Branding a Nation

Brendan K. Edwards and Tobi Elliott — 2006-02-14T05:00:00Z

A variety of speakers, including Imam Salam Elmenyawi, the Chairman of the Muslim Council of Montreal and Sarah Elgazzar, Communications Relations Coordinator for CAIR-CAN, put the mainstream media and their coverage of the international Muslim community under a microscope during a panel discussion in McGill's Shatner building ballroom last Saturday. Elgazzar argued that since a Danish newspaper published cartoons satirizing the Prophet Muhammad last September, the mainstream media has given the public the impression that all Muslims are violent fundamentalists. “You are not only talking about one person, you are branding an entire nation of people,” said Elgazzar who went on to compare the media's stereotyping of the Muslim community to the act of branding African slaves with burning irons. – do NOT agree this should be put in, this makes her sound very very angry and she wasn't at all- gives the wrong impression. AND, in the interview, she specifically stated that the Canadian media has been very fair and respectful by not printing the cartoons. Which is why I wanted you to listen to the interview !

Elgazzar urged the people in attendance to think critically about what the media chooses to define as news and called on Muslim Montrealers to foster positive relations with non-Muslims. good !

She went on to point out that although the media has zoomed in on the violent protests, many Danish Muslims expressed their complaints in legitimate ways before the cartoons were taken to the Middle East, where radicals took over the debate and began issuing bomb threats and burning flags.

Elgazzar also highlighted the fact that the Muslims who have reacted violently are in the minority and by no means reflect the values of the international Muslim community. She argued that just because the noisemakers garner the most media attention does not mean that they are the ones who should be listened to. “The loudest people are not necessarily the ones who are most fit to speak,” she said.

Imam Salam Elmenyawi was equally frustrated with the media's coverage of the events surrounding the publishing of the cartoons. He noted that he feels insulted each time a reporter refers to the prophet simply as Muhammad. Elmenyawi also argued that since the Prophet was God's messenger any disrespect towards him is regarded as a challenge to Allah.

Elmanyawi went on to voice his disagreement with the members of the media who have compared a cartoon published in the Middle East that portrays former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sucking a Palestinian baby's blood to those that satirize the Prophet Muhammad. He argued that while the portrayal of Sharon is anti-Semitic and therefore off limits, the cartoons of the prophet in another category because they are blasphemous to Muslims. In reference to the Sharon cartoon he noted, “This is not blasphemy. It is very bad and distasteful and it could also be criminal but it is not blasphemy. And there is a huge difference between the two.” According to Elmanyawi's point of view, when it comes to the media, politicians are fair game, but parodies of religious figures must be forbidden. “Mubarak, Bush, Martin, even Stephen Harper, they are all a free-for-all.

Make as many jokes as you want about them. These are not religious personalities.”

Good, it's fair and accurate, but I don't think the first quote is the best one to use. I like how you ended it. I'm going to have a quick listen through the interview to see if there's anything better to start the piece off with. Get back to you in a minute.

l'Organe magazine, Montréal

Branding a Nation