masthead

Powered byWebtrack Logo

Links

Media Watch’s jihadi sources

The ABC has launched an inquiry into accusations that Media Watch relied on research supplied to it by an Islamic website that peddled anti-Semitic and jihadi messages.

Media Watch has been accused of colluding with IslamicSydney, which has published bloggers calling on children to "arm themselves" with machineguns, and supporting the use of violence and weapons to "fight injustice".

The allegations against the self-proclaimed media watchdog were made by David Penberthy, editor of Sydney'sThe Daily Telegraph, in a letter to the ABC's managing director Mark Scott after Media Watch last month broadcast racist and inflammatory comments made by bloggers on the newspaper's website.

Penberthy wrote to Mr Scott after IslamicSydney's forum published comments by some of its members boasting about the information they gave to Media Watch. On June 12, Ahmedk -- believed to be Ahmed Kilani, the co-founder of the website -- writes: "For those who thought (of) collecting these racist comments (from the Telegraph's website), watch Media Watch next Monday."

The message was followed up on June 18 by the same blogger after the program ran on Media Watch that evening: "Alhamdoulillah (praise to God) we were able to help Media Watch researchers with the story. So there was the great benefit to collecting these quotes. Please keep them coming."

Racist and jihadist comments on Islamicydney's Muslim Village Forum website include one posted on May 15 by username Malik-Shakur: "I will bring my children up to believe that there is no better thing in life than to struggle in the path of God, whether its (sic) with their speech, their wallets or their hands in fighting ... and that there is no better honour than to die as a martyr."

On May 21, username Tas wrote: "Don't know about Palestinians as a nation, but our prophet has prophesised that eventually every single Jew will be eliminated from the face of this earth by the Muslims, after a major war between us and them (kafirs) ... and the Messenger of Allah says nothing but the truth. Just a matter of time I guess."

The ABC's director of television Kim Dalton yesterday admitted that some of Media Watch's tips came from "quite unsavoury" characters but refused to be drawn on some of the hate-filled and poisonous messages published by IslamicSydney.

"Judge the information that was provided. Don't try and discount the information on the basis of the source of the information," he said.

While Penberthy stood by his website's publication of offensive blogger messages, he said they did not represent the newspaper's editorial policy. Penberthy said such comments were balanced by other messages from Muslims that were anti-Australian and combative towards the paper and its staff.

"We've run comments that are critical of Muslims, critical of Lebanese Australians, but equally we've run comments from Lebanese Australians that are attacking our columnists, attacking our news reporters, attacking Australia: calling Australians rednecks, bigots, dills," he said.

Penberthy accused Media Watch of deliberately selecting a small sample of some of the most extreme comments on his website and holding them up as being representative of the entire site.

"The reality is they're not indicative of the massive and overwhelming majority of the comments that we do publish on the site. The voices in the middle are constructive, conciliatory voices," he said.

Some of the comments published on the Telegraph's website, which were broadcast by Media Watch on June 18, included anti-Muslim remarks such as "Dogs make Muslim men horny", "I wouldn't be letting Arabs in the country" and another accusing Lebanese Muslims of being uneducated and ending up "barefoot and pregnant at by the age of 20 and then collect welfare for the rest of their lives".

Penberthy said Media Watch should apply the same standards it used to attacking his paper to the website on which it relied for information gathering.

"It strikes me as a double standard because they will talk about the research methods of the mainstream media, they will talk about a lack of candour and honesty on the part of the media ... they will expose organisations that are acting as undisclosed sources to the media, people with agendas, all that sort of stuff," he said.

"The really hypocritical thing is that Media Watch would outsource its research to a third party (IslamicSydney), which is every bit as racist, and I would argue more racist and more dangerous than anything that we are running."

Media Watch's presenter Monica Attard yesterday said she was prohibited from commenting on Penberthy's complaints because the matter was under investigation.

Following his appointment as ABC's managing director last year, Mr Scott said the national broadcaster would search for a "further diversity" of voices and singled out Media Watch as a program that needed to be reviewed.

Mr Dalton said Penberthy would get a response to the complaint soon.


# reads: 433

Print
Printable version

Tell us what you think


It is good that someone is wathing Media Watch because ABC management surely isn't. It seems that Media Watch is watching media that opposes its political correctness and Muslim champion agenda. It is failing to meet it aims and the policy of the ABC. Correcting Media Watch, the Religion Report, Late Night Live, etc is a waste of time as each individual objection is fobbed off. There must be a change in the corporate culture of the ABC and of SBS. Where does one find the political will to take on these organs of bias who scream freedom of the press at the same time as they suppress if?

Posted by paul2 on 2007-07-15 13:51:39 GMT


Maybe it would be of interest for people to see what has happened to the Jews in Arab countries since 1948. Statistics of Jews in Arab Countries: Shocking - These stats were taken from "Myths and Facts" - a great book by Mitchell B. Bard. First number is from the year 1948, the second number is taken from the year 2000: Algeria 140,000..now Less than 100 Egypt 75,000.......... 200 Iran 100,000....12,000 to 40,000 Iraq 150,000...........100 Lebanon 20,000........ 100 Libya 38,000............ 0 Morocco 265,000......5,800 Syria 30,000...........200 Tunisia 105,000......1,500 Yemen 55,000...........200 See a pattern???? and what do Muslims think of pagans/infidel, are we in for any better,,,,,hmmmm where will it stop..and they say that tiny little Israel is the problem??? that Israel kills their people..hmmmm

Posted by disgusted again on 2007-07-12 02:30:23 GMT


It appears to me that while they talk of hate, death and conquer of the infidel lands, we are being silenced by Muslims under the guise of racist, etc.. If these people are really peaceful then they would be saying that they understood our fear.. Mind you Mohammad said that he terrorised the people because they were easier to conquer.. It is about time that instead of blindly listening to others that everyone especially our media and politicians should read the last three quarters of the Quran and others of their holy books like the Bukhari, Ishaq:Tabari and this way they can see for themselves the horror teaching, e.g. Qur’an 8:12 “I shall terrorize the infidels. So wound their bodies and incapacitate them because they oppose Allah and His Apostle.” Ishaq:327 “Allah said, ‘A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the religion.’” Qur’an 8:67 “It is not fitting for any prophet to have prisoners until he has made a great slaughtered in the land.” Qur’an 33:26 “Allah made the Jews leave their homes by terrorizing them so that you killed some and made many captive. And He made you inherit their lands, their homes, and their wealth. He gave you a country you had not traversed before.” Qur’an 59:2 “It was Allah who drove the [Jewish] People of the Book from their homes and into exile. They refused to believe and imagined that their strongholds would protect them against Allah. But Allah came at them from where they did not suspect, and filled their hearts with terror. Their homes were destroyed. So learn a lesson, O men who have eyes. This is My warning…they shall taste the torment of Fire.” Tabari IX:122 “Muhammad sent Uyaynah to raid The Banu Anbar. They killed some people and took others captive. Asma was one of the women taken prisoner.”

Posted by disgusted on 2007-07-12 02:17:50 GMT


Good to see this exposed. If reporters take from highly biased and warped sources, then that is the sort of reporting they end up with.

Posted by Mary on 2007-07-11 23:46:24 GMT