"C'mon home, all is forgiven !"
Posted on 09/16/2006 9:51:54 AM PDT by GMMAC
The art of whipping up anti-Catholic rage
David Warren, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Saturday, September 16, 2006
The BBC appears to have been quickest off the mark, to send around the world in many languages, including Arabic, Turkish, Farsi, Urdu, and Malay, word that the Pope had insulted the Prophet of Islam during an address in Bavaria.
He had not, of course. Benedict XVI had instead quoted, carefully and without approval, remarks by the erudite 14th-century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus, in debate with a 14th-century educated Persian. But in the most conscientious media reports I have seen, even the Byzantine emperor is quoted out of context.
By turning the story back-to-front, so that what's promised in the lead is quietly withdrawn in the text, the BBC journalists were having a little mischief. The kind of mischief that is likely to end with Roman Catholic priests and faithful butchered around the Muslim world. Either the writers were so jaw-droppingly ignorant they did not realize this (always a possibility with the postmodern journalist), or the malice was intended. There is no third possibility. From the start, the BBC's reports said the pope would "face criticism from Muslim leaders" -- in the present tense. This is a form of dishonesty that has become common in journalism today. The flagrantly biased reporter, feigning objectivity, spices his story by just guessing what a man's enemies will say, even before they have spoken.
While I don't mean to pick especially on the BBC, when other mainstream media are often as culpable, they are worth singling out here to show the amount of sheer murderous evil of which this taxpayer-funded network is capable. As I write, the BBC website has just posted an "interpretive" piece by their religious affairs correspondent, one Rahul Tandon. He does an unconscionably brief review of publicity the Pope had previously received, as Cardinal Ratzinger and since his elevation, touching upon Islam. By extracting the context from each item on his list, Mr Tandon creates the utterly false impression that the pope is, as the media persistently dub him, "God's Rottweiler," with an especially vicious hate-on for Muslims.
Now watch Mr Tandon pose as the objective reporter: "However, since his consecration, Pope Benedict has surprised many with his attempts to improve dialogue with the Muslim world. He is due to visit Turkey in November as part of that process. "But there have been signs of his earlier views." Note the dripping condescension in the trailing line, as if the Pope is barely able to contain himself. But more significantly, note the implicit assertion that the views of Cardinal Ratzinger changed when he became pope. This is not true, but insinuated as if it were fact.
From now on, the reporting will be about the Muslim rage, and whether the Vatican has apologized yet. That is the "drama" the media will seek to capture -- the drama of the cockfight -- because they know no better kind. That the Pope said nothing intrinsically objectionable will be overlooked, in deference to the Muslim rage, just as the media hid the Danish cartoons from their viewers -- preventing them from discovering how mild the drawings were.
But again: even without the BBC doing the devil's work, with unbecoming enthusiasm, the story would have carried to the Muslim world, where a new wave of anti-Western, and specifically anti-Christian, hysteria is now rising, similar to what was enhanced by tendentious misreporting after the Danish controversy. There are enough other agents provocateurs both in my business and outside it; and surely, enough radical Muslims digging for grievances to extend their own power. The manufacture of grievances, to justify strident demands for their redress, is the tyrant's stock-in-trade. It is what took Adolf Hitler to power over the Germans, and it is what today's Islamic fanatics depend upon to control the Muslims, and push them towards an apocalyptic jihad against the West. Moreover, the basic tactic of bullying is to demand apologies for exaggerated or imaginary offences. It is to make the decent kneel before the indecent.
Already the parliament of Pakistan has voted unanimously to condemn the Pope, without showing the patience or courtesy to find out what he actually said.
This showed the power of the fanatics in Pakistan, for once one of them had tabled the lying motion, not one parliamentarian had the courage to resist it. It is worth adding, that in expressing their blind rage thus, they were illustrating not the Pope's, but the Byzantine emperor's caricature of Islam.
It is cowardly to apologize for imaginary transgressions. Let those who demand the apologies stick it.
David Warren's column appears Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006
The BBC and much of the liberal media has had it in for the Holy Father since he became pope.
"C'mon home, all is forgiven !"
The Pope quoted someone who spoke the truth about Islam!
its hard to write parody these days isn't it
Couldn't even begin to try.
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I saw in an article posted yesterday that the speech itself had not been translated yet into those languages. Surely the BBC could have included translations of the whole speech if they were so eager to get the word out. On the other hand, if they saw an opening only to get their spin out . . .
This is the same point I made about the editors of the New York Times earlier, and their sleazy editorial calling on the Pope to apologize.
By doing this, by feeding Muslim anger and by deliberately distorting what the Pope actually said, they are fanning hatred throughout the world.
They are complicit in violence and murder, which is certain to follow these lying distortions, just as they followed Evan Thomas's sleazy lies in Newsweek about the flushing of Korans down the toilet in Guantanamo.
Those who encourage and egg on terrorism are complicit in what the terrorists do. The Abu Ghraib propaganda campaign resulted in several innocent people getting their heads cut off. The liars in the media are fully responsible for these results, which can be readily predicted.
Well said, Mr. Warren!
You are very welcome. I will do that. I'm going to send it to Brit Hume at Fox News. I imagine this subject will be discussed on Fox News Sunday. We'll see. I agree that it's important that the facts about the Pontiff's lecture be made very clear.
Plenty of prominent British catholics, even after Henry croaked. No, this is just the snooty pinko anti-christian BBC crowd that hates Anglican vicars as much as Roman Catholics.
Let's all take a momment to face east and fart in Mohammed's general direction.
Thanks, but Jesus has already accepted me back home.
Many non Catholic freepers are defending the pope. It seems that many have a victim mentality that frankly is putting others off. We agree with your Pope and you, He did nothing wrong!
Marking
The American and non-American Western MSMs, and their nationalist/anti-US countrparts in East and Southeast Asia have blood on their hands. We should not forget that when we compile a list of collaborators after we win the war. These journalists and their enablers in the financial circles and academia should be put on trails in courts.
Furthermore, they make absurd statements such as their attacks are the same as McVeigh's, who they state was a Christian (was he nominally?). However, they don't point out why there are these attacks. McVeigh was simply a man against the government. These Muslims are all trying to either defend or forcefully promote Islam. So while nominal Christians can do bad things, they do not do it for their relgion. For Muslims, their religion is key. McVeigh didn't blow up some building in Pakistan because he was trying to set up a Dar-es-Christianity (is the Dar-es the proper term?).
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