Why is it every time something in the American media is said about Muslims, reporters feel the need to add unjust adjectives to describe the situation? Let us look at some examples: Hezbollah guerrillas, terrorists or my favorite “Islamists.” Spending most of my summer in Egypt, I got an insight to just how bias American media are. It baffles me how America prides itself on the concept of “peace and justice for all” when it is doing everything but that. The unjustifiable Israeli occupation in Lebanon sparked worldwide anger. After the month long war, there were international headlines saying Israel was defeated. Only a minority of people in the world, those who support Bush and those who unconditionally support the Israeli occupation, believed that the Lebanese resistance had lost. If they want to measure victory from the perspective of which side had more casualties, then I would agree the resistance lost. There were reports of 1,200 people dying in Lebanon, a third of which were reported to have been children. It sounds like a huge victory. Ze’ev Maoz, political science professor at Tel Aviv University, stated, “There is a propaganda aspect to this war, and as in every propaganda campaign the use of information is selective, distorted and self-righteous.” To give some examples, during the month long war in Lebanon this is what the media did not tell us or gave very little attention to in the United States: 1. According to reports from the United Nations, while the “War on Lebanon” was taking course, over 175 Palestinians were killed and 620 injured by Israeli forces, most of whom were civilians. 2. According to The Guardian, a British newspaper, there were over 3,400 causalities in Iraq for the month of July alone. Enough said. More than 3,500 people died in a period of less than two months, and no one cared. Where is the justice? Why is it that Israeli blood and American blood is worth more than a Muslim’s? The same religion that is looked upon in the West as being synonymous with terrorism is the one that teaches absolute justice. The prophet Muhammad said in his last sermon, “All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white – except by piety and good action.” Do not fall under the sway of media brainwashing. The reality is the majority of people will be like the sheep who are mindlessly being led one way or another by those who have their own agendas and motives. If you ask any layperson what they think when they hear the word “terrorist,” they will automatically say Muslims. However, I guarantee most of these people have not even opened the Quran to see what this religion is about. Western media are partially to blame for this. It is they who focus on the minority of Muslims who are extreme in both action and speech only to instill fear and a sense of insecurity in the minds of the general public. This, in turn, gives the media unconditional loyalty from its audience and, as a result, free license to work their own agenda unquestioned. From my time in Egypt, I can testify that this is not the same in Arab countries. Arab countries can differentiate between the actions of Western governments and Westerners themselves. Muslims do not hate Americans or other Westerners; they hate the oppression and the mass murders of their people that is a result of U.S. government actions. Just like America hated the unjustifiable mass murders on Sept. 11, 2001, we Muslims hate the unjustifiable mass murders of our people that have been non stop since 9/11. It is time we stop believing everything we hear on TV, radio and newspapers. This can only be done if one has the sincere intention to find out the truth and consult the reliable sources. If one truly studies Islam, one will find nothing but beauty in it. Many try to persuade otherwise by taking verses from the Quran out of context. There is a local organization and local mosques that have abundant information for those who wish to be enlightened. We have no excuses for this ignorance that has spread through our nation. The future lies within our generation, and I strongly believe the biggest changes will occur in our midst. We cannot be blind and stand by while others sow seeds of hate and genocide.
—–Contact Shirien Elamawy at [email protected]