US President criticised for failure to support Muslims

-13/03/06

By


US President criticised for failure to support Muslims

-13/03/06

By Fran Race

Democrats have criticised President Bush for failing to show support for the US Muslim population.

In a dramatic shift recently the Whitehouse moved away from criticism of controversial Islamic cartoons containing caricatures of the prophet Muhammad, to condemning instead the violence that erupted in protest against them.

The move came in response to some US officials who said that the initial reaction of the White House constituted an attack on free speech.

But by refusing to condemn the cartoons George W Bush has put himself at odds with the Democrats and key Middle East allies.

This is not the first time the President has come under fire for not doing enough to promote positive relations with Muslims.

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Following 9/11 Bush was seen attending a mosque, and was heard distancing the general Muslim population from al-Qa’ida. However, Carroll Dougherty of the Pew Research Centre for the People and the Press said “In the intervening years there has been an absence of this sort of positive message” – a view echoed by his Democrat critics.

Doughertyís statement was made in connection with a recent poll conducted in America which found that negative feelings towards Islam are much more pronounced now than in the immediate aftermath of the 2001 terror attacks against the World Trade Centre.

Questions have also arisen over the nature of media coverage of Islam in the United States.

Council on American Islamic Relations spokeswoman Rabia Ahmed put a lot of blame on the media portrayal of Muslims. She said “If all you are seeing is beheadings and suicide bombings and none of the positive things that Muslims are doing in the world, then you are likely to have a negative image of Muslims.”

Bushís refusal to condemn the cartoons however may be seen by many as condoning anti-Islamic behaviour.

It comes at a particularly sensitive time as violence continues in Iraq, with the body of American Christian peacemaker Tom Fox discovered in Baghdad.

Fran Race is a reporter for Ekklesia and a member of All Hallows Anglican church in Leeds. She can be contacted: [email protected]


US President criticised for failure to support Muslims

-13/03/06

By Fran Race

Democrats have criticised President Bush for failing to show support for the US Muslim population.

In a dramatic shift recently the Whitehouse moved away from criticism of controversial Islamic cartoons containing caricatures of the prophet Muhammad, to condemning instead the violence that erupted in protest against them.

The move came in response to some US officials who said that the initial reaction of the White House constituted an attack on free speech.

But by refusing to condemn the cartoons George W Bush has put himself at odds with the Democrats and key Middle East allies.

This is not the first time the President has come under fire for not doing enough to promote positive relations with Muslims.

Related Articles

Following 9/11 Bush was seen attending a mosque, and was heard distancing the general Muslim population from al-Qa’ida. However, Carroll Dougherty of the Pew Research Centre for the People and the Press said “In the intervening years there has been an absence of this sort of positive message” – a view echoed by his Democrat critics.

Doughertyís statement was made in connection with a recent poll conducted in America which found that negative feelings towards Islam are much more pronounced now than in the immediate aftermath of the 2001 terror attacks against the World Trade Centre.

Questions have also arisen over the nature of media coverage of Islam in the United States.

Council on American Islamic Relations spokeswoman Rabia Ahmed put a lot of blame on the media portrayal of Muslims. She said “If all you are seeing is beheadings and suicide bombings and none of the positive things that Muslims are doing in the world, then you are likely to have a negative image of Muslims.”

Bushís refusal to condemn the cartoons however may be seen by many as condoning anti-Islamic behaviour.

It comes at a particularly sensitive time as violence continues in Iraq, with the body of American Christian peacemaker Tom Fox discovered in Baghdad.

Fran Race is a reporter for Ekklesia and a member of All Hallows Anglican church in Leeds. She can be contacted: [email protected]