CAIR: Paul Harvey Says Islam 'Encourages Killing'(Group Seeks On-Air Apology)

PRNewswire ^ | December 5, 2003 | Staff

[veronica]

Islamic Civil Rights Group Seeks On-Air Apology

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling for an on-air apology from syndicated radio commentator Paul Harvey who said on his Thursday program that Islam "encourages killing."

Harvey, who has 24 million weekly listeners on some 1,600 radio stations in this country and around the world, made that claim during his Thursday noon commentary.

In that segment, Harvey described the bloody nature of cock fight gambling in Iraq and said: "Add to the thirst for blood a religion which encourages killing, and it is entirely understandable if Americans came to this bloody party unprepared."

TO LISTEN TO THE SEGMENT, GO TO: http://www.paulharvey.com/ Click on the Thursday noon program. The section with the offensive quote begins at 6:53. The quote itself begins at 8:25.

"We had hoped that a respected broadcast professional like Mr. Harvey would not join the growing number of Islamophobic hate-mongers in our society," said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. "He falsely attributes to Islam two things that are specifically prohibited by our faith, murder and cruelty to animals." (Islam also prohibits gambling.)

Hooper quoted the Prophet Muhammad, who said one of the "biggest of (the great sins)" is "to murder a human being." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, 9:10) He also cited the Quran, Islam's revealed text, which states that when someone takes another's life, "it would be as if he slew all mankind." (Quran, 5:32)

On animal cruelty, the Prophet said: "A woman was punished [by God] because of a cat. She had neither provided it with food nor drink, nor set it free so that it might eat the creatures of the earth." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1047)

In another tradition related by the Prophet, a man was rewarded by God for helping a thirsty animal. The man, who had just climbed down a well to get water for himself, saw a dog panting and licking mud because of excessive thirst. He went down the well again and filled his shoe with water for the dog. God thanked him for that deed and forgave his sins.

After relating that story, the Prophet was asked: "Is there a reward for us in serving animals?" He replied: "Yes, there is a reward for serving any (living being)." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, 3:646)

In other Islamic traditions, the Prophet prohibited capturing young birds because of the distress caused to their mother, and rebuked his companions who burnt an ant hill.

Hooper also cited the Quran, which says: "There is no beast that walks on earth and no bird that flies on its two wings that is not [God's] creature ... Unto their Sustainer shall they [all] be gathered." (Quran, 6:38)

In 1999, Harvey issued an on-air apology to Muslims for remarks suggesting that Islam was a "fraudulent religion." The apology came after hundreds of concerned Muslims called, faxed and e-mailed both Harvey's office and that of ABC Radio Networks, his program's syndicator.

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has 25 regional offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada.

CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: cair@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail: rahmed@cair-net.org

NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a journalist's window to the American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called ISLAM-INFONET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our society.

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/islam-infonet/

[LiteKeeper]

INTREP - if the First Ammendment means anything, it means that someone like Paul Harvey can comment on the public aurways, and mot have to apologize if some group is offended.

STAND FIRM, PAUL

[CharliefromKS]

Stand your ground, Paul. We need more people who tell it like it is.

[ExpatCanuck]

Perhaps, if they are actively preaching against the fundamentalism in their mosques, in addition to providing soundbites for reporters. Putting their money where their mouths are, so to speak.

[E.G.C.]

Paul Harvey is a legendary radio commenator who has won numerous awards for his work. He is a very well respected radio commentator who knows what he's talking about when reporting and commenting on the news. He owes no apology whatsoever.

[jtminton]

bump

[Hegemony Cricket]

Great 1st Ammendment point, LK!

[agrace]

Hooper is annoying, I have a very hard time watching him speak. He was asked directly by Jerry Falwell of all people a few months ago how old Mohammed's wife Aisha was when he married her and subsequently consummated the marriage, Hooper flat out denied that she was 6 and 9, respectively. Falwell said it's right there in your hadith and Hooper said he had never seen such a reference in his life. Lying or ignorant? Hooper certainly seems familiar with the Koran in this article, so I bet he's just a little familiar with the hadith as well.

[HamiltonJay]

Hmmm.. so Honor killings aren't part of Islam... interesting, they only seem to be occurring routinely by Muslims... and Islam has from its founding and still to this day encourages "conversion" under threat of death... or maybe you just conviently ignore the slaughter of Jews and Christians and others at the Hands of muslim "missionaries" throughout the world!


Sorry CAIR, you clean up your own house before you tell me how to take care of mine.

[The_Media_never_lie]

An Islamic group crying out against hate mongers? Now that is the pot calling the kettle black!

[presidio9]

Arabs buy a lot of Dux beds and Bose Wave Radios?

[HamiltonJay]

CAIR, Tell me some more damned lies about your oh so peaceful religion!

[BSunday]

I believe the Koran says you can enslave your non-Muslim enemies; I heard this if anyone can validate. If so, why the heck would Blacks in America be so interested in the Islamic faith? I mean, if the main "operating manual" for your religion says slavery is AOK, why would Black Americans be alright with it?

Think about it. It's called the revenge factor.

[Geritol]

'Instead of saying Islam "encourages killing," perhaps Mr. Harvey should have said, "Islam encourages serial killing."'

It strikes me that it is real hard for a homocide bomber to be a serial killer. Mass murderer perhaps, but not serial killer.

[Stop Legal Plunder]

My wife and I stopped listening to Paul Harvey last year because of his strong promotion of feminism. But this news suggests he still maintains some conservative perspectives.

[CommandoFrank]

My tag says it all...

[cookcounty]

Interesting that when leading muslim clerics in "Palestine" praise baby-targeting killers on official Arab radio, no condemnation escapes Mr. Hooper's lips. He certainly does not call them "Jew-hating Israelo-phobes." Why would he? Those clerics are his pals.

[Geritol]

"I saw a post on FR just today where a Muslim leader said that there are two brands of Islam; one which embraces violence as means to an end and pursues a mindless fundamentalism. The other is more peaceful. These forms of Islam are at war around the world."


First, I thought I read somewhere that there were 4 main bodies of islamist philosophy, not that I know what the names are. If there is one well defined, recognized variety of islam that is homocidal in nature and is actively opposed by other variants of islam, should we start calling that variant by name instead of condemning all islam with a broad brush? If it is shiite, or wahabbism (however it is called and spelled, or some other specific "dialect" X of islam, can we start specifically saying "X, a religion of Peace" instead of islam?

In addition, should we start calling on the other flavors of islam to specifically denounce this violent flavor?

[Stop Legal Plunder]

Mr. Harvey should use this latest CAIR attack on him as an excuse to investigate them for an on-air expose.

If anyone has any contacts with the show (e.g. a phone =), please convey this suggestion to Mr. Harvey.

[PISANO]

The RELIGION OF PEACE my ass!