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See No Muslims: The NY Times Ignores the Obvious
Townhall.com ^ | July 6, 2007 | Joel Mowbray

Posted on 07/06/2007 4:34:44 AM PDT by Kaslin

In what must have come as a shock to its readers, the New York Times reported that the July 7, 2005 terrorist attacks in London brought “home to Britain fears of homegrown terrorist attacks among its disenfranchised South Asian population.”

Imagine the surprise of many to learn that Britain is now under attack from “disenfranchised South Asian” people, not those who murder in the name of their Islamic faith.

Cruelly ironic is that in the course of attempting to avoid offending Muslims, the Times managed to defame two larger groups of people—all in a single sentence.

And that’s setting aside the fact that the deadliest 7/7 bomber was not even “South Asian.” Germaine Maurice Lindsay, who changed his name to Abdullah Shaheed Jamal after converting to Islam at age 15, moved to the UK from Jamaica.

A plain reading of the silly Times sentence would suggest that the British discussions of terrorism for the past two years have revolved, in large part, around fears of Indian Hindus, the single largest South Asian demographic in the United Kingdom. (According to the last UK census, immigrants who trace their ancestry to India, over 80% of whom are Hindu, are the only population of South Asian descendants topping one million in the country.)

Presumably, the Times was seeking a gentle way of pointing the finger at ethnic Pakistani Muslims, or perhaps even Muslims hailing from Bangladesh. But the self-proclaimed “paper of record” couldn’t bring itself to write anything more specific than “South Asian population.”

Perhaps the Times assumed that its sophisticated readers would read between the lines, just sort of figuring out that reporters Alan Cowell and Raymond Bonner were really talking about Muslims, but couldn’t write as much out of politeness.

In a 1,600 word story about homegrown terrorism inside the UK, it took roughly 1,400 words before Cowell and Bonner mentioned “Muslims.” “Islam” is nowhere to be found.

But the Times’s absurd rhetorical acrobatics insulted not only the broad “South Asian” population, but also Britain itself.

Notice the clever phrasing about the object of Brits’ fears: the “disenfranchised South Asian population.” Disenfranchised is a victims’ tag that mostly sullies the aggressors who have committed the disenfranchising, in this case implying that Britain has “deprived” this population group “of the rights of citizenship.”

Brits have done no such thing.

Remember that Muslims, er, “South Asians,” have long been welcomed into British society, from employment through politics. 7/7 bomber Mohammad Sidique Khan, for example, used to work for Britain’s Department of Trade and Industry.

To the extent that Muslims live and function outside of British society, it is largely by choice. British imams, for example, have told their followers not to contribute to the “infidel” economy and instead suck off its government by collecting welfare checks. And no one who’s seen the photos needs reminding of the outrageous British Muslim protests calling for the blood of Islam’s critics.

Perhaps the Times feels no remorse insulting large groups that the paper doesn’t consider to be minorities. And perhaps the Times finds no shame in ignoring the religion of people hellbent on murdering in the name of that religion.

But is the Times even slightly concerned when the paper’s sensibilities trump the facts?


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: muslims; nyt; southasians
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1 posted on 07/06/2007 4:34:45 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin
But is the Times even slightly concerned when the paper’s sensibilities trump the facts?

No.

2 posted on 07/06/2007 4:37:59 AM PDT by metesky ("Brethren, leave us go amongst them." Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnston Clayton - Ward Bond- The Searchers)
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To: Kaslin
But is the Times even slightly concerned when the paper’s sensibilities trump the facts?

No. When the New York Times reports something, it becomes the New Fact.

3 posted on 07/06/2007 4:39:54 AM PDT by gridlock (You know when you see the (Fill-In-The-Blank)AID Concert, an issue is headed for obscurity.)
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To: Kaslin

The Times got it right. It was the South Asians. Er... minus the Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Bahais, Christians, and Jews.


4 posted on 07/06/2007 4:40:17 AM PDT by Jack Hammer
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To: Kaslin

The NYT is simply taking it’s marching orders from Liberal Prime Minister Brown: “Don’t call them Muslims.”


5 posted on 07/06/2007 4:42:40 AM PDT by Brilliant
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To: Kaslin

Simply Put: The NYT is bin Laden’s *itch.


6 posted on 07/06/2007 4:44:28 AM PDT by theDentist (Qwerty ergo typo : I type, therefore I misspelll.)
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To: Kaslin
Perhaps the Times assumed that its sophisticated readers would read between the lines, just sort of figuring out that reporters Alan Cowell and Raymond Bonner were really talking about Muslims, but couldn’t write as much out of politeness.

Make that READER.


7 posted on 07/06/2007 4:46:34 AM PDT by COUNTrecount
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To: Kaslin
Unless the Slimes can find a Bush-bashing angle, they're not interested. But no matter, instead of Islam, I vote "Mohammedanism." After all, it was good enough for this man.
8 posted on 07/06/2007 4:46:36 AM PDT by sono ("Let's start the Fairness Doctrine with NPR." Dennis Miller)
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To: Kaslin; Brilliant
But the Times’s absurd rhetorical acrobatics insulted not only the broad “South Asian” population, but also Britain itself.

Britain was insulted too?? If it was, then it was also insulted first and foremost by its very own PM Brown and the Mayor of London etc...

9 posted on 07/06/2007 4:51:25 AM PDT by beckaz (Dump Gonzales Yesterday, and Chertoff too.)
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To: Kaslin
“ ...disenfranchised South Asian population.”

Another DBM fabrication... along with “domestic spying”... “Valerie Plame, covert agent”... “we invaded Iraq solely because of WMD's”...

10 posted on 07/06/2007 4:57:51 AM PDT by johnny7 ("But that one on the far left... he had crazy eyes")
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To: beckaz
Rand Simberg says it better than I:

... By the way, it would also be nice if this latest development finally puts to bed the ongoing "progressive" myth that terrorism is caused by poverty and alienation, or by our foreign policy (the latest manifestation of this nonsense is the nutty notion that we are "creating terrorists in Iraq").

... We continue to deny moral agency to Muslims, and act as though we really are responsible for all bad things in the world, and they have no responsibility for their own behavior. If we don't understand what we are at war with, and chase after solutions to problems that don't really exist, and continue to foolishly ask questions like "why do they hate us?", we can never win.

11 posted on 07/06/2007 4:59:51 AM PDT by sono ("Let's start the Fairness Doctrine with NPR." Dennis Miller)
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To: theDentist
Simply Put: The NYT is bin Laden’s *itch.



12 posted on 07/06/2007 5:05:44 AM PDT by Stepan12 ( "We are all girlymen now." Conservative reaction to Ann Coulter's anti PC joke)
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To: sono
""why do they hate us?""

Wrong question. It should be "Why do they continue to kill us?" Hate crimes are tough to enforce. Murderous intent is easier. Go after the immans who rarely directly participate.

13 posted on 07/06/2007 5:09:10 AM PDT by Paladin2 (Islam is the religion of violins, NOT peas.)
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To: Kaslin

More blatant proof of the alliance of the left and the jihadis.
The left, led by the extreme leftist Times, shares the goals of the jihadis, namely the destruction of Western Civilization, and so it tries to hide the fact that their friends, the jihadis, are trying to kill us all.


14 posted on 07/06/2007 5:11:41 AM PDT by Leftism is Mentally Deranged (Beware the Leftist Marxist-Jihadists Alliance. They all want us dead.)
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To: Brilliant
The NYT is simply taking it’s marching orders from Liberal Prime Minister Brown: “Don’t call them Muslims.”

Imagine the fun John Cleese could have with this.

15 posted on 07/06/2007 5:58:16 AM PDT by A_perfect_lady
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To: Jack Hammer
too funny. I was hammerin them on that also.
actually it should be the south west asians...but why quibble...after all it is the NYT and they get to paint with a broad brush.
16 posted on 07/06/2007 6:16:05 AM PDT by stylin19a (Since bad golf shots come in groups of 3, a 4th bad shot is the start of the next group of 3)
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To: gridlock

Like the today Show ignoring recent history of the Clinton child.


17 posted on 07/06/2007 6:23:59 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks (BTUs are my Beat.)
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To: sono

I vote for Mohammedanism, too.

In some circles it is considered as bad as the N word. Guess which circles? hah-hah.

http://dinahlord.blogspot.com/2007/06/muslim-or-mohammedan.html

Cheers - Dinah


18 posted on 07/06/2007 7:36:52 AM PDT by Dinah Lord (fighting the Islamofascist Jihad - one keystroke at a time...)
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To: Kaslin
But is the Times even slightly concerned when the paper’s sensibilities trump the facts?

OK, picture this. The New York times people are a bunch of Wylie Coyotes and the terrorists are a bunch of Roadrunners. Next thing you know, you see a bunch of burnt matchsticks with big white eyes standing in one place and the roadrunners going in the distance saying “beep beep!” The New York Times is so clueless. OK that’s my vision for the day.

19 posted on 07/06/2007 8:36:32 AM PDT by Bitsy
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To: Brilliant; Jack Hammer

I much prefer the term rugriders. The full name being smelly rugriders.


20 posted on 07/06/2007 8:36:43 AM PDT by B4Ranch (Check out this website for the National Veterans Coalition http://www.nvets.org/)
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