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Thanks god it is 2011 … the New Year Media resolutions

Thanks god it is 2011 … the New Year Media resolutions
Year 2011 has already moved and settled in and planning to stay with us for the next 12 month, As we are looking back on 2010 top news, you get the feeling that god was angry at the world, and the wolrd was angery at Muslims; with strong earthquake struck Haiti, massive floods in Pakistan, volcanic eruption in Iceland, snow storms all over Europe, wildfires in Russia, the major oil spell on our shores and for the first time since the major event of Moses crossing of the red sea a flood in Sinai Egypt that almost took my own life during covering a story there. But nothing would top the spectacles of 2010 other than the rescue of the Chilean miners after enduring agonizing two months trapped underground. The top 2010 news the wolrd wan’t so kind to Muslims. A predominately negative Media coverage of Islam and Muslim has resulted in forming a negative view of Muslims and Islam. Top news covering Muslim was dominated by the Pastor in Florida and his call to America to burn the Quran”. And the American intifada against the so called ground zero mosque; Xenophobia and Islamophobia swept the nation led by a neoconservative and Christian rights movement. Where Sarah Palin and Michelle Buchman, the real desperate housewives introduced a new brand of celebrity politics had dominated corporate media coverage. According to Brian Southwell associate professor in journalism at University of Minnesota, the way media cover the news affects public beliefs and opinions. In his study of media coverage of the Obama Islamic faith rumor, he found out that there is a strong correlation between the media coverage of the rumor and American beliefs of his faith. Until today, and according to Pew research study 18% of America still thinks Obama is a Muslim. A rumor that the president himself never missed a chance to deny it. Americans distrust to Muslims has increased since the tragic of 9/11 terrorist attack. A new pew research study shows that 38% of Americans have unfavorable view of Muslims; this % goes higher with Republicans, older and less educated Americans. So I hope I don’t meat an uneducated republican elder at the airport anytime soon. A Gallup poll that monitors American attitude toward homosexuality shows that more American people now would rather to have a gay neighbor than a Muslim. So a gay Muslim would create a dilemma in most Americans neighborhood. Muslim is becoming the new gay according to Gallup. A Pew Study shows that 51% of Americans were against building the Islamic center in lower Menhaden. To help American media offering a more realistic coverage of Muslims and Islam. I have a few New Year resolutions for them to do. First to stop sounding off the call for prayer at the beginning of every story about Muslims, Muslims call for prayer only 5 times a day and it is only for a few minutes, media have plenty of times to roll their tapes between prayers. Stop calling organizations and groups in the Middle East with their Arabic names, and start giving them their English names, so the American people here have some context and history. One may wonder, Why the media use the English name for terrorist, and suicide bomber, but not for Mujahedeen, Taliban, Hamas, Hezbollah… etc, Here are some translation in case they don’t have a reporter that speak Arabic. Mujahedeen (those who exalt effort), Al-Qaida (the base), Taliban (students, and not just Islamic students), Madrassa (school, and not just Islamic school either) HAMAS (Zeal) Arabic acronym for Islamic Resistance Movement, Intifada (uprising), Hezbollah (Party of god), Ayatollah (sign of god). Media framing those people and organization as strange and alien , resulting in making anything sound Arabic or Islamic frighten. The Arab media although they have their own narrative of incitements and fear mongering, but at least they use the Arabic names and not the English names, so according to Al Jazeerah, the west is launching a (harb salibiyah) against Islam and not a crusade against Islam, Stop dividing Muslims (1.5B) to the binary of radical or moderate, there are lots of Muslims who don’t give a dam and busy just trying to make a living. Besides, not everyone who doesn’t accepts the western version of the story is a radical, those admired moderates Arab leaders in the west, are tyrant oppressive radicals when it comes to dealing with their own people; like Sadat, Mubarak, and all the kings of Moroccan, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Stop spreading fables like the 72 virgins’ martyrdom prize, the real number is one virgin who is 72 year old. Stop racial profiling casualties when covering Middle East conflicts; the Israeli gets killed, but the Palestinian just dies. Stop showing fully clothed Somali women sitting somewhere, every time they cover the Somali community , there are lots of Somali women who don’t wear these traditional cloth, besides Somali community has lots of men too, if you don’t believe me go to Starbuck in the riverside area. And finally to media hosts and reporter stop calling my TV show, Bin Laden show, it is pronounced “Be Al Ahdan”, an Arabic for “with open arms”.
Ahmed Tharwat/ Public speaker, Host of the Arab American TV show
BelAhdan… Airs on MN public TV
Saturdays at 10:30pm
www.belahdan.com
http://www.facebook.com/ahmediatv

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Ahmed Tharwat …. in the middle AhMedia.... احا مديا A media critic, and a media consultant... A show with an accent for those without one! AhMedia احا مديا Ahmed Tharwat/ Host BelAhdan TV show Freelance Writer, Public Speaker, International Media Fixer www.ahmediatv.com

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