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Guardian slanders Islam! Action requested!
Kashif
08/21/01 at 03:29:27
assalaamu alaikum This is the worst article against Islam i've read in a British broadsheet newspaper. In it the author labels Islam as 'bullshit', calls it a religion to be 'suspicious' about, and one that poses a threat to human rights. We can't sit back and ignore this. ACTION REQUESTED: [color=red](As always, be FIRM, but POLITE. Hostile comments can and WILL be used to harm the image of Islam and the British Muslim community.) [/color] Contact the Guardian newspaper demanding a full apology from them and an assurance that such racist remarks will not be allowed to be published in the newspaper in future. E-mails requesting action can be sent to: Simon Waldman (the head of Guardian Unlimited) simon.waldman@guardian.co.uk Emily Bell (editor in chief of Guardian Unlimited) emily.bell@guardian.co.uk and CC: Ian Mayes (Reader's editor): reader@guardian.co.uk or write to: Ian Mayes The Guardian Newspaper 119 Farringdon Road London EC1R 3ER United Kingdom Tel: 020 7278 2332 Kashif Wa Salaam ------------ Some people will believe anything Julie Burchill Guardian Saturday August 18, 2001 You're always hearing about how "media-savvy" people are today, and that it's really hard to pull the wool over everyone's eyes. I wonder: seems to me that, as never before, so long as you keep on talking the talk, that suspect way in which you stagger from pillar to post will not be called into question. Strangely, no one seems to be as gullible as the media themselves. Let's take music. I can understand nine-year-olds getting excited about Sophie Bextor's singular beauty (sorry, I don't do made-up hyphenated names; a bit trashy, no, like Robert Kilroy-Silk?) and rushing down to Claire's Accessories to get her look, but I'll never understand how grown-up journalists can wet themselves about her "one-woman crusade to rescue pop", as she pipes of "dignity, sophistication... all this pop music that is directly geared towards children and gay men is incredibly patronising", and then releases a Cher song as her first solo single. That's Cher - famous, of course, for her dignity, sophistication and, um, not being aimed directly at gay men. It wouldn't be so bad if media gullibility ended with a dodgy taste in popstresses. But it doesn't. Perhaps the greatest beneficiary of the breakdown in the media's bullshit detector has been Islam. I don't know about you, but I'm still reeling from the BBC's Islamic Week. This, hot on the heels of that madwoman - sorry, Strong Muslim Woman - on Radio 4's Thought For The Day a few weeks ago saying that the 16 Afghan and eight foreign aid workers arrested by the Taliban for "promoting Christianity" pretty much deserved what they got if found guilty (it's a capital offence). I look forward to the day when some C of E vicar tells us that any Muslim caught promoting their religion over here deserves even 20 flicks with a wet towel. (BTW, we've come across the SMW on the BBC before - she just happens to live in the decadent west, with all the dirty little freedoms that implies, but still strongly believes in the veil and arranged marriages.) For quite a few years now, there has been a sustained effort on the part of the British media to present Islam - even after the Rushdie affair and now during the Taliban's reign of terror - as something essentially "joyous" and "vibrant"; sort of like Afro-Caribbean culture, only with fasting and fatwas. Just last week, the BBC's Kate Clark, the first female correspondent to be sent to Afghanistan, said blandly, "The situation is a lot more complex than just thinking that the Taliban are bad. For example, they have eradicated opium poppy cultivation this year." Yes, and this year they also had a woman and her 12-year-old daughter beaten to within an inch of their lives when the woman removed her daughter's burqa - that hideous mobile prison women have to wear in the street - in order to help her breathe during an asthma attack. So, yes, Kate, the Taliban are bad, and it's not complex at all. Islam Week brought us the wonders of mosques and Mecca, glossing over the Islamic Empire, which at its height was bigger than the Roman (remember: British Empire = bad, Islamic Empire = good), taking in - ho, ho, ho! - a Muslim football team and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's creation of an "Islamic garden" and finishing up with Jools Holland's Rhythms Of Islam. Mind you, I did briefly start to feel sorry for them here: any espousal of one's cause by the terminally naff Holland must surely kill its cred stone dead. That's Islam, then - fun, fun, fun! Not a mention of the women tortured, the Christian converts executed, the apostates hounded, the slaves in Sudan being sold into torment right now. Call me a filthy racist - go on, you know you want to - but we have reason to be suspicious of Islam and to treat it differently from the other major religions. I don't think that either Judaism or Christianity, for a start, have in recent times held that apostasy - rejecting the religion one was born into - should be punishable by death; a pretty humungous violation of basic human rights, I'd say. And, getting on to the woman question, we have every reason to feel suspicious of the motives of a religion that, in many countries, insists that half its followers - even children - spend their lives worrying about covering up every inch of the body God gave them. What a depressing view of human nature, that the glimpse of an ankle can turn men into ravening beasts. And what a sad example of sensory deprivation never to feel the sun on one's back or the breeze in one's hair. While the history of the other religions is one of moving forward out of oppressive darkness and into tolerance, Islam is doing it the other way around. It is impossible that any Christian or Jewish country would suddenly start practising their fundamental religion as the Taliban have. And by 2025, the BBC informs us, a third of the world will be Muslim. In the light of this, and the threat it poses to our human rights, I believe that mindless, ill-sorted Islamophilia is just as dangerous as mindless, ill-sorted Islamophobia. I know how dedicated it is to the cause of dumbing down, but the BBC really should try to take this amazingly complex notion on board. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4240141,00.html

Re: Guardian slanders Islam! Action requested!
Anik
08/21/01 at 12:46:05
A.A. althoiugh sh eis very rude and offensive, I can see what she is saying for a seond... what she means is she is basing Islam, a perfect religion, on some group of people, a not-so-perfect political group.  I think even we have reason to question the actiosn of certain muslims today... but this lady goes too far. this is the type of attention form us that she wanted... she wants for Islamic groups to go crazy over this, British people divided in opinion, digging out hidden and inner feelings of many non-muslims... controversial is better. this no-name lady has just gotten herself internatioanlyl recognized, and that is what sells.  you thnk she gives a doo0hicky about Islam? noooooo! it's controversial and that makes $$$. sad sad day... asalaamu alaikum. abdullah,.

Re: Guardian slanders Islam! Action requested!
Arsalan
08/21/01 at 15:34:15
[slm] Kashif, it would be wonderful if you could post a sample letter akhi, with some refutations. Jazak Allahu khairan.

Re: Guardian slanders Islam! Action requested!
BroHanif
08/21/01 at 15:44:59
A.W.W. All I can say is Allah give this woman hidayat. Clearly it is clear from her text how her heart is deprived of the truth. It is the author her self who is so Islamophobic. Why is it that people are against the Taliban. Is it becuase they are on the truth or what. For example, just look at Zimbabwe and Robert Mugabe and his country, white people are being exterminated, its part of ethnic clensing and the world goes silent. The farmers over there are brutally asualted, women raped and houses and business looted all for the sake of land. However what is the response of the world, nothing but hot air. Surely if it was the Taliban then the UN would be there telling them not to carry out those evil acts. People will always be against Islam especially editors who's hearts are so dark that the light of Islam or even common sense does not prevail. It is these editors that allow women to uncover themselves and then they say they are the liberators of women, what a load of bull. Europe has the highest teenage pregnancy, aids is rampant, social ills are high, rape is occuring every minute or so, zinah and adultery is on the increase. Yet Islam has a cure for this social evil, the blessed hijaab.

Re: Guardian slanders Islam! Action requested!
*sofia*
08/21/01 at 15:45:24
Not written or endorsed by me.  But I just received this from the Islamic Society of Baltimore.  I've deleted the sister's name who wrote this, not sure if she wants it further circulated...but it's true that the Julie Burchill's of the world want foremost a reaction... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Assalamu Alaikum: The letter below is a response to an ignorant, hate-filled article by reporter Julie Burchill (in UK).  The response by this dear sister is well worth reading.  Very simple and to the point. --------------------------------------------------------------------- If you wish to read the original article, here is the link http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inin/message/2263 --------------------------------------------------------------------- To: weekend@guardian.co.uk Subject: Response to julie burchill's article The Howl of the Ignorant Monday, 20 August 2001 As I read Julie Burchill's `Some People Will Believe Anything' my eyebrow couldn't help but ascend toward heaven. Ms Burchill is right, some people will believe anything, people like Julie Burchill. Her article is so full of ignorance and misinformation that it's quite apparent that she prefers to believe, no, is eager to believe, the nonsense the media routinely and religiously dish out against Muslims and Islam. Its obvious to me that she has probably never met a real, educated, practising Muslim, because if she had, all her negative opinions and self-righteousness would go flying out of the window. Let's first take her case against the Taliban, and all those who defend them. Anyone who enters into a country does so knowing that breaking a law means suffering the consequences, so it follows logically that in order to avoid being punished, you abide by the laws of the land, whether or not you agree with them; if you cant do so, then leave the country. If a man in the UK is found to have more than one wife, he would suffer the consequences of his `crime'; does Ms Burchill think only the UK government has the right to enforce the law of the land, and the rest of the world has to cater to what she thinks is right and wrong??? Every government has the right to enforce the law of the land, whether that government is British, or Afghani, whether that law is punishable by a fine or capital punishment. And as for the Taliban's `reign of terror', like you said Ms Burchill, "some people will believe anything." Perhaps you ought to start reading independent journalists' reports on the Taliban instead of the unfounded, biased news you appear accustomed to. As for the Strong Muslim Woman she is so resentful and afraid of, that woman has the right to live anywhere she likes and still practice her religion. And just in case it didn't occur to Ms Burchill, any freedom she has is granted to her by God, not by the West or the East; she doesn't need man's permission to exercise her freedoms and rights. By the way Ms Burchill, in Islam there are no boundaries; Muslims all over the world are brothers and sisters in Islam, and nationalities and man-made boundaries don't divide us. Let me now make the Salman Rushdie affair clear to all the Julie Burchills out there, once and for all: in Islam, apostasy is a crime; according to Ms Burchill, the major religions have not, in recent times, held the view that apostasy is punishable by death. Again, a splendid display of ignorance; in Christianity, apostasy is a crime, and if Christianity was implemented in so-called Christian countries (actually secular countries with a token Church to appease and delude the public) then apostasy would be punishable by death. However, in Islam, there is due process of law, and no man has the right to take the law into his own hands, as this would lead to anarchy. No one has the right to kill Salman Rushdie, but if he were in an Islamic country, he would have to face trial and would have the right to a fair judicial process, including an appeals process. Unfortunately, there are ignorant Muslims just as there are ignorant Christians, Jews, Atheists, Buddhists, Hindus etc. Such Muslims in their zeal have reacted to the Salman Rushdie affair in an un-Islamic way. When Timothy McVeigh bombed and killed fellow Americans, we didn't condemn Christianity for his act; when Ariel Sharon massacred hundreds of innocents at Sabra and Shatila we didn't condemn Judaism for his barbarism. Similarly, one should be able to differentiate between Islam and the acts of certain Muslims. To do that however, one would have to cast aside his/her ignorance and study Islam without prejudice; for some people, that may be too much to ask. Yes Ms Burchill, do let's get on to the woman question, shall we? In Islam, men and women both have to appear in public dressed decently. Its not just women who have to be modest in their attire, men as well have to observe Islamic dress code. Modesty is an asset and an element of strong faith in Islam. It protects women from unwanted attention, and prevents them being treated as sexual objects; men are forced to look beyond the physical appearance and focus on the personality and character of a woman. I do the hijab (and no, there are no male tyrants forcing it upon me), and when I was at college, men who used obscene language in my presence would, upon realization, immediately turn around and apologise to me. Not once did they apologise to the non-Muslim women also sitting in the same room; a properly dressed woman commands respect and dignity, and a woman showing cleavage is seen as an easy target, as being `available'. Sexual harassment in the work force in Muslim countries is more or less a non-issue, whereas in the great and liberated Western countries women are constantly complaining of being mistreated by their male colleagues; if you don't want the attention, don't invite it. As for not feeling the breeze in our hair, well, ask the female jogger who was gang-raped in a park if the breeze in her hair at the time of her rape made her feel any better. Lets face facts shall we? If a potential rapist has to choose between a woman who is modestly dressed and a woman who insists on her `right' to wear as little as she likes, who is he going to choose? Not exactly a mind-bender, is it? Is it any wonder, then, that rape and other crimes against women (and children)are soaring in the West? Whether you like it or not Ms Burchill, Islam is growing, and will continue to grow, so perhaps you'd better start saving up for your one-way ticket to Mars. And to correct yet another example of ignorance, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen designed the interior, not the garden. Regards, Islamic Society of Baltimore
NS

Re: Guardian slanders Islam! Action requested!
Kashif
08/21/01 at 17:30:48
assalaamu alaikum As a point worth mentioning, some of the response from the Guardian newspaper indicates that there are far too few sisters writing in and calling in to complain. Lets change that shall we? Kashif Wa Salaam
NS

Re: Guardian slanders Islam! Action requested!
Anik
08/21/01 at 17:43:42
A.A. I would have to say that the above letter didn't impress me to the extent that i wish it had... from a kaffir perspectives i want to pose arguments that will construcively criticize the letter, so we can watch out for rebuttles. I alsorealize that we will not win the argument from their standards... it's almost apples and oranges... things they consider basic freedoms are things we consider sin, and vice versa.It is a direct clash of belief... to justify it in Kaffir terms only makes us look like we are weak and running around for acceptance. Like a sister said, if 1/3 of the world will be muslim, get used to Islam. These people don't know that Islam one day will eventually be all that is here... then again, i do agree that if some actions that muslims do were to continue and grow to a 1/3 rate of muslims, i can understand why she would be scared. Again, i think she is more attacking people who are muslims rather than Islam... because certain people can't represent themselves peacefully, she gets this impression that muslims are THIS way and THAT way. I'll try to post later the constructive criticism and points, and let's hope this lady sees Islam in it's true light that we all know. asalaamu alaikum. abdullah,.

Re: Guardian slanders Islam! Action requested!
Anik
08/21/01 at 20:52:41
A.A. The following is what i thought when i read this article: [quote] Strangely, no one seems to be as gullible as the media themselves.[/quote] That's true actually the media is gullibe... [quote] the 16 Afghan and eight foreign aid workers arrested by the Taliban for "promoting Christianity" pretty much deserved what they got if found guilty (it's a capital offence).[/quote] she comes from a totally different mind frame, it's almost impossible to explain this to her... [quote] I look forward to the day when some C of E vicar tells us that any Muslim caught promoting their religion over here deserves even 20 flicks with a wet towel. [/quote] i DO wonder how we would feel and justify actually if we were in that situation. [quote] Yes, and this year they also had a woman and her 12-year-old daughter beaten to within an inch of their lives when the woman removed her daughter's burqa - that hideous mobile prison women have to wear in the street - in order to help her breathe during an asthma attack.[/quote] is that true?   [quote]Not a mention of the women tortured, the Christian converts executed, the apostates hounded, the slaves in Sudan being sold into torment right now. [/quote] can we call this Islam? or is this the bad actions of some muslims? [quote]we have reason to be suspicious of Islam and to treat it differently from the other major religions.[/quote] didn't this get caught in her BS detector? And no one has any reason to be suspicious of Israel... please If there was proper education in Islam and knowledge that muslim actions don't always represent Islam, then ppl wouldn't bundle it all into a package. you know what, i could go on, but i'd rather go pray now... this kind of ignorance won't stop for some people... don't know what i started trying ot do in the first place. sorry for wasting all of our time. asalaamu alaikum. abdullah,.

Re: Guardian slanders Islam! Action requested!
se7en
08/21/01 at 21:15:10
[quote] As a point worth mentioning, some of the response from the Guardian newspaper indicates that there are far too few sisters writing in and calling in to complain. Lets change that shall we? [/quote] as salaamu alaykum, kash I'll write her.. once I start to calm down. If I write her now it'd be something like.. "You wanna see a Strong Muslim Woman?  C'mere a sec" wasalaamu alaykum, se7en Second in Command Ninja Hijabi Crew

Re: Guardian slanders Islam! Action requested!
Saleema
08/21/01 at 22:10:05
Ninja Hijabi Crew As part of that crew, i will write to her too inshallah. so will my friends. [wlm]

Re: Guardian slanders Islam! Action requested!
bhaloo
08/21/01 at 22:27:01
slm [quote]   Not a mention of the women tortured, the Christian converts executed, the apostates hounded, the slaves in Sudan being sold into torment right now. can we call this Islam? or is this the bad actions of some muslims? [/quote] How do you know it is true?  One must verify the information, see what the shariah says about such matters and not accept things blindly because they are printed in a newspaper by some non-Muslim.  Already I have seen several statements of bigotry against Muslims and Islam in recent major newspaper articles (i.e. Washington Post).  Thanks in effort to organizations such as CAIR and Muslims that help them, these statements have been detracted and they have apologized.  But the bigotry still continues.  Its a long and hard struggle. Se7en, whose the 1st in command? ???

Re: Guardian slanders Islam! Action requested!
haaris
08/22/01 at 05:13:59
One reply that I have seen.  No, it's not mine.  But it is very good. "[i]Simon: I'm writing with regards to Julie Burchill's article on Saturday, referencing the BBC's Islam Week.  I was overjoyed to be portrayed by Julie as a woman-bashing dark-age butcher/terrorist, and I'm sure my fellow Muslims worldwide would thank Julie for her wonderflly accurate, and well informed comments on Islam.  She is right to expose people as gullible for thinking of the Taleban as anything other than butcherous beasts. If only the dodgy Afghans could be more like the tolerant Israeli's who suffer immensely from powerful Palestinian stones, and only respond by sending in meagre tanks, and fighter planes, built by their American chums. And of course, there's the Americans, the true bastions of World tolerance & freedom: they had concrete evidence of Usama bin Laden's guilt, and that is why they launched air strikes against Sudan & Afghanistan, because he was in both countries at the same time.  Of course, this was not done to detract attention from the Monica Lewinsky Scandal, and they were justified in imposing sanctions on Afghanistan for not handing over bin Laden, because they have an extradition treaty with the Taleban, which was not being honoured. Us muslims, should strive to be more like the Americans, and Israelis. Julie is right - people are gullible.  People are gullible for believing the Western media's woefully biased portrayal of Islam as some barbaric belief from the dark ages.  The media is gullible for not understanding the difference between Culture and Religion.  Should we interpret Hitler's Germany as a fair reflection of Christianity, or Zionist Israel as a fair reflection of Judaism.  But the most gullible are us Muslims, for expecting any better from an Islam-hating West.[/i]"

Re: Guardian slanders Islam! Action requested!
BroHanif
08/22/01 at 06:17:14
A.w.W. My attempt at it. I'm sure our own journalist Sis Saleema can do a great job. Salaams for now. Hanif -------------------------------------------------------------------- Name and address Date Dear sir,[to whom its going to] The article by Julie Burchill on Saturday August 18, 2001 was very disturbing and extremely destructive to the Muslim Community. I find the article full of deceit and slur projecting an image of Islam as a religion where the rights of man and women are not recognised. Her words are wounding not to the British Muslims but for Muslims worldwide, she uses language that hurts the sensitivity of us Muslims by first siding Islam as a religion where the bull**** detector has been used by the Media i.e. the BBC on their coverage of Islam. She then makes a strong attack on the Muslim Woman’s dress, the hijaab making it seem as an action of ill fated women and one where the hijaab is forced upon. Again we are not surprised on the attack on the tried and tested method that is on the reputation of the Taliban. Brandishing the Taliban as people who are not humane, who have little or no feeling for their fellow humans by enforcing women to wear the hijaab, the author is completely out of line. Her article then makes misjudgements of Islam, it would certainly help Ms Julie Burchill if she understood the basics of Islam by conducting research and then putting pen to paper rather than assuming what Islam is and writing nothing but lies. She makes fictitious claims that people in Sudan are being sold into slaves, Christians converts executed and then attacks the hijaab again. Her claims are that Islam is against human rights, against the right of freedom, movement and religion, may I remind Ms Julie Burchill in which religion do women have so many rights for them and not against them. In which religion are there rights for animals, for the environment, for thy neighbour etc... When one studies Islam you will certainly find it is not a religion where it allows practice only on a day of the week, in fact, Islam is a complete way of life. I truly feel if Ms Burchill were to study Islam she would attack her own article as a complete sham. In her present article it is very clear that as a journalist of a professional broadsheet paper, she projects herself as an action of a novice focusing on fiction rather than fact, where she does no justice to herself, to the exemplary 'The Guardian' and to the entire Muslim Community worldwide. I will accept a written apology from her remove the errors and I also seek that she makes no further fictitious claims on Islam in the near future, certainly not in a broadsheet paper.

Re: Guardian slanders Islam! Action requested!
Anonymous
08/22/01 at 11:13:20
Assalam-u-alaikum I mailed the Simon dude from the three addresses Brother Kashif provided in the first post .The Reply I got is as : Thank you for your email Please note that this is now being dealt with by the Readers Editor. Any further correspondence should be directed to: reader@guardian.co.uk Yours sincerely PA to Simon Waldman So I think all the emails should be sent at the reader@guardian.co.uk addy.... I think I wrote a forceful mail but since the PA to this Simon dude replied ..I have a feeling she just deleted it:( ..without forwarding it to whose actually dealing with all the complaints:( But i am not sure...Just thought i should share this with you all   ..Moreover I didn't save Draft so that I could send the same again at the right address..Hope you ppl understand what I am rambling about:) Assalam-u-alaikum
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