The Media’s Role in Perpetuating Hate
Last week, a video taken at University of California at San Diego went viral of a female Muslim student named Jumanah Imad Albahri in a debate with David Horowitz, founder of the think tank David Horowitz Freedom Center. Horowitz was invited to UCSD as a counter speaker to the already planned “Apartheid Week,” an annual event set up by the Muslim Student Association (MSA) which Albahri is a part of. At the end of his lecture, a question and answer portion followed and Albahri asked Horowitz to clarify the connection between UCSD’s MSA and “jihadist terrorist networks”, as he claimed connections exist with University of California at Irvine’s’s Muslim Students Union along with University of California at Los Angeles’ MSA and University of California at Berkeley Berkeley’s MSA.
From this very moment onward the dialogue spirals downwards, ending with Horowitz asking Albahri:
“I’m a Jew. The head of Hezbollah has said that he hopes that we [Jews] will gather in Israel so he doesn’t have to have to hunt us down globally. For or against it?”
Albahri answers, “For it.”
Her response is what made this video go viral. Since the video surfaced, I have come across articles titled, “Professor and Muslim Student Get Into Debate –Listen to Her Chilling Last Words,” “UCSD Muslim Student Admits Supporting The Gathering Of Jews In Israel For Holocaust To Jewish Speaker,” “Lies of a Truthful Girl,” and a Facebook Group called “Expel Jumanah Imad Albahri from UCSD.”
Comments made by readers call Albahri a “terrorist,” a “jew-hater”, a supporter of a “second holocaust” and many include threats of rape and death against her and all Muslims. The reactions of the general public based on this video are jarring when the fault truly lies with the media who recently published the video and articles mentioned above.
First off, this video is from 2010 but it is presented as if the interaction between Albahri and Horowitz just occurred. The publishers above have deceptively and/or irresponsibly posted it now to fuel anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic sentiments.
Secondly, the Muslim Student Association (MSA) that Albahri is a part of is not, nor affiliated with, any terrorist organizations. However, Horowitz claimed in his brochures at the event that most MSAs on college campuses are affiliated with terrorist organizations and receive donations from them. This claim has yet to be proven by reputable, legitimate, or unbiased research but is based upon right-wing, conservative, anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Lastly and most importantly, when Albahri says she “condones” Hamas, she later clarifies her position in a personal blog, stating:
“..I condone Hamas in its ambition to liberate the Palestinian people. I condone Hamas as the duly elected representative government of the Palestinian people granted governance in an election overseen by our ex-President Jimmy Carter; and characterized as fair, open, and fully democratic. I condone Hamas in its desire to end the inhumane siege of the Gazan people. I condone Hamas in its struggle to free the 10,000 Palestinian men, women, and children unjustly locked away in Israeli prisons.”
The importance of context cannot be ignored. Both parties in this video have concerns about each other’s stance regarding Hamas, Hezbollah, terrorism, anti-Semitism, racism, violence and more. Even Albahri, the alleged “jew-hater”, acknowledged the importance of context when she wrote her blog and expressed where her sentiments stem from. These concerns and sentiments are all legitimate, serious and essential to productive discourse within an academic setting.
But the media organizations who have chosen to post this video now, are not contributing to any productive discourse whether it be in an academic setting like in the video or on the internet. What they have contributed to is the continuation of the media’s failure to provide accurate information for people to make up their own minds.
Stephanie Murti is a graduate assistant at The WIP who is completing her master’s degree in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
It was only yesterday that I stumbled across the video in question. The fact that it took place five years ago is irrelevant (as is the fact that your post about it is coming up on its first birthday.)
There is no media manipulation or trickery required here to make Albahri “look bad.” She said plainly that she supports to notion of Jews gathering in one place for easy extermination by Hammas. That tiny instant revealed her truth. Her struggle to undo that in her blog is a pathetically transparent lie. Shame on you and anyone else who comes to the defense of such an openly wretched person.
You’re wrong. The girl explained openly and sincerely what happened during that incident with Horowitz. Horowitz clearly baited and entrapped her into saying what he wanted. He took one look at her and made up his mind, and he never answered her question about his literature which associated MSA with terrorist groups. Instead he used her to promote his own Muslim-hating agenda.
Oh, baloney. There’s a difference between tricking someone into saying something they don’t actually believe, and coaxing someone into revealing their true beliefs. One is disingenuous, the other is skilled debating. I’m no fan of Horowitz per se, but I am against ALL MILITANT RELIGIOUS CREEPS, and Jumanah Imad Albahri certainly qualifies.