July 29, 2011
Islamophobia at Canada's Sun Media
Abubakar Kasim
More by this author...Dear Sun News Executives: When the calamity had befallen on the people of Norway and the dramatic news from that peaceful country was unfolding, I was watching your station to get its prospective. I could not believe what I was hearing.
David Akin in his Daily Brief show had invited two guests.
Both were already connecting the dots and blaming Muslims for this heinous crime even before the suspect was caught.
When he asked one guest about why these jihadists would attack us, the guest who always appears in the media replied, "because we are better than them."
Both guests who appeared in the show were fuming with anger on Muslims. They were spitting the word "jihadist" uncontrollably.
I found Mr. Akin's program that evening to be biased, and unprofessional.
This kind of cheap reporting and biased news coverage is what will make people find your station distasteful.
A new station like yours that was just born is supposed to be balanced and fair in its reporting in order to win the hearts and minds of people.
I am disappointed and dismayed.
I expect Mr. Akin to apologize to Canada’s Muslims.
I wonder what would he now say after the real suspect has surfaced.
Just a mad man? a lunatic individual?
Are we now going to call psychiatric to do their evaluation of his mental status and try to do everything possible to let him escape justice? Are we going to dig deeper into what could have led him commit the crime?
Whereas, before his name had surfaced, we had jumped to conclusion and we were discussing how evil Islam is.
Why there would be no more generalization now?
Our media personnel would not lose their minds now. They will stay focused. Not all white people or Christians will be made to look shameful.
I am not denying the fact that there are bad Muslims who would take the laws into their own hands.
The buck however does not stop there. We must be honest and say that there are bad apples and rotten eggs in every community.
We need to be honest with ourselves first and with everyone else.
I can confidently say that with every one bad apple in our community there are more than ten in others.
In every one rotten egg in our midst, there are hundreds in other communities.
Sadly though, when our bad apple commits a crime, we are all made to pay for it.
But when the rotten egg in other communities commits a crime, then, the media does not blame the entire people but only the perpetrator.
It is hypocrisy in the making and double standard which we all should be ashamed of.
The manner in which your station approaches the news will result to more hatred and more victimization of the community.
This kind of cheap reporting must stop.