Why does the Washington Post's On Faith site continue to promote the anti-Muslim rantings of a man who neatly fits site founder Sally Quinn's description of an “Islamophobe”?
Here's Sally Quinn, August 19:
One of the fears of Islamophobes is that Muslims will take over the country, impose their own religious laws (Sharia) on Americans who will no longer be able to worship as they please. Aren't they doing to American Muslims exactly what they fear will be done to them?
And here's Cal Thomas, August 23:
[Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf] could “blunt the power of that coup” if he did not subscribe to Wahaabism, refuse to call Hamas a terrorist organization and favor the destruction of Israel when he talks about a “one state solution,” which is code for the destruction of Israel and the one state being a Palestinian one.
Terrorism expert Steve Emerson is about to publish the details of 13 hours of interviews with Rauf which will prove all these things and more. Our enemies are using our Constitution and religious pluralism against us. They have a plan to infiltrate us, build mosques and ultimately impose Sharia Law. They say so. They mean so. People who are in denial about this are dupes and self-deluded.
…
Go ahead and call me names. That won't change the reality that the Muslims are coming. In fact, they are already here. [Emphasis added]
Cal Thomas is, by Sally Quinn's definition, an “Islamophobe.” Thomas peddles the claim, which Quinn derides as the work of “conspiracy theorists,” that the Park51 community center is an attempt by “our enemies” to establish a “beachhead” from which to launch further terrorist attacks on America.
So why does Sally Quinn's On Faith site continue to feature Cal Thomas as a “distinguished” panelist and part of an “intelligent, informed, eclectic, respectful conversation”? And why doesn't Quinn mention Thomas when she criticizes Muslim-bashers like Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich? Speaking out against FOX's anti-Muslim extremists rings a bit hollow when you're promoting your own at the same time.
Previously:
WaPo's Quinn blasts anti-Muslim rhetoric, but runs a site that promotes it
Washington Post deserves blame for anti-Muslim hysteria, too
Cal Thomas again suggests proposed community center is a terrorist plot
WaPo's “On Faith” continues to provide forum for religious intolerance