Is The Media Reporting The Muslim Reaction Correctly?

When Christian groups protest over abortion clinics or at funerals, we don't say the whole Christian world is up in arms. So why when Muslim groups protest something, do we automatically assume the WHOLE muslim world is rioting? To help push an agenda? Maybe. A lazy media who goes for the cheap story, more likely.

There is a Muslim writer for the Guardian who is the editor of Q-News, a Muslim magazine, who has a very different message then what CNN, MSNBC/NBC, ABC and FOX are telling you. Her name is Fareena Alam.

(Guardian)"The media are giving the supposed "anger of the Muslim nation" too much coverage. Such insults are as old as Islam itself. The Prophet dealt with them with dignity. We must stop over-reacting ...

"A Muslim who truly lives according to the moral code of Islam - of justice, neighbourliness and compassion - will know that it is our greatest weapon against misrepresentation. Perhaps the Pope was 'merely quoting' the 14th-century emperor. Perhaps he did so because he actually shares this belief. If so, he is more ill-informed than we thought. I refuse to let such provocations shape the global faith agenda."

The sad thing is that this method of reporting has worked before. Look at what happened with the Danish cartoons. If all you knew is what our media told you, you would have assumed that ALL Muslims were rioting in the streets. Again Fareena Alam had a different view.

(Guardian)Dressing up as a suicide bomber, waving placards calling on Muslims to butcher those who insult Islam and shouting '7/7 on its way' - the inhumanity of it all is so utterly shameful. Clearly, it's not just Danish cartoonists and their apologists who are ignorant of the Prophet. I wonder what the parents of the child wearing the 'I love al-Qaeda' cap would say had their son been on the number 30 bus that terrible day.

I am not alone in my outrage. Muslims across Britain have organised events celebrating the Prophet's life to counter the violent protests of last week. Countless press releases condemning the violence, from Muslim organisations big and small, mainstream and marginal, have flooded my inbox. At a public meeting at Friends House in London on Tuesday, a packed hall of mostly young British Muslims came looking for answers to difficult questions. Why does Europe treat us with such disdain? Why is the 'I can, therefore I will' approach to free speech more important than building trust between communities? Why have some Muslims reacted so irresponsibly? How do we make faith and the message of Muhammad relevant to our citizenship?

This is just one journalist, but I think if we wanted to, we could find a lot more Muslims who think like this!