Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) recently published the story, “Campaign Aims to Reclaim True Meaning of ‘Jihad’,” which notes that, “The campaign’s slogan is, ‘Taking back Islam from Muslim and anti-Muslim extremists alike.’”
And who does RFE/RL identify as a so-called anti-Muslim extremist? Pamela Geller.
And who are the so-called moderate Muslims leading the jihad to take back the word “jihad”?
Ahmed Rehab says his jihad is to take that word back.
With his own money and donations from supporters, the director of the Chicago office of the Council on Arab Islamic Relations has launched an ad campaign that promotes a lesser-known meaning – one he says is to “struggle to get to a better place, to improve one’s life and the lives of others, to do what’s right and not what’s easy.”
(More on the “MyJihad” campaign here.)
The RFE/RL article does not mention CAIR’s terrorist ties or that it was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror-financing trial. And the article does not critically examine the attempt to redefine Islam or the term, “jihad.”
But those who regularly read RFE/RL shouldn’t be surprised by this. After all, this taxpayer-funded outlet regularly publishes leftist propaganda.
Whether it is writing glowing articles on the Occupy Wall Street insurrection, glorifying Act Up and its war against the Catholic Church, or seeking out the George Soros-backed Open Society to paint actual efforts to fight Islamic terrorism as “human rights abuses,” RFE/RL regularly advances a leftist agenda.
And remember how the Democratic-media complex went ballistic over “Innocence of Muslims”? Remember how college professors and former Department of Defense officials called for curbing free speech in deference to Islam at the time?
Less than two months after that frenzy, RFE/RL celebrated the blaspheming of Christ in “‘South Park’ Enlists Christ to ‘Free Pussy Riot,’ Stand Up to Belarus’s Tanks” even as it had deferentially reported on how “Innocence of Muslims” offended the sensibilities of Muslims.
Yet, RFE/RL doesn’t stand alone. Voice of America (VOA) is another taxpayer-funded organization producing leftist propaganda.
VOA regularly publishes slanted articles such as, “Supporters Hail US Soldier Tied to WikiLeaks as Hero,” and “US Mosques Increase in Number Despite Post-9⁄11 Suspicions”.
And then there are the outright leftist advocacy pieces like “Young Undocumented Immigrants Hopeful with US Policy” that include paragraphs such as:
“The visa expired, and we stayed,” explained Mukahhal. Since then, she has lived as an undocumented immigrant, existing in the shadows of society.
When this reporter first met Mukahhal, she was going door to door in suburban Chicago to encourage Muslim Americans to vote in the 2010 mid-term elections, a privilege she is denied. At the time, Mukahhal did not share much personal information, out of fear of deportation. She was even reluctant to give her name.
But it’s not just Islamic propaganda that VOA puts out; it’s leftist propaganda on the “social issues” as well.
In “Activists Say Ugandan Homophobia Fueled by American Religious Right,” VOA writes:
The plight of Uganda’s gay community has come to the world’s attention in recent years thanks to a bill currently before parliament, informally known as the “Kill the Gays” bill, which originally included the death penalty for certain homosexual acts. Senyonjo links the bill to a visit by American evangelical preacher, Scott Lively.
“When Scott Lively came over here, I attended what he was talking about at the Triangle Hotel, and after that he met a number of politicians,” said Senyonjo. “After all these meetings, then the bill was drafted, which was really anti-homosexuality. And this has caused a lot of violence in some communities.”
VOA allows Scott Lively to be linked (wrongly) to advocating for the death penalty for “certain homosexual acts” in Uganda without refuting it. (Lively, by the way, is currently battling a George Soros-backed lawsuit accusing him of “crimes against humanity.”)
VOA also fuels the lie that it was pro-morality forces responsible for the murder of David Kato, a Ugandan same-sex sexual relations advocate. In fact, it was another man with whom Kato had sex (or tried to have sex) who killed him.
But RFE/RL and VOA can’t be held entirely guilty for what they do. Although they produce leftist propaganda, they have the support of premiere conservative organizations such as The Heritage Foundation.
So I guess we can’t be too upset about RFE/RL publishing “Campaign Aims to Reclaim True Meaning of ‘Jihad’” and labeling Pamela Geller an extremist while painting CAIR as moderates. After all, RFE/RL has bipartisan support.
Paul Hair is a veteran military intelligence analyst who has worked for the government and private strategic forecasting companies. He runs the Foreign and Domestic Intelligencer website, and the Liberate Liberty website.
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