On this morning's Fox & Friends, Brian Kilmeade continued his one-man crusade against Islam, this time in an interview with Naseem Mahdi, Vice President and Missionary In Charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, who appeared on the show to discuss his organization's Muslims for Peace ads. Their website advocates Islam as a religion of peace, condemns terrorism, expresses loyalty to country, and promotes “human rights for all.” So how would you expect someone with a history of racially-charged statements against Islam and its adherents to handle this interview? By portraying the ad campaign as the first effort ever made by Muslims to condemn terrorism . This is how he introduced his guest:
KILMEADE: All right. 'In the name of Islam,' a phrase we have heard following some of the most terrifying events in america. From 9/11 to Fort Hood to the failed Christmas day and Times Square bombing, Muslim extremists continue to use violence in the name of their religion but now, one Muslim group finally has had enough and is standing up for peace. Naseem Mahdi is national VP of one of the oldest Muslim communities in the US and is launching a nationwide Muslims for Peace ad campaign and he's live to discuss it. Finally, Naseem, we have someone speaking up for peace and Islam. Why now?
“Why now?” What Kilmeade doesn't seem to understand, or doesn't want to understand, is that for years, prominent Muslim leaders, scholars, and religious figures have advocated for peace and spoken out against terrorism. Following the attacks on September 11, hundreds of Muslim leaders and scholars issued statements condemning the attacks and expressing both support for the United States and sympathy for the victims and their families. Since then, the Muslim community in America and abroad have spoken out against terrorism and violence time and time again.
The few minutes of research it took to uncover hundreds of Muslims who have spoken against violence was apparently too much for Kilmeade to be bothered with. After Mr. Mahdi said “You know, the religion is being exploited for the sake of politics, for the sake of control of masses and this is something very ugly and we say that all the Muslims and we say that majority of the muslims, vast majority of the muslims are moderate,” Kilmeade complained “But they don't speak up. You're one of the few speaking up. I can count them on one hand.”
Kilmeade could only make that statement if he didn't actually bother to look to see who was “speaking up.” His assessment of the Muslim world shows, at best, a willful ignorance of the modern Muslim community, and at worst a dedication to portraying the entire population of a major world religion as anti-American, violent, terrorism supporters.
From the July 8 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends: