Mixed Bag for Muslim Journalists

Since 9/11: More Opportunities, Often More Anger

Even before Sept. 11, 2001, the Arab American News, the nation’s largest Arab American weekly, was writing about racial profiling and the curtailing of civil liberties.

According to Dearborn, Mich.-based publisher Osama Siblani, acceleration in coverage of those issues first came after the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

Many Americans suspected it was the work of Arabs or Muslims, until white American Timothy McVeigh was determined to be the culprit. Nevertheless, the wheels were put in motion for curtailing Arab American and Muslim freedoms.

Today, Siblani says, “it’s much worse. The Patriot Act brought more tools” for profiling and harassment.

Suleman Din, then a special correspondent for Rediff.com, India’s largest news Web site, wrote an article for the December 2001 issue of DateLine AAJA, newsletter of the Asian American Journalists Association.

He began with an anecdote about Haider Rizvi, a Pakistani freelance journalist who had been covering stories on hate crimes directed toward South Asians. Three men in Brooklyn, N.Y., approached him and said he looked like Osama bin Laden.

“When asked if he was from Pakistan, Rizvi said yes. The men then kicked and beat Rizvi into unconsciousness,” Din wrote.

“Rizvi’s case is an extreme example of the unpleasant new realities that some Arab and Muslim journalists have experienced in covering stories post-Sept. 11,” Din continued then.

“They find themselves mentioning examples of encouragement and despair in the same breath, as they try to sort out the issues and stories arising from the attacks and war, and their own feelings. Despite the dilemmas posed, many reporters resolve to look past their bad experiences.”

Today, said Din, now a reporter at the Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J., “the paranoia has subsided. I think generally, most Muslims are trying to downplay rather than make a big deal about their faith in the workplace, for the obvious reasons.”

Askia Muhammad, a member of the Nation of Islam who writes for the Final Call and the Washington Informer, and also does radio, television and photography, wrote a column after the Sept. 11 attacks that quoted cartoonist Walt Kelly. Pogo’s famous line “can be applied to the bigots who have used the World Trade Center crime as an excuse to lash out at people who are different — this time Muslims and Arabs in more than 400 attacks around the country,” Muhammad wrote.

“‘We have met the enemy and they is us,’ said Pogo in the comics. Funny thing though. I’m still not laughing,” he concluded.

“Nothing much has changed for me since then, in terms of the dynamics of what’s really at stake,” Muhammad said on Monday.

Six years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, life for some Muslim journalists has brought more disgust and for others more encouragement, according to interviews with several of them on Monday. It has no doubt brought more for all of them to report.

Aman Ali, an Indian-American who writes for the Capitol Hill newspaper the Hill, said he was in high school in 2001 and the attacks “inspired me to get in the business. I just felt like being involved in any shape or form,” he said. He had been primed by parents who insisted the children watch the 6 o’clock news before dinner and that they read the newspaper. Now 22, Ali said he was happy to be a resource for colleagues while an intern at the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal and now in his current job.

Halimah Abdullah, now in the McClatchy Washington Bureau, was at Newsday on Long Island covering government when the attacks took place. “It was a difficult reporting position to be in,” she said. “First and foremost, I’m an American and I empathized with my fellow citizens, but I also felt an extra (duty) to explain what many people weren’t familiar with, to explain the nuances of what might be going on in the mind of Muslims in the States.”

Women who wore head scarves were terrified, Abdullah said. (And today one would be hard-pressed to find any Muslim reporters wearing them on American newscasts.) People thought of Muslims as “very homogeneous. Shi’a and Sunni are part of the lexicon now. They didn’t know that then.” They didn’t know that “people who are African American and follow Orthodox practices might be the same as those in Saudi Arabia.”

One of the other good things that happened, Abdullah continued, is “a lot of newsroom managers said, ‘we don’t have a lot of people on the staff who speak Arabic.’ Managers began to realize they needed that diversity of voices to better help explain the situation.”

At the Star-Ledger, Din said he has “welcomed their questions about my faith. The Star Ledger wanted to put together a seminar on Islam and Muslims, for instance, and asked me for help. I brought in a local imam, and we ended up having a second session, because it was so well attended, and because we couldn’t answer all of the questions in the first round.”

C.B. Hanif, editorial columnist and ombudsman at the Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, said he gets some of the same response. “My experience has been that the public is more interested than ever in knowledge of Islam and Muslims beyond the stereotypes, and is seeking more perspectives, including those of Muslim journalists,” he told Journal-isms.

“Yet it is also my sense that too many editors are lacking that same intellectual curiosity, or are just skittish, perhaps in deference to fearful folks who have bought the ‘they hate us for our freedoms’ line.

“In contrast, I hear a lot of appreciation for my occasional columns on Islam, such as telling why many Muslims appreciated the late Pope John Paul II, or explaining Ramadan. Years after the fact, I am still being told by strangers that they appreciated me writing about my pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hajj.”

The flip side is reflected in the Arab American News, where pages are now devoted to civil rights and civil liberties.

The publication reported on a flight from San Diego to Chicago just two weeks ago that was delayed so long that passengers had to be put in a hotel overnight. A woman had become upset that six men were speaking Arabic on the plane. The men were actually Iraqis who were returning from Camp Pendleton, where they were working for a defense contractor helping train Marines.

“Why are we getting that if we [are] helping our people here, American people? Why are we getting that, treated like that? That’s what we wonder,” one of the Iraqis, Dave Alwatan, told CNN.

“You get disgusted. You get frustrated,” Siblani said. “They tell you beautiful things, but these actions happen” that demonstrate that “the hatred and mistrust of the community is at its greatest level.”

Another sore point for readers, Siblani said, is the crackdown on Arab charities, which he said will only drive them underground. Giving is an essential part of Ramadan, the Muslim holiday that starts Thursday and continues for 30 days. “The feeling is they don’t want us to give.” Denying money to overseas charities will produce only more impoverished Arabs abroad, creating fertile ground for al Qaeda to recruit, he argued. “We’re saying this is not how to fight terrorism. You are defeating yourself,” Siblani said.

Still, on the Sept. 11 anniversary, Dearborn Arab Americans plan a dinner in honor of those who perished that day, and expect to honor Dearborn police and firefighters.

An attempt by al-Jazeera, which has its headquarters in Qatar, to set up an American news channel has not met with much success. It has been ignored or shunned by almost every cable provider in the United States, as the Financial Times reported last month.

“Elected politicians and senior officials still refuse to be interviewed by us,” David Marash, a former correspondent at ABC, now one of al-Jazeera’s three U.S.-based anchors, said in the story.

“But people from the think tanks, including some well-known neoconservatives, are very happy to come on al-Jazeera. They appreciate the fact that we go into much more detail than CNN.”

“The channel’s hope is that US providers will eventually be forced by popular demand to include it in their service, much like MTV achieved with its ‘I want my MTV’ campaign in the 1980s,” the story said. “But the channel might face an even bigger obstacle than hyped-up fears about terrorism: the public’s lack of interest in international news.”

• Yoji Cole, DiversityInc: 6 Years After Sept. 11, Muslims See More Inclusive Workplaces [Added Sept. 11]
• Earl Ofari Hutchinson, syndicated: Here They Come Again: Another Go Round for Wacky 9/11 Conspiracy Theories
• Les Payne, Newsday: Post-9/11 unity, optimism is long time gone
• Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald: Six years after Sept. 11, 2001
• Gregory Stanford, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Wars that bookend a generation
• Cynthia Tucker, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Even years later, ‘martyrs’ lured to crazy crusade

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Univision Debate Draws 4.6 Million Viewers

“The unprecedented Spanish-language Democratic presidential forum on Univision Sunday night brought up some of the most important issues for the Hispanic electorate: education, healthcare, immigration, Latin American foreign policy and the war in Iraq,” Nancy Ayala reported Monday in MediaWeek.

“More than 4.6 million viewers tuned into the live ‘Destino 2008’ forum, according to Nielsen Fast National Ratings, via a Univision statement. That’s compared to 4.3 million viewers who previously watched the English-language debates on all the major networks, ABC, CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. Univision’s average audience level almost doubled the audience from previous presidential debate telecasts, 1.3 million versus 655,000.

“The forum also was broadcast on RadioCadena Univision, (the AM radio network) and streamed on Univision.com. Of the roughly 43 million Latinos in the United States, some 17 million Hispanic voters can tip the scale as to who will reach the White House.

“The 90-minute gathering, which included Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.), Sen. Christopher Dodd (Conn.), former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.), former Sen. Mike Gravel (Ala.), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Gov. Bill Richardson (N.M.), was moderated by Univision network anchors Jorge Ramos and María Elena Salinas from the University of Miami, in Coral Gables, Fla. Sen. Joe Biden (Del.), also running for president, reportedly skipped the event to prepare for a Foreign Relations Committee hearing this week in Washington.

“From the outset, the respondents dismissed the idea that appearing on the Spanish-language network would pose a risk to their run for the presidency, instead they focused on whether they would deal with immigration reform in their first year in office (a resounding yes) and if they would support Spanish as the official second language of the United States (responses unclear).”

• Roberto Lovato, New America Media: Univisión Debate Reveals the Power of Latino Migrants, Media and Voters
• Deborah Mathis, BlackAmericaWeb.com: Note to Mrs. Obama â?? Humbling Your Husband is One Thing, But Humiliating Him is Another
• Ana Menendez, Miami Herald: Bill Clinton’s magnetism is still unequaled
• Beth Reinhard, Miami Herald: Democrats try to speak to Hispanics
• Bob Ray Sanders, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Democrats have key in Obama — however . . .
• Elena Shore, New America Media: Latinos Big Winners in Univision Candidate Debate
• Marisa Travino, Latina Lista blog: Univision Debate Proves Refreshing

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Univision Says It Beat Anglo Networks for the Week

“Univision captured the #1 network ranking among all Adults 18-34, not just Hispanics, and outdelivered ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and CW for the entire first week of Nielsen’s single national panel (NPM),” Univision said in a news release on Monday.

“In the first entire week (8/27/07-9/2/07) since all networks were reported from one single ratings sample, Univision ranked as the #1 network with an +11% advantage over its nearest competitor, FOX, and beating ABC by +43%, CBS by +42%, NBC by +57%, and fully +125% ahead of CW for all Adults 18-34, not just Hispanics. Univision was also the #1 ranked network all night every night Monday through Friday last week among the same coveted young adult demographic.

“In addition, Univision aired 9 out of the top 20 programs of the entire week, regardless of language, among all Adults 18-34.”

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Griffin Reportedly Broke Pledge to Keep Act Clean

Comedian Eddie Griffin had pledged before appearing at a Black Enterprise benefit to keep his show clean, Roland S. Martin reported Friday in his Creators’ Syndicate column.

Black Enterprise magazine founder Earl Graves ordered the microphones cut off at Griffin’s Aug. 31 performance at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami after an explosion of foul language.

“I talked with Earl “Butch” Graves Jr., CEO of Black Enterprise, about what transpired,” Martin wrote.

“Graves said that Griffin, known for his raunchy stand-up, sent BE a DVD showcasing his clean show before he was hired to perform at the event. He said that BE put language in the contract stipulating that Griffin was to perform a clean show.

“Shortly before taking the stage, Graves said BE officials, the sponsors of the evening, as well as Griffin’s manager, reminded him to keep it clean. But when he took the stage, that all went out the window, Graves said.

“Graves, the son of BE founder Earl Graves, said that Griffin went on stage and instead of using the N-word, used MF. That led to a torrent of MF’s that Graves says was beyond comprehension.

“He said Griffin then went on to talk about ‘killing white bâ??â??-s’ and other language that was offensive.

“It was at that point that BE officials cut off his microphone and proceeded to end his show.”

Martin concluded, “the broader issue is that comedians, especially African American comedians, must be sensitive to the growing disapproval that people have with the use of the N-word. . . . Frankly, people have gotten tired of the double standard, but more importantly, the insult. . . .

“They all have been warned.”

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“Who’s Asian American” Becoming More Complex

“I’m regularly asked by corporate marketers: Who is Asian American?” Bill Imada wrote Wednesday in AdAge.

“There never seems to be agreement on this topic, which makes it even more daunting for prospective marketers who really want to understand the mindset of Asian-American consumers. And for community and civic leaders in the Asian-American community, the need to shatter all of the stereotypes connected to being Asian is viewed as an enduring struggle, as well as a quest for greater legitimacy as a consumer-market segment.

“In New York, civic groups claim to represent Asians of every stripe and culture, and boast having members who describe themselves as ‘Asian American’ or ‘Asian-American.’ The hyphenation is often omitted because a majority of Asian-American leaders believe that adding a hyphen marginalizes Asians by tying them into the more dominant white culture.

“In Washington, DC, many civic groups add the term Pacific in their official names . . .

“Recent immigrants aren’t always tuned in on the latest and most PC jargon. Latinos of Asian heritage often self-describe as Mexicano, Peruano, Cubano or even Chino (Chinese in Spanish). Unfortunately for the Asian-American community, many Latinos of Asian heritage self-describe on the U.S. Census form as Latino/Hispanic.

“. . . So who really is Asian and what is Asian?

“Ask. Observe. And, take some time to get to know the consumers you are striving to reach. . . . It is also important to note that Asian Americans aren’t all alike. Although all Asian cultures share some common values and traditions, we don’t always share a common language, religious beliefs, customs, and viewpoints.”

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Black Women’s Magazines Said to Be Struggling

The story behind the recent decision to fold Vibe Vixen as a stand-alone publication “strikes a familiar chord among magazines aimed at black women,” Lucia Moses wrote Monday in Media Week.

“. . . Observers said that as niche publications, those titles were especially vulnerable to the challenges facing magazines in general: stagnant newsstand sales along with audiences and advertisers that are increasingly shifting attention and dollars to the Internet, cable and other media.

“For magazines targeting black women, different factors have been at play. Major marketers have been slow to buy into these titles, failing, publishers say, to recognize the value of their readership to advertisers.

“. . . Others said the general market’s embrace of minority subjects has stolen some of niche magazines’ thunder.

“African-Americans, however, are still struggling to land on most women’s magazine covers. “