As I mentioned, Katie Couric spoke with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi yesterday on the CBS Evening News. The interview initially revolved around the recent flooding that has been plaguing Pakistan. Then Couric began asking the Foreign Minister some very astute questions. A transcript from last night...
Couric: I was recently in eastern Afghanistan, and a major complaint is that insurgents return, cross the Pakistani border, retrain, regroup, rearm and then come back into Afghanistan.
Qureshi: It's a two-way traffic. There has to be a strategy to check them once they cross the border.
No Pakistani responsibility?
Couric: But Pakistan has some major responsibility here.
'Atta girl!
Qureshi: We are fulfilling our responsibilities, but we need international help.
Couric: A recent poll in this country found that 24 percent of Americans have a favorable impression of Islam. Thirty-nine percent have an unfavorable opinion. Why is that, in your view?
Qureshi: I think many in the west, many in the United States, are not fully aware of the message of Islam. Islam is a message of peace not violence.
Couric: Have extremists then co-opted the narrative to such a point that that is not how people feel about Muslims?
What a great question...Foreign Minister...?
Qureshi: In every society there are extremists. To give you an example: One American pastor. Look the way he captured the attention of the world, and what was he trying to do? Burn the Quran. Fortunately that horrific incident did not take place. But, God forbid, if it had what would I deduce? Did he reflect American values, or was it an individual act of an extremist? There can be a fringe extremist element in this society, and you have to be cognizant of them.
Get Him K.C.!
...Katie?
Oh wait thats right...that was the end of the interview. They went immediately to a story of friggin' Frankenfish, the genetically altered salmon.
The one thing I dislike more than some agenda-driven, conservative-commentator hack accuse the media of being "liberal" is when the media proves them right. I mean correct. You know what I mean.
The fringe comedian Colin Quinn once said on attempting to separate the peaceful Muslims from extremist, strap-a-bomb-I'm-getting-virgins Muslims, "oh well, you know, don't let a few million apples spoil the bunch."
The Foreign Minister is comparing one extremist nut in Florida to what amounts to entire populations of extremists. A "fringe element" is a publicity-seeker threatening to burn books. A large segment of a population that subjugates woman, refusing them education, basic rights, suffrage, and executes them in the streets...
Public Execution of Woman by Talibanthat's a cultural ideology that is CENTERED in Islam. This isn't a "fringe extremist element."
Let's not say that all Muslims are extremists. Lets also say that not all Christians are Quran-burning knuckleheads. But, as the Foreign Minister said, we've got "one." How many you got, Mahmood? How many you got, shaping this country's perception of Islam?
And how did Katie respond to the F.M.'s final statement? By questioning the F.M. on the deplorable way in which woman are treated? By asking about the free flow of men and arms across his country's borders? By asking about the thousands that have and continue to kill and die in the name of Islam? No...
Mutant fish!
Darn liberal media.
Well, he does make a good point. The actions of extremist Muslims do not represent all of Islam. I have many Muslim friends who do not endorse, nor participate in acts of violence. Sometimes, in our egocentric view of the world, we fail to consider that regular, every day people of any faith just want to keep their families safe, fed, and sheltered. If the leaders want to fight, let them fight amongst themselves and leave the laypeople alone.
ReplyDeleteThis is an absolute outrage. We claim to go into these countries to spread democracy (i.e. Operation Iraqi Freedom) and women are still being treated in this way? Unbelievable. Let's call our interventions what they are...protection of American interests in oil and other money making vehicles. Our actions have apparently not done much for the actual people, namely women, in these societies. UNBELIEVABLE!
ReplyDeleteJohnny, I was trying to point out the absurdity of the Foreign Minister's comparison, not condemn the whole of Islam.
ReplyDeleteIrving,you're right...cultural differences are one thing, the abuses against women I mentioned in this post are quite another.
ReplyDeleteAnnoying Joe...I totally get it. Not saying that you were out of line. I just wonder if we will ever learn to act on behalf of humanity, instead of against it. For nine years, as our country falls apart, we just hear about Muslims this and Muslims that. What about what our own incompetent government officials are doing? When will we self reflect?
ReplyDeleteA.J...def not attacking you, just get heated on these topics!
I went back and watched the clip, did they cut out part of the interview? Is this guy serious? One American pastor...."ONE" not thousands.....
ReplyDeleteGasper - The video clip of the interview on the CBS website didn't include the portion that was shown on television.
ReplyDeleteOn the CBS website there is, however, the trancscript of the televised portion, and that is what I posted. I did find it strange that the televised portion wasn't available...
Johnny - all your points are valid, and they raise the bigger, more important questions.
When I was a young man, we worried about the Japanese, the Germans, and the Italians. These days, most people have forgotten those fears and we freely trade with and vacation in those countries. I wonder if we can ever look back on the chaos of the early 21st century from a place of futuristic peace with the Muslims.
ReplyDelete