From Matthew Philbin's blog via newsbusters
Will Media Remember Praising Al Awlaki the ‘Moderate?’
With the news that an American air strike has killed the U.S.-born head of Al Quaeda in Yemen, Anwar Al Awlaki, the media will explain his significance in the terrorist organization, and his role in inspiring the Ft. Hood shooter and the “underwear bomber.” What they probably won’t tell you is that they once celebrated Al Awlaki as a “moderate” and a bridge-builder “between Islam and the West.”
Awlaki once served as imam of the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Northern Virginia, the very same place that attracted many of the 9/11 hijackers and, later, Major Nadal Hasan, the Ft. Hood shooter.
Yet before and, remarkably, after 9/11, the Washington Post, The New York Times and the Baltimore Sun, along with NPR, fawned over Al Awlaki as one of a “new generation of Muslim leader capable of merging East and West,” in the Times’ words. In Nov. 2001, just two months after the 9/11 attacks, the Post did a video profile of Al Awlaki and hosted him in an on-line Q & A session with readers. "[T]he greatest sin in Islam after associating other gods besides Allah is killing an innocent soul,” the bridge-builder told questioners.
Just a few years later, Al Awlaki was praising Nadal Hasan as “heroic,” saying “may God richly reward him.”
Al Awlaki turned out to be an exact opposite of the moderate he professed to be, and clearly burned the credulous media. That’s understandable. What’s not is that the media learned nothing from the experience.
Another name often mentioned in those old puff stories about so-called moderate imams was Feisal Abdul Rauf – the Muslim cleric who caused a storm of controversy in 2010 with his plan to build a mosque within two blocks of Ground Zero in Manhattan.
When the story exploded, the media rushed to Rauf’s defense, burnishing his “moderate” credentials. For the Post, Rauf seems to have taken over Al Awlaki’s old post as in-house Muslim public relations director. Since 2008, Rauf has penned at least 20 “On Faith” columns for the Post’s website. Rauf may or may not be as radical as Al Awlaki, but it’s hard to trust the conclusions of the “see-no-evil” media.
Al Awlaki’s death should serve as a reminder to the media of its embarrassment at his hands. And maybe it does, but don’t hold your breath waiting for an acknowledgement.
===============================================Will Media Remember Praising Al Awlaki the ‘Moderate?’
With the news that an American air strike has killed the U.S.-born head of Al Quaeda in Yemen, Anwar Al Awlaki, the media will explain his significance in the terrorist organization, and his role in inspiring the Ft. Hood shooter and the “underwear bomber.” What they probably won’t tell you is that they once celebrated Al Awlaki as a “moderate” and a bridge-builder “between Islam and the West.”
Awlaki once served as imam of the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Northern Virginia, the very same place that attracted many of the 9/11 hijackers and, later, Major Nadal Hasan, the Ft. Hood shooter.
Yet before and, remarkably, after 9/11, the Washington Post, The New York Times and the Baltimore Sun, along with NPR, fawned over Al Awlaki as one of a “new generation of Muslim leader capable of merging East and West,” in the Times’ words. In Nov. 2001, just two months after the 9/11 attacks, the Post did a video profile of Al Awlaki and hosted him in an on-line Q & A session with readers. "[T]he greatest sin in Islam after associating other gods besides Allah is killing an innocent soul,” the bridge-builder told questioners.
Just a few years later, Al Awlaki was praising Nadal Hasan as “heroic,” saying “may God richly reward him.”
Al Awlaki turned out to be an exact opposite of the moderate he professed to be, and clearly burned the credulous media. That’s understandable. What’s not is that the media learned nothing from the experience.
Another name often mentioned in those old puff stories about so-called moderate imams was Feisal Abdul Rauf – the Muslim cleric who caused a storm of controversy in 2010 with his plan to build a mosque within two blocks of Ground Zero in Manhattan.
When the story exploded, the media rushed to Rauf’s defense, burnishing his “moderate” credentials. For the Post, Rauf seems to have taken over Al Awlaki’s old post as in-house Muslim public relations director. Since 2008, Rauf has penned at least 20 “On Faith” columns for the Post’s website. Rauf may or may not be as radical as Al Awlaki, but it’s hard to trust the conclusions of the “see-no-evil” media.
Al Awlaki’s death should serve as a reminder to the media of its embarrassment at his hands. And maybe it does, but don’t hold your breath waiting for an acknowledgement.
WM-I'll add some trivia to this author's point about this Al Quaeda leader:
Under pressure, youtube finally removed the 100s of his terrorist instruction and motivation videos, less than one year ago.
You know all those attacks that you know are Islamic terror, but that the media and government claim are not? Try this from today's NYT, " His online lectures and sermons had been linked to more than a dozen terrorist investigations in the United States, Britain and Canada. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan had exchanged e-mails with Mr. Awlaki before the deadly shooting rampage on Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. Faisal Shahzad, who tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square in May, 2010, cited Mr. Awlaki as an inspiration."
NYT, Oct. 19, 2001-"Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki, spiritual leader at the Dar al-Hijra mosque in Virginia, one of the nation's largest, which draws about 3,000 worshipers for communal prayers each Friday, said: ''In the past we were oblivious. We didn't really care much because we never expected things to happen. Now I think things are different. What we might have tolerated in the past, we won't tolerate any more.''
''There were some statements that were inflammatory, and were considered just talk, but now we realize that talk can be taken seriously and acted upon in a violent radical way,'' said Mr. Al-Awlaki, who at 30 is held up as a new generation of Muslim leader capable of merging East and West"
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