Eurabia in Brief: Demonize Muslims, Blame Europe, Overlook USA
Reported by Ellen - November 26, 2004
In a series of special reports called "Eurabia," FOX News brings its so-called fair and balanced reporting skills to examining "the Muslim population abroad." That means Europe. In short, the message is that Muslim immigrants there are a breeding ground for terrorists. No mention, of course, of how the USA's actions in Iraq and elsewhere have fanned the flames of their hatred.
Not surprisingly, the worst-case scenario is the report from France. In both an audio and a written story available on FOXNews.com, reporter Steve Harrigan tells of a Muslim recruiting video that shows a man getting his throat cut. The FOX video has a cry, presumably from the victim, to go along with it. Solemnly, Harrigan reports that the Muslims watching the video don't flinch. One easily gets the impression that the victim is American or a member of the Coalition of Co-erced in Iraq but in fact, it's a Chechen. This is revealed in a separate piece by Harrigan about editing his report on the horrific video.
"It's a scene increasingly common across Europe - young Muslims being tapped to fight US and coalition forces in Iraq... In France, with more Muslims than any other European nation - nearly 6 million - that recruitment often starts in the mosque and the ethnic ghettos that ring the capital... Imam Halima is a self-taught recruiter. He says he does not advocate violence but that Americans are bandits and holy war is a natural reaction for young Muslims... On Fridays before prayers, the imam trolls the housing projects, looking for followers among the weak who may some day be ready to kill in the name of jihad."
Illegal Muslim immigration is a pan-European problem, we are told, that includes Spain, Sweden and (tomorrow's story) England.
Nowhere in sight (that I could find) is any reporting on what the USA has done to contribute to Muslim militancy. According to the Director General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Dennis Richardson, a consequence of the Iraq war has been its recruitment opportunities for terrorists. "The only reasonable assumption is that Iraq has added to the number of militant Islamists and will lead to the further development of international linkages between such individuals and groups," said Richardson. Don't expect to see Richardson on any FOX TV shows in the near future.
