The War on Islam

by Enver Masud

Recipient of the Human Rights Foundation 2002 Gold Award

This critique of US foreign policy and media coverage argues that Islam is deliberately being demonized by special interests. It presents a sequence of reports to show how it has been unfairly associated with terrorism, human rights violations and rogue nations. Stimulating debate. The devastating September 11, 2001 attack on America's military and financial centers shocked and horrified the world, and came as a surprise to most Americans. "Why do they hate us?" asked President Bush.

That Americans were surprised is evidence of the failure of major news media to communicate to Americans the reality of the world in which we live. America wasn't attacked because "they hate us" or because "they want to destroy our freedom."

Only a few in the major news media dared to tell the truth. For millions around the world the World Trade Center and the Pentagon symbolized the source of much that was wrong with their world.

The War on Islam provides perspectives generally missing from major news media--from the Gulf War of 1991 to the "shock and awe" of 2003.