Palestinians Called 'Filthy Animals' on MSNBC's 'Imus'; CAIR Calls For Apology

Contact: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726 or ihooper@cair-net.org, Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441 or rahmed@cair-net.org, both of the Council on American-Islamic Relations

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called for an apology from the MSNBC cable television network over comments on its "Imus in the Morning" program that referred to Palestinians as "filthy animals" and suggested that they all be killed.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also urged that the program's host, Don Imus, be reprimanded for failing to challenge his colleagues' inflammatory remarks. CAIR, which says it received numerous complaints about the comments, quoted a transcript of Imus' November 12th program in which he and his on-air colleagues engaged in the following discussion about live coverage of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's funeral:

DON IMUS: They're (the Palestinians) eating dirt and that fat pig wife of his is living in Paris.

COLLEAGUE: They're all brainwashed, though. That's what it is. And they're stupid, to begin with, but they're brainwashed now. Stinking animals. They ought to drop the bomb right there, kill 'em all right now...

IMUS: Well, the problem is we have (reporter) Andrea (Mitchell) there; we don't want anything to happen to her.

COLLEAGUE: Oh, she's got to get out. Andrea, get out and then drop the bomb and kill everybody...

In a letter to MSNBC President Neal Shapiro, CAIR stated: "We are firm defenders of the First Amendment, but these hate-filled and racist remarks can only serve to legitimize anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bigotry in our society and could lead to further discrimination against members of the Islamic and Arab-American communities." (CAIR also filed a complaint with the FCC because "Imus in the Morning" is a nationally-syndicated radio program.)

This is not the first time Imus has been involved in a controversy over anti-Arab and Islamophobic remarks. As early as 1985, he was forced to apologize for referring to Arabs as "goat- humping weasels." (Sunday Mail, 4/21/85) He has also been criticized for using the derogatory term "raghead." (Accuracy in Media) In a reference to the crash of an Iranian airliner earlier this year that killed 43 passengers, Imus said, "When I hear stories like that, I think who cares." He then stated: "Too bad it wasn't full of Saudi Arabians." (National Iranian American Council)

Earlier this year, CAIR announced a campaign called "Hate Hurts America" designed to counter hate speech on talk radio. SEE: http://www.cair-net.org/hatehurtsamerica/

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has 29 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a journalist's window to the American Muslim community. To SUBSCRIBE to ISLAM- INFONET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/islam-infonet/

and he did it again..LOL, that's what you get for supporting Kerry.

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=39989

MSNBC 'Imus' Segment Refers to 'Raghead Cadaver';Islamic Advocacy Group Renews Demand for Apology, Reprimand

11/19/2004 12:28:00 PM

To: National Desk

Contact: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair-net.org, Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, rahmed@cair-net.org, both of the Council on American-Islamic Relations

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Council on American- Islamic Relations (CAIR) is once again demanding an apology from the MSNBC cable television network for anti-Arab/anti-Muslim remarks made on its "Imus in the Morning" program.

In a segment today commenting on the apparent execution of a wounded Iraqi in Fallujah by a U.S. Marine, a fictitious "Senior Military Affairs Advisor" to the program justified the killing by referring to a "booby-trapped raghead cadaver." The fictitious advisor also said the killing provided an "Al-Jazeera moment" causing the "Muslim masses to respond with their routine pack of rabid sheep mentality."

Yesterday, CAIR issued a similar call for an apology for a Nov. 12th "Imus" program that referred to Palestinians as "stinking animals" and suggested that they all be killed.

SEE: Palestinians Called 'Stinking Animals' on MSNBC's 'Imus' http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1331&page=NR

"We thank all those who already contacted the network to express their concerns about the racist remarks and ask that they keep up the pressure until those concerns are properly addressed," said CAIR executive director Nihad Awad.

Don Imus, the program's host, has a long history of controversy over anti-Arab and Islamophobic remarks. As early as 1985, he was forced to apologize for referring to Arabs as "goat-humping weasels." (Sunday Mail, 4/21/85) He has also been criticized for using the derogatory term "raghead." (Accuracy in Media) In a reference to the crash of an Iranian airliner earlier this year that killed 43 passengers, Imus said, "When I hear stories like that, I think who cares." He then stated: "Too bad it wasn't full of Saudi Arabians." (National Iranian American Council)

Earlier this year, CAIR announced a "Hate Hurts America" campaign designed to counter hate speech on talk radio.

SEE: http://www.cair-net.org/hatehurtsamerica/

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has 29 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a journalist's window to the American Muslim community. To SUBSCRIBE to ISLAM- INFONET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/islam-infonet/

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