-Caveat Lector- Funny words from a time when my television shows me the president reading Christmas stories to kids, big trees being lit up, movies inhabited by Santa Claus and Jesus, and a promotion of a Christian shopping frenzy that would make feeding sharks cringe.
How many shows about Jesus talk about his fucking a hooker he never intended to marry? How many examine the possibility of gay overtones amongst some of the apostles? How many, while examining Christianity talk about how every crusade began with a massacre of the Jews in the crusaders home towns? How many examine the pogroms and killings every Easter and Christmas? How many treat Jesus' lineage, resurrection, words and deeds as historical fact? In this season of non-stop Christian hoohah, it's nice to see ANYONE else paid a modicum of attention to. on 12/18/02 7:54 AM, klewis at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > -Caveat Lector- > > ------- Forwarded message follows ------- > > PBS, Recruiting for Islam > by Daniel Pipes > New York Post > December 17, 2002 > > http://www.danielpipes.org/article/982 > http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/64772.htm > > What would be the best way to convert lots of Americans to Islam? > Forget print, go to film. Put together a handsome documentary with > an original musical score that presents Islam's prophet Muhammad > in the most glowing manner, indeed, as a model of perfection. > Round up Muslim and non-Muslim enthusiasts to endorse the > nobility and truth of his message. > > Splice in vignettes of winsome American Muslims testifying to the > justice and beauty of their Islamic faith. Then get the U.S. taxpayer > to help pay for it. > > Show it at prime time on the most high-minded TV network. Oh, and > screen it at least once during the holidays, when anyone out of > synch with Christmas might be especially susceptible to another > religion's appeal. > > This is precisely what the producers of "Muhammad: Legacy of a > Prophet" have done. In a documentary The Washington Post calls > "absorbing, . . . enjoyable and informative," exotic images of the > desert and medieval miniatures mix with scenes of New York City > and the American flag. Born- and convert-American Muslims speak > affectingly about their personal bond to their prophet. > > The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) will premiere this two-hour > documentary across the nation tomorrow night, then repeat it in > most areas. > > The film's largest tranche of funding comes from the Corporation for > Public Broadcasting, a private, nonprofit corporation created by > Congress that in fiscal 2002 received $350 million in taxpayers' > funds. > > The heart of the film consists of nine talking heads competing with > each other to praise Muhammad the most extravagantly. Not one of > them criticizes him. > > Some of their efforts are laughable, as when one commentator > denies allegations about Muhammad contracting a marriage of > convenience with a rich older woman named Khadija: "He deeply, > deeply loved Khadija." Oh, and his many marriages were "an act of > faith, not of lust." How could anyone know this? > > Other apologetics are more consequential. What Muhammad did for > women, viewers learn, was "amazing" - his condemning female > infanticide, giving legal rights to wives, permitting divorce and > protecting their inheritance rights. But no commentator is so impolite > as to note that however admirable this was in the 7th century, > Muslim women today suffer widely from genital mutilation, forced > marriages, purdah, illiteracy, sexual apartheid, polygamy and honor > killings. > > The film treats religious beliefs - such as Muhammad's "Night > Journey," when the Quran says he went to heaven and entered the > divine presence - as historical fact. It presents Muslim wars as only > defensive and reluctant, which is simply false. All this smacks of a > film shown by missionaries. > > Move to the present and the political correctness is stifling. > > Hostility is said to be "hurled" at American Muslims since 9/11 - but > there's no mention about the prior and vastly greater (foreign) > Muslim hostility "hurled" at Americans, killing several thousand. The > narrator exaggerates the number of American Muslims, > overestimates their rate of growth and wrongly terms > them the country's "most diverse" religious community. > > But these are details. "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet" is an > outrage on two main counts. > > * PBS has betrayed its viewers by presenting an airbrushed and > uncritical documentary of a topic that has both world historical and > contemporary significance. Its patronizing film might be fine for an > Islamic Sunday school class, but not for a national audience. > > For example, PBS ignores an ongoing scholarly reassessment of > Muhammad's life that disputes every detail - down to the century > and region Muhammad lived in - of its film. This is especially odd > when contrasted with the 1998 PBS documentary, "From Jesus to > Christ," which focuses almost exclusively on the work of cutting- > edge scholars and presents the latest in critical thinking on Jesus. > > * The U.S. government should never fund a documentary whose > obvious intent is to glorify a religion and proselytize for it. Doing so > flies in the face of American tradition and law. On behalf of > taxpayers, a public-interest law firm should bring suit against the > Corporation for Public Broadcasting, both to address this week's > travesty and to win an injunction against any possible repetitions. > > > To comment on the article, please go to http://www.danielpipes > org/article/982#comment > > Most articles are also available online at: http://www.DanielPipes.org > To subscribe to or unsubscribe from this list, go to > http://www.danielpipesorg/subscribe.php > Daniel Pipes sends out a mailing of his writings approximately twice > per week. > > To receive television alerts, event invitations, lecture summaries, > and news releases from the Middle East Forum, please sign up for > the MEFnews mailing list at: > http://161.58.251.228/mailman/listinfo/mefnews > Please note: these do not duplicate the DPlist mailings (such as this > one). Also, you are invited to visit the MEF site at: > http://www.meforum.org > > > We at TrafficRanking.com found that dukesgloballinks.com ranked > 118,832 among the top 720,000 sites on the Net. > "We would like to THANK those of YOU who use our directory > from around the world" http://www.dukesgloballinks.com > Later W. Duke > > > ------- End of forwarded message ------- > -- > > Outgoing mail is certified virus free > Scanned by Norton AntiVirus > > Be not too hasty to trust, or to admire, the teachers > of morality; they discourse like angels, but they live > like men. > ~~ Samuel Johnson: Rasselas [the character Imlac] > > <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> > DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER > ========== > CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic > screeds are unwelcomed. Substance?not soap-boxing?please! 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NEURONAUTIC INSTITUTE on-line: http://home.earthlink.net/~thew <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
