|
|
|
Chris Matthews is just one TV personality who fails to tap the range of Muslim speakers for news analysis shows
|
On
the September 5 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, Chris Matthews asked
for the umpteenth time: Are Muslims doing enough to stop hate and
terror? Matthews isn't the only one to continue harping on this
issue; it's been hashed and rehashed dozens of times on all the
cable news networks.
The
impression that the Muslim community has somehow failed to express
adequate condemnation of terrorism, remorse for 9/11 and support for
America in general is being propagated by news outlets for whom it
is easier to book a recurring cast of expert characters than to seek
out qualified Muslims to speak authoritatively on the pressing
issues our nation now faces.
Put
simply: The networks are lazy
Matthews'
September. 5 guest, Sarah El-Tantawi of the Muslim Public Affairs
Council (MPAC), is one of only a handful of Muslim experts and
spokespeople who garner any attention from cable news. El-Tantawi,
along with Hussein Ibish of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination
Committee (ADC), do a yeoman's job explaining Muslim positions and
sentiments in the woefully short amount of time allotted them
on-air. However, theirs should not be the only faces America sees
whenever cable news tackles Muslim issues.
If
CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and CNBC were only more proactive in courting
guests to provide news analysis and opinion, they would find a
wealth of resources in the Muslim community representing a broad
range of perspectives and sentiments. Instead, these networks have
chosen to cast their lots with the same talking heads they courted
back on 9/11. So the likes of Steven Emerson, Rohan Gunaratna,
Yossef Bodansky and any number of ex-military analysts ride the
scheduling merry-go-rounds at each respective network.
The
problem is that not only are these news outlets lazy, they are
oblivious to the actual discourse taking place daily amongst Muslim
leaders and intellectuals.
Take
Chris Matthews as an example. He asked El-Tantawi why there weren't
pro-American demonstrations and rallies in Washington, DC where so
many other interest groups meet to make their voices heard and to
affirm patriotic national support. What had not come to Matthews'
attention was the annual meeting of the 40,000 member strong Islamic
Society of North America (ISNA) which took place in Washington, D.C.
over the Labor Day weekend and included a rally at Freedom Plaza
near the White House.
The
event was covered by major news media including the BBC and certain
sessions of the convention were broadcast live (and subsequently
rebroadcast) on CSPAN.
In
other words, all the personalities, researchers, fact-checkers and
interns at MSNBC were oblivious to the largest annual gathering of
American Muslims. This has to be the case, or Matthews would not
have so arrogantly asked where all the Muslims have been.
The
ISNA conference would have been a great place for the cable news
shows to hunt for prospective guests. Among those who spoke at the
conference were Tariq Ramadan, professor of Philosophy and Islamic
Studies at the Universities of Geneva and Fribourg and Imam Hamza
Yusuf Hanson, founder of the Zaytuna Institute.
CNN
has no excuse for not utilizing Ramadan, since the network's sister
publication Time recently listed him in its Time 100 list of
spiritual leaders of the future.
As
for Hansen, he is a well-known and respected Muslim lecturer who was
invited to the White House shortly after 9/11 and subsequently sat
next to Laura Bush during the president's post-9/11 address to a
joint session of Congress. He was good enough for the BBC who used
him on its panel of experts during a live, 9/11 commemoration
showing of the popular Question Time program. So why he hasn't made
the rounds on primetime cable news is inexplicable.
Ramadan
and Hansen are but two Muslim leaders who should be on the radar of
all news media. By simply obtaining an itinerary from the ISNA
convention, networks could easily book a year's worth of qualified,
intellectual, Muslim guests that would include religious leaders,
university professors, traditionally trained Muslim scholars and
business leaders.
So
where are all the Muslims who Matthews and others believe need to be
more vocal? They are where they always have been – under the noses
of news personalities, editors and producers who can't hear their
opinions and analysis over the din of talking heads to which they
have lazily become wedded.
|
