Free Republic

The forced conversion of two television journalists to Islam is nothing new – except for the use of videotape and the celebrity value in play. The jihad of today is actually very old, and embedded in the very foundations of Islam. Fox News journalists Steve Centanni and his accompanying cameraman Olaf Wiig were released on Sunday, August 27, 2006, following almost two weeks of captivity. While both men appeared to be in good physical health, the prognosis for their psychological state, and future journalistic contributions, is less sanguine. As depicted in this disturbing video, Centanni and Wiig were forced to...

Fox News journalist Steve Centanni's credibility is SHOT. He will forever be viewed as "the journalist that converted to Islam" to save his skin and then "unconverted" when he thought he was "safe", and as the "journalist" who praised the terrorists and their cause and told the west that they and Israel are the bad guys and admonished more reporters to “come to Gaza and report on the plight of the poor Palistinians”. The reality is his conversion was presented and viewed by MILLIONS of Muslims (along with the rest of us) world-wide. According to Islam, he has now become...

Set free after two weeks in captivity, FNC Reporter Steve Centanni and Cameraman Olaf Wiig sit down with Greta for their first television interview since returning to the U.S. What happened during their ordeal? Tune in tonight for the complete story.

What are we seeing when we watch events from the Middle East on our television screens? Is it news or is it terrorist theater? Let us observe two media events which occurred on Sunday in Gaza. Sunday afternoon released hostages and Fox News journalists Steven Centanni and Olaf Wiig spoke before the cameras. The fact of their release and their statements were reported by more than 1,000 news organizations throughout the world. At the press conference, Centanni and Wiig, who were forced by their Palestinian captors to convert to Islam, praised the Palestinians. Centanni said, "I just hope this never...

The identity of the kidnappers of the two Fox News journalists released un-harmed in the Gaza Strip on Sunday was still shrouded in mystery as Palestinian Authority leaders remained tight-lipped on the case. Cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand, and US-born correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, were handed over to PA security officers two weeks after they were seized by unidentified gunmen in Gaza City. For a Jerusalem Online video of events click here The two were driven to the Beach Hotel, where they were met by several Palestinian journalists and PA officials, including Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. "I want...

JERUSALEM, Aug. 27 — Two journalists kidnapped in Gaza were released unharmed on Sunday after being forced at gunpoint to say on a videotape that they had converted to Islam. *snip* “I’m really fine, healthy in good shape and so happy to be free,” Mr. Centanni told Fox News. He said the two had been forced at gunpoint to say that they were converting to Islam and had taken Muslim names. “I have the highest respect for Islam,” he said. “But it was something we felt we had to do because they had the guns, and we didn’t know what...

I just learned of the release of the two kidnapped reporters, Steven Centanni Olaf Wiig, in Gaza. We thank God for their release and safety. They reported that they were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint and they complied. The implications of this are profound. A Christian who says any statement against Christ (be it coerced or not) has committed the sin of apostasy. "But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven." Matt 10:33. The Chronicles of the first 500 years of Christianity testify that this was the gravest sin...

Two Fox News journalists freed by militants Sunday described a harrowing two weeks of captivity during which they were blindfolded, tied in painful positions and forced at gunpoint to say on a video that they converted to Islam. After their release, the men met with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and left Gaza, but first appealed at a brief news conference for foreign journalists not to be deterred from covering the plight of the Palestinians in the volatile coastal strip. "I hope that this never scares a single journalist away from coming to Gaza to cover the story because the...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Militants freed two Fox News journalists on Sunday in the Gaza Strip, ending a nearly two week hostage drama in which one of the former captives said they were forced at gunpoint to make statements, including that they had converted to Islam. Correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, of Washington, D.C., and cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand, were dropped off at Gaza City's Beach Hotel by Palestinian security officials. A tearful Centanni briefly embraced a Palestinian journalist in the lobby, then rushed upstairs with Wiig behind him. "I want to thank everybody. I am...

Two Fox News journalists were freed on Sunday in Gaza after a complex deal was hammered out between the kidnappers and the Hamas-led government of Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh. The negotiations brought an end to the two week long hostage ordeal, but it may complicate efforts to free another captive — Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit — held by Palestinian militants. In its broadcasts, Fox News often portayed the Hamas militants as terrorists, but the kidnapping of the two journalists, sources tell TIME, had nothing to do with Fox's perceived pro-Israel stance or a serious attempt, as the captors first demanded,...

FOX News journalists Steve Centanni and veteran cameraman Olaf Wiig were released by a Palestinian terrorist group early Sunday morning. Centanni, 60, and Wiig, 36, were abducted on August 14th and held captive for 14 days somewhere in Gaza, south of Israel. In an interview with FOX, Centanni said himself, Wiig and a so-called security man were ambushed by a group which consisted of four hooded gunmen. For the first week of Centanni's and Wiig's captivity, there was a virtual news blackout regarding this case with little or no reports on the subject coming from FOX News or any other...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Two FOX News journalists were released by their kidnappers Sunday, nearly two weeks after they were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. Steve Centanni, 60, and Olaf Wiig, 36, left Gaza and have since crossed into Israel after their release. The men left Gaza through the Erez border crossing. The freeing of Centanni, a correspondent, and Wiig, a cameraman, ends the longest-running drama involving foreign hostages in Gaza. The two journalists were dropped off at Gaza City's Beach Hotel by Palestinian security officials and appeared to be in good health. A tearful Centanni embraced a...

GAZA (Reuters) - Two kidnapped Fox journalists appeared on a new videotape released by their captors on Sunday in the Gaza Strip, in which the reporters said they had converted to Islam, the Fox News Channel said. Palestinian Interior Minister Saeed Seyam said efforts were under way to secure within hours the release of Fox correspondent Steve Centanni, a 60-year-old American, and New Zealand-born cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36. Both journalists appeared to be in good health in the new video. They were seized on August 14. They were shown separately sitting cross-legged, reading a statement which Fox said was an...

On the face of it, conversion to Islam would appear to provide a painless escape device for any hostage who happens to fall into fundamentalist terrorist hands. After all, once free, the hostage can always revert to his real faith or non-faith. It is hard to blame the two Fox News journalists, the American Steve Centanni, 60, and the New Zealander, Olaf Wiig, 36, for taking that path on to buy their way out of an uncertain fate at the hands of Palestinian terrorists – especially as they later reported they were forced to make the gesture at gunpoint. And,...

<p>Two FOX News journalists were released Sunday, nearly two weeks after being seized by militants in Gaza. First footage showed the two, Olaf Wiig and Steve Centanni, being dropped off at Gaza City's Beach Hotel.</p>

Perhaps I am misreading what I have seen on Fox News, or perhaps I am getting too cynical in my old age. Perhaps not. Is anyone else being struck by the "oddness" of this whole scenario? As I watched the men being rushed into the building and as they met with the head of the Palestinian Authority and as they were dragged out for their "press conference" (Mrs. BBC Wiig's big moment) I couldn't help noticing the dearth of western faces. I also noticed Wiig's reaction to being grabbed by several Palestinian "officials" and his yelling "Get off!". My immediate...

http://today.reuters.co.uk/tv/videoStory.aspx?isSummitStory=false&storyId=eb16e63077404ca28ffbcacecb56291d0ef0f9b0&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-R4-WatchVideos-2

Kidnapped Fox reporters "convert to Islam" on video Sun Aug 27, 2006 5:20 AM EDT By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - Two kidnapped journalists for the American Fox News Channel appeared on a new videotape released by their captors on Sunday in the Gaza Strip, saying they had converted to Islam. Palestinian Interior Minister Saeed Seyam said efforts were under way to secure the release of Fox correspondent Steve Centanni, a 60-year-old American, and New Zealand-born cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, within hours. Both journalists appeared to be in good health in the new video. They were seized on August 14...

Per Fox News

The kidnappers of the two Fox News journalists abducted in Gaza City on August 14 have promised to release them unharmed, Palestinian Authority officials said on Saturday night. According to the officials, the PA has managed to establish contact with the kidnappers, who promised to resolve the affair peacefully. PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said he had personally received assurances from the kidnappers that the two, reporter Steve Centanni, from the US, and cameraman Olaf Wiig, from New Zealand, would be released unharmed and unconditionally. PA Interior Minister Said Siam, who is in charge of part of the PA security...