USA: U.S. MSM'S, STUDENTS, POLICE OFFICERS, CORPORATIONS AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS HAVE BEEN UNDERGOING ISLAMIC BRAINWASHING SINCE FEBRUARY 1993

Group takes proactive approach to foster understanding of Islam

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"We started at the tail end of the first Gulf War," said ElGenaidi, sitting in her San Jose office.

"And it was because, at the time, we noticed verbiage in the media and the Islamic community that alarmed us. ... It was showing Islam using pejorative terms such as 'terrorism' and 'extremism.'"

The initial plan began in February 1993, when ING was started with the name Bay Area Media Watch. Monitoring local media, the organization's original plan was to build an elaborate network that would confront the media about their inaccurate portrayals of Muslims, ElGenaidi said. "Six months into it, we realized we had the wrong approach," ElGenaidi said. "We needed to change the direction of what we were doing and offer media agencies suggestions instead of demands."

After changing the name of the organization to Islamic Networks Group, ElGenaidi and the other board members began giving feedback, resources and editorial policy guidelines that would explain, among other things, how certain word usage could be harmful.

"We wanted to take a proactive approach, one that would show the impact of stereotypes on women and children," ElGenaidi said. "Beating people in the head is not an effective way to see change. We weren't interested in motivating them with fear. We wanted to let them know that they are impacting quality of life, that people are being discriminated against based on what they convey."

Guidelines and considerations soon turned into meetings, and meetings turned into factual, interactive presentations about the faith that included time for dialogue. In 1994 and 1995, ElGenaidi and other network representatives visited 40 to 50 Bay Area media agencies.

"We had half-hour meetings that turned into two-hour-long meetings. In all cases, as well, this was the first time these people sat down and had a meeting with Muslims."

ElGenaidi went from local news stations to the New York Times, also making visits to the Wall Street Journal, Time and Newsweek, among others.

"I mean, I can give you a book about Islam, but it won't be like sitting down with tea and discussing it. Intent is one thing, but nothing replaces human contact," ElGenaidi said, calling the discussions "remarkable."

Most important for ElGenaidi is the neutrality of her presentations -- she's not interested in converting people to Islam, and this isn't an act of worship for her or any of the network speakers. ElGenaidi wants to "demystify" aspects of the religion and encourage others to embrace religious pluralism.

"We wanted to use a conversation model, an inclusive one with facts -- one that would show that we are all different, but we have many things is common," ElGenaidi said.

Crafting a variety of presentations, ING speakers who passed mandatory First Amendment training and a two-week specialized certification course began to lecture in classrooms, police stations, corporate sites and health care facilities.

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