You see? This is why I get my news analysis from The Daily Show and not Fox News.
Fox News has stoked the fire of the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” controversy by demonizing Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, a respected clergyman who is noted as a model of moderate Islam, and who helped the FBI with counterterrorism efforts. They have done so largely by emphasizing one of the Islamic Center’s funding sources, Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Foundation.
What Fox New neglects to mention is that Al-Waleed bin Talal is the #2 shareholder of News Corp, Fox’s parent company! So much for journalistic standards and full disclosure. Check out Jon Stewart’s scathing segment below:
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
The Parent Company Trap | ||||
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I suppose Fox should also question the terrorists at Harvard University. Those jihadist Ivy Leaguers had the audacity to accept bin Talal’s money when they founded The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program. Here is what they say about their benefactor, Forbes Magazine’s 22nd richest man in the world:
Committed to making the world a better place, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia is known for a wide range of philanthropic activities around the globe. He seeks to promote change through mutual cultural understanding.
At the same time that Prince Alwaleed gave his gift to Harvard, he also gave a gift to expand the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. He has also funded cross-cultural learning initiatives in the Middle East and England and agreed to finance the construction of a new Islamic wing at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
In addition, the Prince endorses peace through aid to the less fortunate and disaster relief after incidents such as South East Asia’s tsunami in 2004 and the Pakistani earthquake in October 2005. Prince Alwaleed has become a supporter of advancing new scientific knowledge and creating a regional community of leaders in science and medicine by sponsoring biomedical research and academic programs of the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research.
Sounds like a horrible person, right? Oh, and did I mention he is the #2 shareholder of News Corp? Right after Rupert Murdoch himself??
Why would Fox News throw their own shareholder under the bus like this? Could it be because they realize most of their audience will accept their incomplete analysis without bothering to research the facts themselves?
Presumably bin Talal could probably exert pressure to stop Fox’s negative portrayal of an Islamic Center whose founder he has funded himself. Has he called Rupert Murdoch to complain?
At any rate, it seems more important for Fox News to inflame Islamophobia and hatred among their viewers than it does for them to preserve their own corporate image. These actions are the exact opposite of the Prince’s hopes to “promote change through mutual cultural understanding.”
Meanwhile, if the Park 51 Islamic Center goes through, it will likely become a target of vandalism and worse in an already tense anti-Muslim environment. What’s to stop radical right-wing domestic terrorists from attacking the lawful construction of a holy place of worship? How will this affect other Islamic centers of worship and Muslims around the country?
Fox News is guilty of inciting animosity and hatred against Muslims throughout the nation. The propagandists at Fox News are doing everything short of encouraging terrorism. They must be stopped.