On September 28, Denver Post columnist David Harsanyi misrepresented criticisms of 6th District U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) for a letter Tancredo sent to Pope Benedict XVI attacking Islam. Harsanyi's column falsely suggested that U.S. Rep. John Salazar's (D-Manassa) spokeswoman Nayyera Haq and 6th Congressional District Democratic candidate Bill Winter objected to Tancredo's criticisms of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Al Qaeda. In fact, the full context of Haq's and Winter's statements make clear that both were objecting specifically to portions of the letter that attacked the Islamic religion in general. Citing specific portions of the Koran, Tancredo wrote to the Pope, “I believe any reformation of the Islamic faith is highly unlikely because it would require a radical reinterpretation of the Koran, something that you have correctly noted would be nearly impossible as Muslims view the Koran as a document that cannot be interpreted by man.”

In his September 28 column, Harsanyi criticized Haq and Winter for suggesting that Tancredo's letter could provoke a violent response. But in leveling this criticism, Harsanyi misrepresented the Tancredo statements to which Haq and Winter were responding.

Harsanyi stated in his column, “The most recent brouhaha surrounding the GOP congressman from Littleton began when he [Tancredo] penned a letter urging Pope Benedict XVI not to apologize for remarks he made about radical Islam.” Harsanyi also wrote, “Tancredo's letter called out [Iranian President] Ahmadinejad, al-Qaeda and other Islamic radicals - our sworn enemies. Shouldn't this be praised, not vilified?” Harsanyi then added, “There is little joy in piling on a young congressional staffer - and I hope Haq doesn't lose her job. But Winter's comments and Salazar's silence on Haq's ideas are something else altogether.”

However, Tancredo's letter did more than “call out” Iran's president and Al-Qaeda. It also attacked the Islamic faith in its entirety, a fact that Harsanyi failed to note.

Tancredo sent his letter to the Pope following the Pope's controversial comments about Islam that touched off a wave of protests from Muslims across the globe.

In response to the controversy surrounding the Pope's remarks, Tancredo's September 20 letter stated, “I hope that you will resist calls to apologize for these statements - as they accurately describe the motivation of radical Islamists who replace the religious and political pluralism of the western world with a modern day caliphate.” After urging the Pope not to apologize for his comments, Tancredo attacked Islam as a whole, claiming, “Like you, I believe any reformation of the Islamic faith is highly unlikely because it would require a radical reinterpretation of the Koran, something that you have correctly noted would be nearly impossible as Muslims view the Koran as a document that cannot be interpreted by man.”

Tancredo ended his letter:

Again, I hope you will resist calls from the likes of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Al Qaeda to apologize for the factual observations you cited last week. Whether we want to admit it or not, the western world is locked in a struggle against radical Islam whose practitioners and adherents are inextricably linked to terrorism. If we are to successfully defend ourselves against the desire of our enemies to impose a caliphate on the world, we must first be willing to openly identify them.

In his column, Harsanyi selectively cited Tancredo's statements regarding Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Al Qaeda, but failed to note the portions of the letter that disparaged Islam and prompted the criticism from Haq and Winter.

Neither Haq nor Winter addressed Tancredo's comments about Iran or Al Qaeda. As the Rocky Mountain News reported September 21, "[Tancredo's] letter drew an angry response from Nayyera Haq, communications director for Rep. John Salazar. Haq, who is Muslim, stressed in an e-mail that she was speaking for herself and not for her boss." The News reported Haq's September 20 email as follows:

“As a man, Tom Tancredo has always been articulate in expressing his hatred of Islam and immigrants - no surprise there,” Haq said. “In his arrogance, he chooses to disregard the existence of millions of law-abiding Muslim American citizens. What is surprising is that as an elected representative, someone who should be working towards our collective safety, Tancredo chooses to throw more fuel on the fire with his hateful words.”

“Tancredo is being irresponsible with his congressional authority and is knowingly creating a more dangerous environment for all of us. Congressman Tancredo should focus more on building bridges with the progressives in the Muslim world rather than burning the few bridges we have left.”

Despite the fact that Haq specifically stated “Tancredo should focus more on building bridges with the progressives in the Muslim world” [emphasis added], Harsanyi misleadingly wrote in his column:

“Nayyera was speaking on her own behalf,” Salazar told The Denver Post. But he went on to pose this platitude: “She was stressing the importance of building bridges, rather than knocking them down.”

Let's talk about bridges.

Two months ago, Iran publicly hanged two teenagers for the crime of being gay. This punishment is meted out across the Muslim world.

[...]

These are no isolated incidents. In 2004, according to the BBC, at least 159 people - many teenagers - were executed in accordance with Islamic law in Iran.

In the same nation, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently hosted an anti-Semite expo that recalls the heyday of the Nazis, saying, “They have invented a myth that Jews were massacred.”

My grandfather, murdered in the Gunskirchen camp, would be surprised.

Bridges? No thanks.

Similarly, Winter's criticism of Tancredo focused on the portions of Tancredo's letter that Harsanyi left out of his column. A September 22 Winter press release that Harsanyi referenced in his column specifically noted the “serious problem with extremist Islam and Islamic terrorists in this World” while also criticizing Tancredo's more general attacks on Islam:

Branding all Muslims as extremists and terrorists would be like equating all Christians to the KKK or the Aryan Nations. There is a serious problem with extremist Islam and Islamic terrorists in this World, but so long as Mr. Tancredo talks to the national media and tries to tie all Muslims to these extremists, he is only creating an opportunity for more people around the world to hate this great country.

Tancredo's letter to the Pope is not the first time he has made controversial remarks regarding Islam. In 2005, Tancredo drew criticism after he suggested “the U.S. could 'take out' Islamic holy sites if Muslim fundamentalist terrorists attacked the country with nuclear weapons,” according to a July 18, 2005, Associated Press article.

From Harsanyi's September 28 Denver Post column, “Tancredo valiant not to tap dance”:

The most recent brouhaha surrounding the GOP congressman from Littleton began when he penned a letter urging Pope Benedict XVI not to apologize for remarks he made about radical Islam.

Nayyera Haq, spokeswoman for Democratic Congressman John Salazar, came to the rescue, accusing Tancredo of using his congressional seat in an irresponsible manner. The letter, she wrote, created a more “dangerous environment.”

[...]

Bill Winter, Democratic candidate running against Tancredo, echoed Haq's absurdity in an appearance on Dan Caplis and Craig Silverman's radio show this week.

“I would suggest to you this,” Winter explained. “Prior to Mr. Tancredo making comments of this nature, ... folks in the Muslim world probably never heard of Littleton and had no reason to ever have thought about Littleton, and now they do.”

In a news release, Winter had written that Tancredo's letter would “undoubtedly lead to more attempts at violence toward our country and this district.”

Did he really mean this? asks Caplis.

“Yes, and I stand by that,” declared Winter. “Absolutely.”

Elected officials, you play nice with those radicals. If you're in Littleton, keep your head down and be quiet. Theocrats should not be insulted. (Unless we're talking about the imaginary ones in Colorado Springs, naturally.)

[...]

Winter is running in an uphill battle, but the same cannot be said of Salazar. He's proved to be a moderate Democrat in his two years in Washington. Which makes his defense of Haq's statement -- not Haq the person -- hard to digest.

“Nayyera was speaking on her own behalf,” Salazar told The Denver Post. But he went on to pose this platitude: “She was stressing the importance of building bridges, rather than knocking them down.”

Let's talk about bridges.

Two months ago, Iran publicly hanged two teenagers for the crime of being gay. This punishment is meted out across the Muslim world.

The month before that, an Iranian court sentenced a 34-year-old mother of two to death by stoning after finding her guilty of adultery. Stones not so large as to kill a woman quickly, according to a civil-rights group monitoring the case, but not so small that they didn't cause serious pain.

Two men, found guilty of murder in the same court, received six years apiece.

These are no isolated incidents. In 2004, according to the BBC, at least 159 people - many teenagers - were executed in accordance with Islamic law in Iran.

In the same nation, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently hosted an anti-Semite expo that recalls the heyday of the Nazis, saying, “They have invented a myth that Jews were massacred.”

My grandfather, murdered in the Gunskirchen camp, would be surprised.

Bridges? No thanks.

Haq is right. We should support moderate Muslims -- who are the biggest victims of radical Islam. I've heard moderate Muslims speak here in Denver. I've read their books. Some are targeted for death.

But Tancredo's letter called out Ahmadinejad, al-Qaeda and other Islamic radicals -- our sworn enemies. Shouldn't this be praised, not vilified?

There is little joy in piling on a young congressional staffer - and I hope Haq doesn't lose her job. But Winter's comments and Salazar's silence on Haq's ideas are something else altogether.