Perspective Newsweek and the Koran
By now I’m sure you’re aware of the story: Newsweek magazine reports that U.S. officials at Guantanamo Bay were flushing copies of the Koran down the toilet as a form of “torture.” Some Muslims take to the streets in violent protest, resulting in the 16 deaths and more than 100 injuries.
Then Newsweek issues an apology–oops, sorry, that wasn’t true.
Eek… I’m glad I don’t work at Newsweek right now.
Obviously, the blogosphere and the other media are ripping into Newsweek for their irresponsible reporting, and rightly so. But I think the better response is the one offered by Ralph Bristol, a local radio host whose “Daily Dispatch” shows up in my mail box on a daily basis:
Newsweek Magazine was irresponsible and its editors have now apologized, but let’s face it. These rioters are nuts. They are extremist maniacal fanatics and it’s crazy to try to appease them. The Arab League needs to stand down its protest against Newsweek and train its sights on the maniacs within its ranks. Until these people learn to address their grievances in a fashion a little more suited to the human species, they are not going to make any progress in an otherwise fairly civilized world.
There is a lesson to be learned by Newsweek, other media, and people in general, but it’s not the one that is blanketing the media today. The lesson is this. It takes very little to irritate a mad dog. That doesn’t mean that you go out of your way to be nice to it. It means that you avoid it if possible and be ready to kill it if necessary.
Newsweek is right to apologize for lousy reporting, but let’s not lose sight of the real problem here. Sloppy reporting is cause for concern and criticism. It is not cause for death and destruction.
The reason we are in a war with Muslim terrorists is because there is a faction in the Muslim world whose automatic reaction to any form of offense is murder and mayhem. They are the real problem. Newsweek is but a minor nuisance.