DAR AL HARB - U.S.A.: P.B.S. = ISLAMIST HANDMAIDEN

PBS Accused of Same Tactics Radical Muslims Use Against Moderates
Kevin Mooney
Staff Writer

(CNSNews.com) - Public Broadcasting Service officials who have refused to air a documentary on moderate Muslims are using the same tools of suppression and censorship Islamists employ to stymie debate, a documentary-maker charged Tuesday.

"Islam vs. Islamists: Voices from the Muslim Center," a 52-minute, taxpayer-funded documentary, was originally slated to be screened as part of an 11-part PBS series called "Crossroads," examining post-9/11 challenges facing America.

The series began airing for the first time last week on WETA, the Washington, D.C., PBS affiliate, but "Islam vs. Islamists" has been dropped from the lineup.

Hollywood veteran Martyn Burke of ABG films co-produced the film with Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy, and Gaffney's CSP colleague Alex Alexiev, who specializes in Islamic extremism.

The film, which cost more than $600,000 to produce, focuses on conflicts that have erupted within the Muslim community in the U.S., Canada, Denmark and France.

The producers held a private screening in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, joined by three of the "anti-Islamist Muslims" featured in the film -- Danish parliamentarian Naser Khader, Islamic Forum for Democracy President M. Zuhdi Jasser, and French-Algerian journalist Mohammed Sifaoui. Also attending on behalf of the Islamic Supreme Council of America was Hedieh Miramahdi.

Burke told the audience that PBS and WETA advisors and producers had objected to the participation of conservatives Gaffney and Alexiev. A "bitter fight" ensued over the content of the film, and the PBS/WETA criticisms became increasingly "hysterical," he said.

"PBS is doing what the Islamists are doing," Burke charged. "They are silencing these people [Muslim moderates]."

The producers said PBS replaced their film with another one, "The Muslim Americans," which Gaffney called "a triumph for the Islamists," saying it promoted a perspective in line with that of America's enemies. For his part, Alexiev claimed that the replacement film paints a "fawning portrait" of U.S. organizations with extremist ties. Alexiev also noted a conflict of interest: He said the replacement film was produced by Robert MacNeil, who also hosts the Crossroads series.

MacNeil was therefore allowed to produce his own film and at the same time was "the key guy who decided what gets cut," he claimed.

PBS spokesman Joe Deplasco told Cybercast News Service the Burke-Gaffney-Alexiev film was unfinished and could not be shown. He said he was aware of their arguments, but declined to comment on them, referring further queries on the subject to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) - a private body funded by the federal government to promote public broadcasting through PBS.

CPB officials did not return calls Tuesday.

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Pertinent Links:

1) PBS Accused of Same Tactics Radical Muslims Use Against Moderates