ADC
Concerned by Stigma Against Arab-American Political Discourse The
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), expressed concerns from
the delegitimization of Arab-American political discourse associated with
the cancellation of a radio program in Washington, DC. In
late December, the owners of WWTL radio, based in Walkersville, Maryland,
canceled the =93Freeway Radio=94 (broadcast in English) and =93Al-Hilm Al-Arabi=94
(in Arabic) programing of Mr. Hikmat Beaini. The
programming consisted mainly of political discussions and call-in programs
and was also broadcast in Detroit and Chicago. In
response to a letter of inquiry from ADC and other concerned organizations
about the circumstances of the cancellation of the programing, attorneys
for the station owners cited =93the broadcasting of inflammatory
programming which attacks other racial or ethnic groups=94 as one of the
reasons for ending the broadcasts. ADC
is concerned that this seems to be yet another instance in which the
political discourse of the Arab-American community is stigmatized and held
to a different standard than that applied to conversations in other
communities. In any radio
call-in format, there is bound to be a wide range of dialogue, including
comments that are both intelligent and foolish, reasoned and emotional,
tolerant and intolerant. This
range of opinion and the space for all of it to be voiced and reasoned
through by a society and community is normally considered the very essence
of responsible broadcasting and public conversation. All
too often, however, the Arab-American political conversation is held to a
special standard, and is easily labeled 93 inflammatory,93 controversial,
94 and 93 intolerant 94 In
the prevailing environment in AM talk radio, dominated by hosts such as
Rush Limbaugh and G. Gordon Liddy, the normal standards for political
discourse must be seen as very broad indeed. The
letter from WWTL=92s attorneys to ADC and the other groups claimed that
Mr.Beaini was =93interviewing representatives of groups generally
described as terrorists and that the program content contained material
which, in my client=92s judgement, went beyond the area of legitimate
controversy and intruded into the realm of irresponsible attacks on other
groups.=94 Similar claims were made to the Jerusalem Post newspaper. It
would strongly appear that, for whatever reason, the owners of WWTL are
appealing to a common perception that forums which provide a full range of
views from the Arab-American community are illegitimate. It
also seems that no distinction is being made between what callers and
those interviewed may have said, and the views of the hosts of the
programming, a crucial distinction in the world of talk radio. ADC
is deeply concerned by the persistent labeling of Arabs and Arab Americans
as =93terrorists=94 or terrorist sympathizers, a pattern which is
reflected in WWTL=92s statements. It
is a form of incitement that is not only irresponsible but dangerous. Moreover,
a kind of guilt by association that would make journalism all but
impossible is being implied. END From
ADC Update: Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 15:56:42 -0800 Top
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