This Pope thing just wont die...

First and foremost, let me address the skeptics out there by saying that no not all Muslims are reacting violently or even care what the Pope has said and yes we are upset about the Muslims that are reacting violently. For those who keep wondering where are the positive voices, let me tell you they exist in mass, but the only way you might happen upon them is in places like this, on a blog, on a MSG board, on an Internet website, or as official statements at the various prestigious Islamic institutions across the globe. Why, because Peaceful Muslims that participate in Interfaith walks, talks, and conferences, or who do feed the homeless drives, or actually speak to the press at press events is not "newsworthy". The media in general, is sensationalized, and if its not provocative, sexy, or violent, odds are its not going to reach your television. Personally, I wrote and sent an Op-ed to the Washington Post, wrote on several MSG Boards, and spoke on the Joe Madison talk radio show this morning as a caller. I'm just one lone Muslim, and many would have never heard these words unless they were privy to these actions or went looking for them, as is the case with most Muslims like me. I have no problem going on National TV or any other media or platform, but does that mean I would get invited? Maybe if I was a radical cleric or terrorist, but not as a patriotic, peaceful, loving Muslim and father of five. Here is a recent post I put on a Message board to fully illustrate my views on the subject:

"First and foremost there is no "large violent protests", If all Muslims felt that way, the world would be in Anarchy right now. There are 1.5 Billion Muslims, damn near 1/5 of the worlds population. What you are seeing is media spin. There are isolated incidents with groups of 200-2000 Muslims acting an ass for the camera. In the places these things are happening is predictable: The ME, East Africa, and some parts of Asia, then of course you have the same big mouth idiot in the UK. Outside of that, most Muslims haven't said a word publicly except maybe a spill on the radio, op-ed, or some other letter, etc. My Imam addressed this very thing this past Friday, who BTW is not only in a Partnership with the FBI, but also heads over one of the largest if not the largest Masjid in the DC area, and is the vice-president of the Islamic Society of North America(ISNA) in other words he's a prestigious and well respected man, he said in this month alone he attended several press conferences with CNN, the Post, etc. and every time he gets asked "where is the Muslim condemnation of radicals" he said he once again condemned them for the 1000th time, but he also chastised the media for silencing the positive voices. He remarked that the reason why you don't hear these voices is because its not "newsworthy" no one wants to hear about the interfaith meetings, no one wants to hear about the 9/11 unity walks, or the Jewish/Muslim Peace Walks around the country, that stuff is boring, but if an Imam says something stupid, or people act out in the streets, then that is the news and that's what you hear. Its like October last year, I attended the Millions More Movement and it was a huge and peaceful event, many said there were over 1 million people, but did that get coverage, maybe 10 seconds, what got news that day was the group of people in Cleveland that rioted over the KKK march. The news is good at shaping public opinion. Its not that hard to go to the large and respected Islamic institutions around the globe to see the official stances on these things, but one has to go look first. But if your one who gets all your information from the TV, than of course your going to be blind to what is truly going on. The only way Muslims get a voice in this country is if we blow something up, outside of that, you have to do Internet searches, read a book, and look at the very back of local newspapers."

One thing that remains true throughout the ages, good or bad, people tend to do whats convenient. For the media that is show or report the things that get the ratings, and unfortunately, in our society, that's rarely anything positive.