hagee1, who had endorsed McCain. Wilson identifies Brigitte Gabriel as having links to "Hasbara, a pro-Israel effort-- described charitably by a California Jewish weekly as 'a unique Israeli invention, a special blend of public relations, propaganda and dissemination of information mixed with a few drops of explanation and apologetics' or, less charitably, as simply a propaganda outlet." Brigitte Gabriel has made such charming statements in the past as "you cannot trust having a Muslim in office. When he has to make a decision to either be loyal to the United States or be loyal to Islam." Hmm.
Wikipedia, which, as Bill Maher has admitted, has been proven to rival the accuracy of Encyclopedia Britannica, sums Brigitte up as an "anti-Muslim activist," who has written such heartwarming titles as, They Must Be Stopped. The New York Times magazine identified her as a
radical Islamophobe in 2008. Could there be a pattern here?
In any case, I couldn't help but ask myself why anyone would laugh over the murder of an innocent woman. Perhaps Bill and I should take a break from each other. It's not you, Bill, it's that hardhearted witch you had on...no, not Ann Coulter...the other one...
then again, it IS your show. You're the Decider. In the future, please thoroughly check your guests' backgrounds. Remember your own advice:
Be more cynical.
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1. Hagee's anti-Catholic comments figure into an old post from my own blog: http://open.salon.com/blog/deliablack/2008/11/26/torture_blackmail_executions_and_the_death_of_my_father
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Catherine Forsythe
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Delia Yeager
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It's hard to find a 'proper' stance on the Muslim thing - either condemning everybody or PCing ourselves to death. (There was something in the media yesterday - ack, on Lou Dobbs - about a U.N. movement to make criticizing Islam - which consists of people - a crime, or something, an anti-blasphemy offence, and that is scary.) It would help if we heard Muslim reps and communities speak up and say they're horrified by such as the beheading case. If it happens, I for one don't hear about it - but I have heard, in person as well as in the media, much complaining about their bad press...
I agree with Rick - but fundamentalism of various varieties (and not just religious) seems to be an on-going facet of human nature. Fundamentalists we have with us always. Perhaps laughter is the best antidote - for our sanity, if not theirs.
P.S. - Gabriel didn't make a great impression on me and this is interesting background you provide. For Muslim critiques, I like to see that Canadian (now in the States) lesbian Muslim woman whose name escapes me at the moment...
My mother, an agnostic, said to me, "All religions have a little piece of the truth, so they all need to be respected. But the minute someone tells you they are THE ONLY ONES WITH THE ANSWERS, run away as fast as you can."
This was in the late '60's - she was ahead of her time.
good research. well done Delia
The irony of the situation is undeniable, and we can shake our heads in agony over the horrendous murder, we can agonize over whether Maher was offensive, we can complain about the views of Maher’s guest, or we can focus on the real issue.
It was clear after Maher got into the discussion with Gabriel that he did not like, nor share her views on anything other than the problem of radical Islam. And he issued an invitation to her to come back on the show some time so they can debate those disagreements.
Here is a link to a story where she tells her interviewer that, because he is Jewish, the Muslim man he thinks is his friend is really not his friend. As the interviewer says, "The funniest/saddest part was her refusal to accept that I had a Muslim friend who didn't hate Jews and didn’t want Israel wiped off the map. Here we're discussing my friend Raf." http://www.ajn.com.au/news/news.asp?pgID=3403
And I still can't get past their yukking it up over a woman being stabbed and beheaded. I know Maher doesn't like religion, but I can't remember him finding murders of Christians, Jews or anyone else so funny.