Jerry Klein's "Spoof"

What did Jerry Klein of WMAL Radio have in mind when he did this? (Print synopsis here)

Was Klein's purpose to expose growing hatred for Muslims? Or did he have in mind provoking his listeners to make concurring comments so as to bring in CAIR?

After all, CAIR is no stranger to WMAL Radio. According to this July 28, 2005 press release from Anti-CAIR:

ABC DISNEY BACKS DOWN TO THREATS FROM CAIR, FIRES CONSERVATIVE TALK HOST OVER STATEMENTS REGARDING ISLAM AND TERRORISM

Conservative talk-show host Michael Graham was suspended without pay today by ABC Disney after threats from the Council for American-Islamic Relations over his on-air comments regarding terrorism and Islam.

Despite repeated statements of support for Graham's free-speech rights by management at 630 WMAL in Washington, D.C. ----- the ABC-owned radio station where Graham works as mid-morning host ---- he was summarily suspended pending an "investigation."

"I honestly don't know what Disney is investigating me for, unless it's for doing a compelling talk show that gets people's attention," Graham said. "I thought that was my job."

Graham has been harshly criticized by CAIR for public comments linking the current theology and structure of Islam to the repeated acts of terror in its name. CAIR sent mass e-mails to its members urging them to contact ABC and demand the company to punish Graham for his remarks.

The statements at the heart of the controversy reflect Graham's opinion that, as he puts it, "Because of the mix of Islamic theology that --- rightly or wrongly --- is interpreted to promote violence, added to an organizational structure that allows violent radicals to operate openly in Islam's name with impunity, Islam has, sadly, become a terrorist organization. It pains me to say it. But the good news is it doesn't have to stay this way, if the vast majority of Muslims who don't support terror will step forward and re-claim their religion."

Ironically, CAIR announced today that a group of US Muslim scholars were issuing a fatwa against terrorism. According to Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR, the fatwa was issued in part due to criticism from talk radio hosts like Michael Graham.

"Nearly four years after the World Trade Center fell, CAIR is participating in a blanket denunciation of terrorism, and my attitude is "better late than never." If our conversation on 630 WMAL helped CAIR finally take this long-needed step, then we've done something good for the future of Islam," Graham said....

In contrast to CAIR's reaction to Michael Graham's comments and to his explanation thereof, CAIR is pleased with the results of Jerry Klein's spoof:

RADIO SPOOF DRAWS SUPPORT FOR NAZI-LIKE TREATMENT OF U.S. MUSLIMS

CAIR says callers' reaction is a 'wake-up call' on Anti-Muslim bigotry

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/27/06) - A parody of anti-Muslim bigotry on a Washington, D.C., radio station drew support for treating American Muslims in a manner similar to how the Jewish community was targeted in Nazi Germany.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said today that the reaction to the parody is a "wake-up call" for religious and political leaders who remain silent on the issue of growing Islamophobia in America....

The story about Jerry Klein's spoof has elicited a lot of attention, according to Klein's own statement on November 28:

I've been overwhelmed by the response to Sunday's show (click ... if you'd like to hear a recording). Besides being interviewed by the Reuters news service, and having both NBC4 and WUSA TV9 here in Washington feature this story prominently on Monday night's newscasts, I've heard that other talk show hosts and bloggers have now joined the conversation. By early Tuesday, I've stopped counting the emails you've sent me from all over the world in response to my contention that as Americans, we need to be careful that we don't allow our concerns over terrorism to push us over the line towards discrimination against all Muslims, and in fact all Arabs, whether Muslim, Christian, or any other faith. Thank you for your words of support. I'll try to respond to everyone -- but it's going to take a little time.

FYI...Jerry Klein is sort of odd-man-out at WMAL Radio, which also presents programs from Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. The WMAL Radio web site refers to Jerry Klein as "WMAL's Favorite (Pet) Liberal?" The following is his biographical sketch from the station's web site:

Jerry Klein is 630 WMAL’s Senior Producer, and Producer for The Chris Core Show. He was born in Philadelphia, but grew up and spent most of his life in Charlotte, NC, where he was an award-winning talk-radio host, concert producer, weekly columnist, record store owner, the program director for a non-profit center for community and culture, and a psychological counselor. (Jerry says, "That’s code for I’ve led a very full and colorful life.")

He moved to the Washington area a little more than five years ago to finally marry the love of his life. Jerry has two sons, Josh and Ben, and relies on his cat, Yogi, for spiritual guidance - though, he says, "All assistance in these matters is gratefully accepted!"

Pakistani Immigrants Arrested

From this source, via Infidel Bloggers Alliance:

(11-15) 15:43 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --

Dozens of Pakistani immigrants who came to the United States posing as religious workers were arrested Wednesday, authorities said, as Homeland Security agents tried to close a commonly exploited avenue for illegal immigration.

Immigrants who were supposed to be teaching or conducting religious ceremonies were arrested across the East Coast, where authorities said many worked as gas station attendants, taxi drivers, landscapers and factory workers.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have been scrutinizing the religious worker visa program, which a 2005 review found was rife with problems. Homeland Security officials found fraud in one of every three religious visas they reviewed....

Arrests were made in Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C....

Pakistan--a hotbed of Wahhabist madrassahs. How long before a jihadist comes to America via visa fraud?

Al Jazeera English

Al Jazeera broadcasts right here in the United States, 24/7, with Dave Marash as the Washington-based anchor. From the November 15, 2006 Washington Post's "Al Jazeera's U.S. Face":

...In February, [Dave] Marash, a lifelong broadcast newsman, became the Washington-based anchor of Al Jazeera English (AJE), the English-language spinoff of the Arabic TV news network. When AJE begins its first globe-spanning broadcast today, Marash will be its most prominent American face.

Embedded in "why," however, are two other questions: How can an American work for an operation affiliated with al-Jazeera, which achieved notoriety -- and to some, infamy -- by airing video communiques from Osama bin Laden, images of dead American soldiers and routine denunciations of the United States? Moreover, how could Marash, who is Jewish, work for an organization that has provided a platform for Holocaust denial and hate speech against Israel, Zionism and Judaism?

But Marash -- affable, burly and possessed of gloriously resonant voice -- seems almost delighted to be on the defensive. His short, glib answer: He was out of a job.

AJE came calling shortly after Marash was let go by ABC News almost a year ago. Marash, 64, had spent a decade and a half as a globe-trotting reporter for "Nightline" and as a sometime substitute host for Ted Koppel (before that, Marash was an anchor at Washington's Channel 4)....

Marash says...that al-Jazeera is little understood, and frequently misunderstood, in the West....

Al-Jazeera, he says, "has consistently offered a window of opportunity for Israel and Israeli citizens to speak to the Arab world. There is no contradiction between Judaism and al-Jazeera. As a Jew, I have always wished for and worked toward peace and civility in the Palestinian territories and Israel."...

Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy in Media has a different take and points out the following:

Al-Jazeera journalist Tayseer Allouni last year was convicted in Spain of collaborating with al-Qaeda; and al-Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Hajj was arrested by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2001 and has been held at Guantanamo Bay. (Al-Jazeera says the two men are innocent.)

"We haven't seen any evidence that tells us that [AJE] will be significantly different than al-Jazeera in Arabic," Kincaid says. "It's sponsored by the same people, paid for by the same people and has the same editorial philosophy."

Kincaid all but says Marash is a dupe: "The emir has plenty of Arab oil dollars to buy anyone he wants. They need Western media faces to give them credibility."

Victory Speech

At the end of Keith Ellison's "God-is-good-y'all" speech, listen for the cries of "Allahu Akbar!" But, of course, Mr. Ellison's campaign had nothing to do with religion, right? And he reprimanded those chanters, right?

Note: Photo from CAIR's announcement of the November 18, 2006 annual banquet, at which Keith Ellison will be the keynote speaker.

Survey: Civic Minded Muslims

Posted November 2, 2006 on CAIR's web site:

The first scientific snapshot of American Muslim voters depicts a well- educated, family oriented group that is younger than the general population and favors active engagement in US society.

A survey released last week shows 62 percent have a bachelor's degree or higher (compared with 30 percent for the US in general), including 48 percent of Muslim women. Some 78 percent are married, and 43 percent have a household income of $50,000 or more.

In political orientation, 42 percent call themselves Democrats, 17 percent say they are Republican, and 28 percent do not belong to a party. Almost 90 percent vote regularly.

On the issues, they rank education as most important (25 percent), followed by civil liberties (24 percent) - a prime concern since 9/11. Next come the conflicts in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon (20 percent) and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (18 percent).

When asked about religious affiliation, 40 percent respond "just a Muslim." Another 36 percent say they are Sunni, 12 percent identify as Shiite, and 2 percent say Sufi (a mystical tradition).

As for religious practice, 31 percent attend mosque weekly, while 27 percent say they seldom or never attend. A majority (54 percent) say they are not very involved or not at all involved in mosque activity aside from attendance at formal prayers.

A large majority (84 percent) believe Muslims should emphasize shared values with Christians and Jews, and 77 percent say they worship the same God. Yet 55 percent are afraid the war on terror has become a war on Islam.

Make of the above what you will.

Fox News Special: November 4

From this source,

Sat., November 4 at 8 p.m. ET
Hosted by E.D. Hill

This weekend, join host E.D. Hill as FOX News examines Obsession: The Threat of Radical Islam.

They are the most vital questions of our time: How deadly is the Islamic terror threat to the world and especially to the United States? Do terrorists really want to destroy our economy, our civilization, our way of life or is this just an exaggeration?

A frightening new documentary by filmmaker Wayne Kopping seeks to answer those questions. Kopping examined reels of Islamic news footage, interviewed former terrorists and obtained undercover footage from the lairs of the terrorists and jihadists.

What he found, is something FOX News believes every American should know.

It's a FOX News special that you can't afford to miss — Obsession: The Threat of Radical Islam, Saturday at 8 p.m. ET

[Hat-tip to Nanc for providing the link to this FNC special]