Because Hannity Asked: Ten Examples Of Fox News Scapegoating Muslims

Written by Jeremy Holden

Published

Wednesday night, Sean Hannity feigned ignorance regarding Fox News' extensive history of anti-Muslim rhetoric.

During an interview with Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Hannity took issue with comments Ellison made critical of Fox News:

You actually called out Fox News. You said in a BBC interview, you said that, I think if you listen to Fox News, the station 24-7 is trying to incite and divide Americans along religious lines, scapegoating the Muslim community, and this is a sort of well-worn, right-wing tactic. Can you give me a specific example?

I'll give him 10 quick ones.

1.) When Hannity said that Ellison would “embolden Islamic extremists and make new ones” by using a copy of the Quran during a ceremonial photo - a move Hannity compared to using “Hitler's Mein Kampf”--he was inciting and dividing Americans along religious lines.

2.) When Bill O'Reilly said that he opposed building an Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero because “Muslims killed us on 9-11,” he was scapegoating the Muslim community.

3.) When Brian Kilmeade said that “all terrorists are Muslims, ” he was inciting and dividing Americans along religious lines.

4.) When O'Reilly declared that “there is a Muslim problem in the world,” he was scapegoating the Muslim community.

5.) When Bill Hemmer warned that a cultural center in Manhattan could serve as “the first stop for a radical jihadist who comes to America who wants to go pray,” he was inciting and dividing Americans along religious lines.

6.) When Dick Morris claimed that the center would become a “command center for terrorism,” he was inciting and dividing Americans along religious lines.

7.) When Fox News regular Ann Coulter appeared on The O'Reilly Factor and said that “if all Muslims would boycott airlines, we could dispense with airport security altogether,” she was scapegoating the Muslim community.

8.) When Peter Johnson, Jr., said that New York Muslims should “give up their rights” so as to be “good neighbors,” he was inciting and dividing Americans along religious lines.

9.) When Fox News' Ralph Peters responded to the tragic Fort Hood shooting by saying, “It's clear that the problem is Islam,” he was scapegoating the Muslim community.

10.) When Fox News contributor Richard “Bo” Dietl declared that we have to profile “guys that look like Aba Daba Doo and Aba Daba Dah,” he was inciting and dividing Americans along religious lines.