The Canadian Islamic Congress

The Canadian Islamic Congress will release its fifth annual media-watch study of eight major Canadian newspapers. For the third year in a row, the National Post has been ranked as worst in its persistent use of anti-Islam terminology. The study also shows a continuing overall increase in anti-Islam tone and usage following the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

Additionally, a pilot research project examining televised anti-Islam over 60 days, ranked three Canadian evening TV news broadcasts -- CTV, Global, and CBC. CBC ranked worst for frequency and intensity of anti-Islam references, followed by CTV and Global. The television news study was co-sponsored by ISNA Canada -- the Islamic Society of North America, Canada -- the country's largest Islamic organization.

CONTACT:

Prof. Mohamed Elmasry

(519) 888-4567 Ext 3753 (O)

(519) 746-7928 (H)

(519) 577-2267 (Cell)

Mrs. Wahida Valiante

(905) 881-8024

Media Communiqué: Canadian Media are Fuelling Hatred of Islam, Says CIC.

The Canadian Islamic Congress, February 13, 2003

Professional Journalists Urged to Condemn Anti-Islam in All Media

Anti-Islam Media Research Finds National Post and CBC's National as Worst Offenders

The Canadian Islamic Congress today released its 2002 fifth annual media-watch study of eight major Canadian newspapers. For the third year in a row, the National Post was ranked as worst in its persistent use of anti-Islam terminology.

CIC's recent research reports have shown a modest average reduction of 17% in the use of anti-Islam language from 1998 onward (the year Anti-Islam in the Media was launched), until September 11, 2001. Following that date however, and continuing during 2002, there has been a substantial reversal of this trend, resulting in an overall negative increase of 380%.

The CIC's annual study offers a methodical and carefully documented assessment of the use of anti-Islam terminology by the Canadian media, particularly print journalism, with the mandate of drawing public attention to the use and misuse of terms such as "Islamic-inspired terrorist attacks," "murderous Islamic militant," "Islamic terrorist," "Muslim militant," etc.

The study covers news and views published by eight of Canada's top-circulation daily newspapers; specifically, the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Sun, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Winnipeg Free Press (for 2002), and La Presse.

The National Post scored 100 points -- the maximum possible in the survey's ranking system -- for its recurrent use of anti-Islam language and terminology. It was the only paper in Canada to do so.

Additionally, a pilot research project examining televised anti-Islam over 60 days, ranked three Canadian evening TV news broadcasts -- CTV, Global, and CBC. CBC ranked worst for the frequency and intensity of anti-Islam references, followed by CTV and Global. This pilot research was co-sponsored by the Islamic Society of North America, Canada (ISNA, Canada).

The CIC's Anti-Islam in the Media research has been praised by university professors of journalism, race relations and religious studies at Ryerson, Concordia, Carleton, York and Waterloo.

The CIC's 2002 Anti-Islam In The Media research report is available at

www.canadianislamiccongress.com

CONTACT

Prof. Mohamed Elmasry

(519) 888-4567 Ext 3753 (O)

(519) 746-7928 (H)

(519) 577-2267 (Cell)

Mrs. Wahida Valiante

(905) 881-8024

What the Experts say About CIC's Media Research Project

“As a researcher in the area of media and diversity, and a professor at one of Canada’s leading journalism schools, .it’s safe to say that the CIC efforts over the past five years have had a real effect in getting many media outlets to 'think twice' about stigmatizing and stereotyping the Muslim community in words, images and story selection. While organizations representing many ethnic and religious groups have expressed concerns about media coverage, the CIC has done something about it.”

[Prof. John Miller, director of newspaper journalism, Ryerson University]

“As a scholar, analyzing bias in the media for the last two decades, I believe the pioneering research of the CIC on the nature of anti-Islam bias in Canadian newspapers has been instrumental in increasing a greater awareness and sense of responsibility by many Canadian journalists and editors. It can be argued that the research and the dissemination of the findings of these studies have helped to reduce the frequency and the intensity of anti-Islam language and images. In a recent book by Frances Henry and I (University of Toronto Press, 2002), Discourses of Domination: Racial Bias in the English-Language Press, we specifically note the important contribution that the CIC has made in its careful and consistent monitoring of the press. In my classroom, I use these research findings as an educational tool in helping students identify bias in the news. As well, the CIC presents a powerful model of effective community mobilization in the search for a more responsible and non-biased media.”

[Prof. Carol Tator, course director, York University]

“As you know, I have used [CIC’s] annual studies in a number of my writing and reporting classes and I have had a Montreal member of the CIC come to speak to journalism students. I also participated in an 'Anti-Islam in the Canadian Media' workshop staged [by the CIC] in Montreal in September, 2000. [CIC's] work is an important way to introduce future journalists to critical research and to open their eyes to biases in the Canadian news media. As a teacher and a researcher in the journalism field, I know how hard it is to come by concrete, Canadian-based evidence to support informed criticism of the news media. [CIC] studies not only compare the treatment of Islam by a number of Canadian daily newspapers, but over time, indicate trends toward improvement or, sadly, exacerbation.”

[Prof. Mike Gasher, Ph.D., Department of Journalism, Concordia University]

“As someone who worked in the media for 25 years -- and now teaches journalism to aspiring journalists -- I cannot stress too strongly how important I consider [CIC's] work to be. I say this for several reasons:

1. The media need to be held accountable.

2. The public needs to know what is being disseminated in the ‘big picture.’

3. Educators can use this material in the classroom.

I teach a first year Journalism course to 220 students [and] use the CIC’s research study. I find it an excellent way to introduce them to the need for covering diversity in a fair and even-handed way.”

[Prof. Lois Sweet, School of Journalism and Communication, Carleton University]

“Anti-Islamic rhetoric in the media is a serious problem since it paints adherents of a religious group with the same brush. I have read previous reports on this issue by the CIC and found them intelligent, rigorous, and useful.”

[Prof. David Seljak, PhD, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Director, St. Jerome’s Centre for Catholic Experience, At the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario]

Introduction

Anti-Islam in the Canadian media instigates hate against a minority group. Hate also jeopardizes the mental and physical well-being of its individuals, especially those most vulnerable -- the children. Hate-mongering is against Canadian cultural values and Canadian law.

The Canadian Islamic Congress is striving to minimize anti-Islam in the media before any more of our children and youth suffer needlessly.

This is the fifth annual study released by Anti-Islam in the Canadian Media, an ongoing project conducted by the Canadian Islamic Congress. Its purpose is to evaluate coverage and to articulate CIC’s view by citing examples of the offending material. This study is not an opinion poll, but rather a reflection of what the Muslim community and CIC consider a serious problem affecting virtually every household of Muslim Canadians.

Through this study, the CIC hopes to increase the awareness of media professionals of this serious and growing problem.

Anti-Islam in Canadian media feeds 'Image Distortion Disorder'

The distorted perception that Islam condones and encourages violence is largely created by the media and it leads to societal anxiety among Canadians. This is called "image distortion disorder."

Image distortion disorder is particularly dangerous in Canada, with its substantial multi-ethnic, multi-faith, and multi-cultural populations.

Among most Canadians who have not knowingly ever met a Muslim in person, there is high likelihood that their perception of Muslim Canadians will be distorted. Canadian media -- particularly the National Post in recent years -- are creating a social crisis based on the religion of one identifiable group. This national crisis manifests itself in loss of identity and self-esteem, feelings of inferiority, and even suicidal tendencies, especially among teenagers.

And image distortion disorder inevitably leads to discrimination, hate-mongering, acts of vandalism, and false accusation by authorities. Young Muslim Canadians of dark complexion, especially women with hijabs (traditional head coverings), or males with full beards, are particularly vulnerable to anxiety, fear and discrimination because of society's perception that their religion is violent, backward, restrictive, fundamentalist, and intolerant of opposing or alternative viewpoints.

Worse still is the portrayal of Muslim Canadians as potential terrorists, posing such a serious "danger" to the country, that CSIS, the RCMP and local police should target them, revoke their citizenship if they are citizens, or ship them back "home" if they are not.

But the reality is that Islam is not everything the media depicts. There appears to be no balance of coverage regarding news or views related to Islam and Muslims, and very little that shows Muslims in a positive light.

Anti-Islam in the media has a devastating effect on every Canadian who cares about the well-being of this country and it insidiously undermines every effort to sustain our social and civil peace.

Treating the media's entrenched anti-Islam "disease" will not be easy, especially when publications like the National Post refuse to recognize that a problem even exists. And Canadian Muslims are not likely to own media outlets large or influential enough to counteract the toxic effect that media distortion and bias have had upon non-Muslims' understanding of their religion.

Those of us concerned about social harmony in this country must therefore react to all distortion and bias in the media by raising our voices in protest.

Image distortion disorder is real in the Canadian media. It creeps subtly into our consciousness. Only if all of us point out and acknowledge its existence, do we begin to effectively deal with it and isolate those who live in denial, insisting that it does not exist.

The Canadian Islamic Congress

Tel (519) 746-1242, Fax (519) 746-2929

Email: cic@canadianislamiccongress.com

http://www.canadianislamiccongress.com

An Anti-Islam Glossary… as Used by Canadian Newspapers

English:

· Armed Islamic group

· Canadian-based Islamic extremist

· Extreme: branches of Islam*

· Extremist: Islamic group, Islamic regime*

· Hard-line: Islamic regime*, Muslims*, Muslim regime*

· Global Islamic militancy

· Fanatic: Islamic*

· Fundamentalist: Islamic terror*, Islamic terrorist, strain of Sunni Islam

· International: Islamic extremist, Islamic movement militancy

· Islamic: dictatorship, extremist, extremist group, extremism, fighters, fundamentalist, fundamentalism, fundamentalist terrorist groups*, hard-liner, -inspired terrorist attacks*, insurgency, insurgent, Jihad, Jihad militant, guerrillas, militia, hard-liners*, hijacker, forces militancy, militant, militant group, purists*, radical, radicalism*, rebel*, resistance, separatists, suicide bomber, terrorist, terrorist cells, terrorist group*, terrorism, violence

· Islamist: cell, terrorism, group*, militancy*

· Militant: Islamic, Islamic government, Islamic group, Islamic organization, Islamic mullahs*, Islamist group*, Muslim

· Murderous: Islamic militant

· Muslim: activist, dictator*, extremist, fundamentalist, fundamentalist militant, guerrillas, militia, militant, mercenaries, mob, vigilant group, rebel

· Puritanical Islamic militia

· Radical: armed Islamic group, Islam*, Islamic fighters, Islamic group, Islamic militia*, Islamist, Islamist group*, Muslim, Muslim faction*, Muslim organization, Islamic militant

· Violent Islamic group

* New for 2002

French:

· Contagion islamiste

· Extremiste: musulman, islamiste

· Fanatisme islamique

· Fondamentaliste islamiste

· Groupe arme islamiste

· Guerilleros musulmans

· Islamistes armes

· Manif: islamistes, musulmane

· Maquisards islamistes

· Mercenaires musulmans

· Menace: islamiste, islamique

· Milice: islamique, islamiste

· Mouvement islamiste

· Terroristes islamistes

Newspaper Grading Criteria (worst-to-bad)

	Description	Points
1	Identifying Muslims by their religion when they are involved in violent acts	100
2	Inferring that Islam is intolerant and an extreme religion that teaches, endorses or condones acts of violence	90
3	Use of the term “Muslim Terrorists”, etc.	80
4	Use of the term “Muslim Militants”, etc.	70
5	Use of the term “Muslim Extremists”, etc	60
6	Use of the term “Muslim Fundamentalists", etc.	50
7	Propagating negative stereotypes about Islam	40
8	Being culturally insensitive, for example to religious practices, dress code, food or social customs	30
9	Selective presentation and analysis of events and the use of popular "experts"	20
10	Failing to offer a balanced view on political events related to Muslims	10

How The Grading Is Done:

1. Each published item was first evaluated (max. points:100) given the above criteria, the resulting numerical rating was then multiplied by the following weighting factors:

a. Front page items 2.00

b. Titles, photo caption or cartoon 1.80

c. Weekend edition factor 1.40

d. Repetition of anti-Islam terminologies in the same item 1.30

2. The points from step (1) were then multiplied by a circulation factor as follows:

· La Presse 1

· The Montreal Gazette 1

· The Ottawa Citizen 1

· The Winnipeg Free Press 1

· The Globe and Mail 2

· The National Post 2

· The Toronto Star 3

2002 Newspaper Ranking (Without Circulation Factor)

(Worst-to-bad)

	Newspaper	Relative Points (max 100)
1	National Post	100
2	Ottawa Citizen	91
3	Montreal Gazette	87
4	La Presse	76
5	Toronto Star	61
6	Globe and Mail	60
7	Winnipeg Free Press	59

2002 Newspaper Ranking (With Circulation Factor)

(Worst-to-bad)

	Newspaper	Relative Points (max 100)
1	National Post	100
2	Toronto Star	92
3	Globe and Mail	60
4	Ottawa Citizen	46
5	Montreal Gazette	44
6	La Presse	38
7	Winnipeg Free Press	30

2002 Newspaper Ranking Comparing to 2001, 2000, 1999, and 1998

Not including the circulation factor: a measure of anti-Islam.

	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998
1	National Post	National Post	National Post	La Presse	Toronto Star
2	Ottawa Citizen	Montreal Gazette	Ottawa Citizen	Montreal Gazette	Globe and Mail
3	Montreal Gazette	Ottawa Citizen	Montreal Gazette	Globe and Mail	Montreal Gazette
4	La Presse	Globe and Mail	La Presse	Toronto Star	Ottawa Citizen
5	Toronto Star	Chronicle Herald	Globe and Mail	Ottawa Citizen	Toronto Sun
6	Globe and Mail	La Presse	Toronto Star	National Post	–
7	Winnipeg Free Press	Toronto Star	–	–	–

Including the circulation factor: a measure of harmful impact on readers.

	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998
1	National Post	National Post	National Post	Globe and Mail	Toronto Star
2	Toronto Star	Toronto Star	Toronto Star	Toronto Star	Globe and Mail
3	Globe and Mail	Globe and Mail	Globe and Mail	La Presse	Montreal Gazette
4	Ottawa Citizen	Montreal Gazette	Ottawa Citizen	Montreal Gazette	Ottawa Citizen
5	Montreal Gazette	Ottawa Citizen	Montreal Gazette	National Post	Toronto Sun
6	La Presse	Chronicle Herald	La Presse	Ottawa Citizen	–
7	Winnipeg Free Press	La Presse	–	–	–

Notes

1. The Toronto Sun was monitored in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 but not ranked.

2. The Journal de Montreal was monitored in 2001 but not ranked.

3. The Chronicle Herald was monitored and ranked only in 2001.

4. The Winnipeg Free Press was monitored and ranked only in 2002.

2002 vs 2001 Ranking (without circulation factor)

Rank	Year 2001		Year 2002
Rank	Newspaper	Normalized Points	Newspaper	Normalized Points
1	National Post	100	National Post	100
2	Montreal Gazette	69	Ottawa Citizen	91
3	Ottawa Citizen	62	Montreal Gazette	87
4	Globe and Mail	58	La Presse	76
5	Chronicle Herald	56	Toronto Star	61
6	La Presse	50	Globe and Mail	60
7	Toronto Star	41	Winnipeg Free Press	59

Notes

1. The National Post is ranked the highest in its use of anti-Islam language in both 2001 and 2002.

2. The difference in points between the first ranked newspaper and the seventh is lower in 2002 than 2001; 41 points in 2002 compared to 59 points in 2002.

3. No significant difference between the last three newspapers in 2002.

4. The Toronto Star, Canada’s largest circulation newspaper became worse in 2002 by 20 points.

5. The Globe and Mail became worse in 2002 by two points, the Ottawa Citizen by 29 points and the Montreal Gazette by 18 points.

6. La Presse, the only French daily included in the study, became worse by 16 points.

7. The total number of points has increased 4.8 times (380%) from the pre-9/11 year to the post-9/11 year; from an average of 670 points per newspaper per month to an average of 3,232 per newspaper per month.

Some examples of how Canada’s Newspapers endangered the well-being of Canadian Muslims in 2002

1. "Three plots hatched..." The Toronto Star, January 7, 2002.
The Toronto Star managed to use anti-Islam terminology 11 times in this one item.

2. "Why they booed...," by Margaret Wente, The Globe and Mail, March 9, 2002.
"Israel and the West confront a common enemy: Islamofacism... it is fuelled by hatred, and does not submit to bargaining or reason..."

3. "Yasser Arafat's..." by Margaret Wente, The Globe and Mail, April 4, 2002.
"He quoted the Koran: A martyr who falls in the battle for Jerusalem's worth 40 martyrs..."

4. "What turns kids..." by Ananya Mukherjee Reed, The Toronto Star, April 5, 2002.
"...there is a pre-disposition toward extremism and fundamentalism amongst the 'ordinary Muslim'..."

5. "Radical Islam..." by Stephen Handelman, The Toronto Star, April 23, 2002.
Mr. Handelman manages to use anti-Islam terminology 10 times in this one item.

6. "Terror, lies..." by Margaret Wente, The Globe and Mail, May 16, 2002.
"...4,000 Jews were warned to stay away -- an article of faith throughout the Muslim world..."

7. "Give Kashmir a chance..." by Ramesh Thakur, The Globe and Mail, May 29, 2002.
"Koran-Kalashnikov culture..."

8. "Unlike his victims," by Rosie DiManno, The Toronto Star, June 19, 2002.
"...Muslim, a man of the Koran, blinded by the Zealotry..."

9. "Resisting the gale" by David Warren, The Ottawa Citizen, October 27, 2002.
"When a sniper suspect is arrested in suburban Washington, D.C., he just happens to have adopted the surname 'Muhammad'. Don't pretend less than half of North America wasn't expecting this."

How the National Post endangered the well-being of Canadian Muslims in 2002

Examples:

1. “A cultural inability...” by George Jonas, The National Post, February 3, 2002.
“...it’s the rationality of Islamic culture that’s seriously in doubt”

2. "With friends like..." by Mark Steyn, The National Post, March 4, 2002.
"...reluctant to let everything ruffle the 'Islam is a religion of peace' editorial."

3. "And now for..." Editorial, The National Post, June 17, 2002.
"...the Muslim immigrants quartiers of Western cities living off European and Canadian welfare..."

4. "Whatever you do, don't call it a hate crime" by Mark Steyn, The National Post, July 8, 2002.
"The organizations that purport to represent Muslims in North America and Europe have their own excuses for turning a blind eye to the torrent of hate from respectable sources within the Muslim world...There's no reason why the FBI and other U.S. agencies should sign on to their fictions."

5. "Pencil in Iraq for this August" by Mark Steyn, The National Post, August 1, 2002.
"...Saudi Arabia is not America's 'most powerful Muslim ally in the war against Islamic terrorism,' but the principle underwriter and fomenter of Islamic terrorism."

6. "Muslims must modernize Islam" by Daniel Pipes, The National Post, August 2, 2002.
"At present, admittedly, it is hard to recall the positive side [of Islam]...That is the ultimate message of 9/11."

7. "First we take Baghdad..." by Mark Steyn, The National Post, August 8, 2002.
"...allowing the Saudis to continue providing the ideological heft to Islamist terrorism...[In Iran] the original Islamist nutters have been firing on their hapless citizens..."

8. "Farcical island war has much deeper roots" by Charles Krauthammer, The National Post, July 19, 2002.
"Much of the conflict in the world today - the Philippines, Kashmir, Chechnya, the West Bank, Sudan, Nigeria,... - represents the Islamic world, once expanding, long contracting, pushing out once again to reclaim its place in the sun. As Samuel Huntington has written, the borders of Islam are bloody."

9. "Lawsuit aims to bankrupt terror network" by Stewart Bell, The National Post, August 16, 2002.
"...Hamas had been raising money in Canada since at least 1993, partly through a U.S. charity that was endorsed by prominent Canadian Muslim organizations."

10. "My lack of courage?" by Daniel Pipes, The National Post, August 20, 2002.
"Islam has always been on warpath...Militant Islam is Islam...Mild Koranic verses were abrogated...my readers know what they are talking about."

11. "The real enemy in this war is ourselves" by Mark Steyn, The National Post, August 22, 2002.
"The Islamists are [militarily] weak but culturally secure. The West is just the opposite. There's more than one way to lose a war."

12. "Concordia Web site Investigated" by Stewart Bell, The National Post, August 24, 2002.
"Radical Islamic groups have operated a series of Web sites from Canada that have solicited donations, glorified terrorism and sought recruits for Osama bin Laden's training camps in Afghanistan."

13. "Not all teachers are angels" by George Jonas, The National Post, August 26, 2002.
"Apparently America's largest teacher's union, The National Education Association,... told teachers that they should be careful not to 'suggest any group is responsible' for attacks which killed 3,000 people...Or, as Mr. Steyn observes: "Don't blame anyone. But, if you have to, blame America."

14. "Muslim extremism: Denmark's had enough" by Daniel Pipes and Lars Hedegaard, The National Post, August 27, 2002.
"Muslims are only 4% of Denmark's 5.4 million people but make up a majority of the country's convicted rapists,..."

15. "Multiculturalists are the real racists" by Mark Steyn, The National Post, August, 2002.
"Whether or not Muslim cultures are prone to rape is a question we shall explore another day...On this 'Islam is peace' business...I'm not a racist, only a culturist...You see it in European foreign policy already: they're scared of their mysterious, swelling, unstoppable Muslim populations...Maybe we should start a betting pool: Which European country will be the first to institute shari'a?"

16. "Save the Temple Mount" by Daniel Pipes, The National Post, September 3, 2002.
"That's the Ramadan holiday, when thousands of Muslim worshippers will aggregate in the mosque at Solomon's Stables. Their weight and movement could cause the southern wall to give way."

17. "The Bush Doctrine began on Flight 93" by Mark Steyn, The National Post, September 9, 2002.
"To the Muslims who celebrated openly in Ramullah, in Copenhagen, in Yorkshire and at Concordia University in Montreal, it [9/11] was the most spectacular blow yet against the Great Satan."

18. "Mystery of evil cannot be ignored" by Father Raymond J. DeSouza, The National Post, September 11, 2002.
"The anniversary [of 9/11] is upon us...Jews and Christians [but not Muslims!] used to be able to speak frankly of the mystery of evil in the world..."

19. "Unfinished business" Editorial, The National Post, September 11, 2002.
"...another September 11...an event that would make all but the tiniest coterie of multiculturalists realize that we are in a fight for survival."

20. "The twin clashes within civilizations" by Mark Steyn, The National Post, September 12, 2002.
"...how Muslims here [in Canada] have coped with the post-9/11 'backlash' seems to be as firmly ensconced in the news bulletins as the weather and the closing Dow..."

21. "Chrétien caught in a web of confusion" by Mark Steyn, The National Post, September 16, 2002.
"The Islamists want to kill all the Jews...The Islamists have no rational demands, and no conceivable changes to U.S. policy will deflect them..."

22. "I say monger away, baby" by Mark Steyn, The National Post, September 26, 2002.
"...'the root cause' of this new war is Islam's difficulty co-existing with modernity...Fact: An ethnic Danish girl is far more likely to be raped by a Muslim than an ethnic Dane. Fact: Immigration means that more Danish women get raped."*
*Two members of the Danish Parliament, in a letter to the editor published by the Post on September 6, 2002 disputed the false information originally published by the Post by Daniel Pipes and Lars Hedegaard (August 27, 2002). Mr. Steyn reported the same false information again on September 26, 2002!

23. "Muslim radicalism reshapes Euro-politics" by David Frum, The National Post, September 28, 2002.
"The raw numbers for today's big march are coming from a new direction: Britain's large and increasingly outspoken Muslim community...Today Britain's radical Muslim minority is gathering in Hyde Park. Tomorrow: who knows?"

24. "The root cause? We're all infidels" by Mark Steyn, The National Post, October 17, 2002.
"Blessings be upon you, Mister Robert [Fisk of the Independent], we had entirely [forgotten] to add "Kill the Irish" to our "To Do" list, praise be to Allah... they're happy to kill Australians, Britons, Canadians, Swedes, Germans, as they did in Bali. We are all infidels."

25. "Zigging and zagging on the sniper's trail" by Mark Steyn, The National Post, October 21, 2002.
"In fairness to the Islamofascists, when it comes to their 'murderous pleasures' variety is the spice of death."

26. "Western muslims are on the front lines" by David Frum, The National Post, October 26, 2002.
"A gunman named Muhammad has terrorized the Washington area for weeks...[he] was not a Muslim who became a killer. He was a killer who became a Muslim. This reassurance, however, is no reassurance at all...The Muslim community of the West are one of the most decisive theatres of this civil war. And the case of John Muhammad reminds us that in this theatre, our victory is far from won."

27. "Stop making excuses for Muslim extremists" by Mark Steyn, The National Post, October 28, 2002.
"...[the sniper's] transformation into a killer seems to be more or less coincidental with his transformation into Mr. Muhammad...the brilliantly versatile Muslim fundamentalists are gunning down Maryland school kids and bus drivers,..."

28. "Ayub case illustrates the need for profiling" by Jonathan Kay, The National Post, October 31, 2002.
"...as if a man born in [an] Arab nation and steeped in that country's state-sponsored hatreds should be expected to shed them instantly once he gets a social insurance number and spends a few evenings watching the CBC."

29. "Treatment of Israel strikes an alien note" by Alan M. Dershowitz, The National Post, November 4, 2002.
"...in Saudi Arabia apartheid is practised against non-Muslims, with signs indicating that Muslims must go to certain areas and non-Muslims to others..."*
"This is only applicable to two holy Islamic sites, but Mr. Dershowitz does not tell his readers the fact and call this 'apartheid.'

30. "Keep mosque and state separate in Turkey" by Jonathan Kay, The National Post, November 6, 2002.
"...the idea of 'reform' is still inextricably tied with a return to ancient Mohamedan values and practices."
*The term 'Mohamedan' instead of 'Islamic' was used in the 1700's and 1800's to misinform the public that Muslims worship Mohamed as Christians worship Christ.

31. "Fallaci is a little heavy on the rage" by George Jonas, The National Post, November 7, 2002.
"...Fallaci is correct to say that some of the most extreme Islamist figures live in the West."

32. "No U.S. ally seen as immune to attack" by Jan Cienski, November 14, 2002.
"...'Islam today seems to produce two things: Oil and dead bodies'..."

33. "A bombing pause - for 12 months?" by Mark Steyn, November 21, 2002.
"...in his month-long Ramadan-a-ding-dong, George W. Bush is relentlessly on message: as he told Islamic bigwigs at the White House the other day, "Our nation is waging a war on a radical network of terrorists, not on a religion and not on a civilization." Not true. Daniel Pipes and others have argued that this is the Islamists' great innovation - an essentially political project piggybacking on an ancient religion. It seems unlikely that many Muslims in, say, Newark or Calgary or Singapore would wish to be suicide bombers themselves, but what seems clear is that in these and other places there is - to put it at its most delicate - a widespread lack of revulsion at the things done in Islam's name. This last year has been too quiet. Next Ramadan, when the traditional calls for a bombing pause are issued, let's hope there's some bombing to pause."

34. "Censored and bullied, scholars sanitize Islam", by David Frum, November 30, 2002.
"Islamic law has for many years been stretching its reach into the West. Nor is it just the press that is intimidated: Western scholars live under the shadow of the fatwa as well. Large portions of the Koran, for example, appear to have been translated from Aramaic, the language of the Roman Middle East...the work of scholars of Islam differs...constant intimidation and threat of attack. Yet even in the West, some radical Muslim groups are demanding the same power over speech and thought that their Nigerian counterparts now exercise. This newspaper has been one of their favorite targets. The fate of Isioma Daniel reminds us how urgent it is to reject these demands and reassert our continuing belief in our Western principles of liberty - and how dangerous it would be to begin to surrender them."

35. "A fatwa of one's own." by Mark Steyn, December 5, 2002.
"Thanks a bunch, you ungrateful Nepean Islamist! Where did I go right?"

36. "Limit Muslim Immigration, 44% say." by Mike Blanchfield, December 21, 2002.
"Almost half of Canadians support restrictions on the number of Muslim immigrants allowed into the country, according to a new public opinion poll that suggests the idea of a "Canadian mosaic" is losing support. The poll, conducted last month for Maclean's magazine, Global TV and Southam News "

37. "A sermon dressed up as a documentary." by Robert Fulford, December 21, 2002.
"...the PBS network in the U.S. broadcast a new film