H-Net* Fwd: CAIR-NET: Editor Suggests "Nuking Mecca"

[Abu Hadi]

  CAIR <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 18:15:28 -0500
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: CAIR <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: CAIR-NET: Editor Suggests "Nuking Mecca"

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

- PLEASE DISTRIBUTE TO PERSONAL E-MAIL LISTS -

CAIR ACTION ALERT #324

EDITOR SUGGESTS "NUKING MECCA"
Community members urged to contact magazine for apology

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/12/2002) - CAIR is calling on Muslims to contact the
National Review and demand an apology for published statements by editor
Rich Lowry who suggested that "nuking Mecca" would "send a signal" to
Muslims. (National Review online, www.nationalreview.com, calls itself
"America's premier conservative website.")

In an online forum called "The Corner," editor Rich Lowry wrote on March 7:

"Lots of sentiment for nuking Mecca. Moderates opt for some! thing more along
these lines: "Baghdad and Tehran would be the likeliest sites for a first
strike. If we have clean enough bombs to assure a pinpoint damage area,
Gaza City and Ramallah would also be on list. Damascus, Cairo, Algiers,
Tripoli and Riyadh should be put on alert that any signs of support for the
attacks in their cities will bring immediate annihilation..."

"This is a tough one, and I don't know quite what to think. Mecca seems
extreme, of course, but then again few people would die and it would send a
signal. Religions have suffered such catastrophic setbacks before...And, as
a general matter, the time for seriousness-including figuring out what we
would do in retaliation, so maybe it can have some slight deterrent
effect--is now rather than after thousands and thousands more American
casualties."

National Review writer Rod Dreher also took part in the discussion of an
attack on Mecca. He wrote: "...I'! d say Baghdad, Tehran and Riyadh should
make the list, tout ensemble, and maybe even Damascus. As for Mecca, well,
it would feel good, but we'd have every Muslim on the planet enraged unto
ages of ages...

SEE:
http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/2002_03_03_corner-archive.shtml
Use the "find on this page" function of your browser using the term "Mecca.

SEE ALSO:
"National Review's editor suggests nuking Mecca. We're not kidding"
By Jeremy Lott, The American Prospect, 3/11/2002
http://www.prospect.org/webfeatures/2002/03/lott-j-03-11.html

"These statements are a call to violence against Muslims and Islam.
Inflammatory rhetoric suggesting mass murder and the destruction of
religious sites is wildly irresponsible and beyond the bounds of reasoned
debate. The National Review should apologize immediately and discipline
Lowry and Dreher for their offensive remarks. Hate speech can never be
justified or excused," ! said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.

Awad added that these statements are part of a disturbing trend in which
some commentators attack the faith of Islam under the cover of political
debate. (Lowry now says his remarks were merely "sarcastic.") In a
September column published on National Review, Ann Coulter wrote: "...We
should invade their [Muslim] countries, kill their leaders and convert them
to Christianity."

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be firm, but POLITE. Hostile or
threatening comments can and WILL be used to further defame the Muslim
community and Islam.)

Contact the National Review to demand an apology for Lowry's and Dreher's
offensive remarks.

CONTACT:

Mr. Jonah Goldberg
Online Editor
National Review
215 Lexington Avenue
New York, New York 10016

TEL: 212-679-7330
FAX: 212-849-2835

E-MAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],
rdreher@nationalre! view.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED],
[EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
COPY TO: [EMAIL PROTECTED]

-----

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

-----







---------------------------------------------------------------------
You are subscribed as: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To unsubscribe, e-mail:
or go to: http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]

---

Do You Yahoo!?
Try FREE Yahoo! Mail - the world's greatest free email!