As part of its mission from God (the Christian one that is) Fox News is dedicated to spreading fear and loathing of Islam and Muslims. But there is rich irony that in Fox's zeal to promote hatred of Islam, Fox doesn't have a problem enlisting the services of those who are part of the hate filled radical, homophobic, anti-Muslim Christian right. Such was the case on this morning's Fox & Friends during which Brian "all terrorists are Muslims" Kilmeade interviewed Martin Mawyer, the founder of the virulently anti-gay, anti-Muslim Christian Action Network, to spread more Fox Islamophobic fear, loathing, and lies.
In their quest to show that radical Islamists are hiding in plain sight, in Jesus' very own America, Fox & Friends, last March, hosted a "security expert" who fomented fear over alleged terrorist "enclaves" in this country. Flash forward to this morning and the beat goes on. At the beginning of his "Rise of Islamic Extremism" segment, Kilmeade began by reporting on the now discredited French "no-go zones" which, according to Brian, "cops don't dare to explore" - an Islamophobic urban myth perpetuated by anti-Islamic ideologues such as Daniel Pipes. Kilmeade pronounced, as FOX FACT that "we have them here in the United States." If you weren't scared yet, the chyron, "Breeding Radicals, Muslim Enclaves Spread Across the US," made sure you would be! Kilmeade bet that his audience didn't know about the dozens of these scary enclaves "popping up" across America. He then showed video, from the Christian Action Network's "Home Grown Jihad," of these Muslims denying access to a reporter - a situation that would most likely occur at any white supremacist compound!
He introduced Mawyer who, he noted, is the author of a book, "Twilight in America," which is about scary "Islamic training camps in America." He didn't mention that Mawyer, back in 2000, spread rumors that Hillary Clinton is a lesbian or that Mawyer accused Ellen DeGeneres of "dumping her filthy lesbian lifestyle in the center of your living room." He didn't mention that the Christian Action Network was banned from fund-raising in Maine because of their inflammatory anti-Islamic propaganda.
Mawyer described the Muslim camps as "no-go zones" while the chyron established them as FOX FACT: "America's No Go Zones." His description of the "dangerous" enclaves sounded a lot like Cliven Bundy's fortress. After he showed video, which purported to show the Muslims engaging in terrorist training, he made more unfounded claims about how these domestic enclaves are connected to Pakistani radicals. He identified states where these enclaves are located in rural areas, out of the reach of law enforcement.
The interview became even more surreal when Kilmeade showed what was purportedly a recruitment video obtained by Mawyer's crew from a secret law enforcement agent who "snuck it out" to them. After he lamented that the FBI says that these groups have First Amendment rights, Kilmeade said "it's not OK with me and it doesn't seem to be OK with you."
What Kilmeade's audience doesn't know is that "sovereign citizens," like Fox fave Cliven Bundy, are America's top terrorist threat. They probably don't know that the Department of Homeland Security has determined that Cliven Bundy type home grown, anti-government "extremists" are an increasing threat to the US. They most likely don't know that since 9/11, 17 Americans have been killed by Islamist terrorists and 29 by real American terrorists. And because they watch Fox & Friends they probably never will!
