Wahhabi Quandary....
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Muslim First
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Re: Wahhabi Quandary....
Middle East Media Research Institute
Criticism
Bias
Brian Whitaker, the Middle East editor for the Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom, has been one of the most outspoken critics of MEMRI, writing: "My problem with Memri is that it poses as a research institute when it's basically a propaganda operation,"[5] and that "the stories selected by Memri for translation follow a familiar pattern: either they reflect badly on the character of Arabs or they in some way further the political agenda of Israel."[4]
Whitaker has also complained that "MEMRI's website does not mention you [Carmon] or your work for Israeli intelligence. Nor does it mention MEMRI's co-founder, Meyrav Wurmser, and her extreme brand of Zionism.... Given your political background, it's legitimate to ask whether MEMRI is a trustworthy vehicle."[5]
Leila Hudson writes in the journal Middle East Policy, "MEMRI simultaneously highlights stories emphasizing the most extreme stereotypes of clashing Arab and Islamic civilization, which would not otherwise come to light. In effect, it amplifies the noise that most effectively distracts from the projects of engagement and negotiation. This is compounded by the interlinked series of websites, blogs and forums on the right wing of the think-tank periphery. Like the Israeli disinformation site Debka.com, MEMRI produces and amplifies noise, while buttressing the weak 'clash of civilizations' theory with selective extremist writing."[16]
Selectivity
According to Juan Cole, Professor of Modern Middle East History at the University of Michigan, MEMRI has a tendency to "cleverly cherry-pick the vast Arabic press, which serves 300 million people, for the most extreme and objectionable articles and editorials"[17] Similarly, Ibrahim Hooper, a director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, stated in the Washington Times that "MEMRI's intent is to find the worst possible quotes from the Muslim world and disseminate them as widely as possible."[4]
William Rugh, former U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, describes MEMRI as a service which "does not present a balanced or complete picture of the Arab print media.... Quotes are selected to portray Arabs as preaching hatred against Jews and westerners, praising violence and refusing any peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue."[18]
Laila Lalami has written that, "There are three general observations that can be made about MEMRI's work. One is that it consistently picks the most violent, hateful rubbish it can find, translates it and distributes it in e-mail newsletters to media and members of Congress in Washington. The second is that MEMRI does not translate comparable articles published in Israel, although the country is not only a part of the Middle East but an active party to some of its most searing conflicts. For instance, when the right-wing Israeli politician Effi Eitam referred to Israel's Palestinian citizens as a "cancer," MEMRI did not pick up this story. The third is that this organization is now the main source of media articles on the region of Islam, a far greater and far more diverse whole than the individual countries it lists."[19]
Ken Livingstone, former British MP and the current Mayor of London, has accused MEMRI of "outright distortion".[20][21] Journalist Rima Barakat wrote of the January 2005 Greater London Authority report that: "A study was commissioned to investigate the 'Islamic conspiracy dossier.' This dossier was compiled to defame a renowned Muslim scholar and was presented to British officials in an attempt to prevent a renowned Muslim scholar, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, from entering Britain to participate in a London conference. The report found that "nearly all the distortions came from material produced by the MEMRI."[22]
Translation inaccuracy
The accuracy of MEMRI's translations is sometimes disputed.[23][24][5][21][25]. For example, a controversy arose over MEMRI's translation of the Arabic words "ay wilayah" in the 2004 Osama bin Laden video. Osama bin Laden's statement was widely translated as: "Every state that does not toy with our security has automatically guaranteed its own security".[26] The US media in general translated "state" as nation-state, and viewed Bin Laden's statement as a warning to the US to stop intervening in the Middle East in order to guarantee US security[23]. But MEMRI interpreted "state" in the sense of a US state rather than a nation-state. MEMRI's translation was widely reported since it differed from most earlier translations and since MEMRI's "Special Alert" published along with Bin Laden's speech the weekend before the 2004 presidential election stated that: "Osama bin Laden ... included a specific threat to 'each U.S. state,' designed to influence the outcome of the upcoming election against George W. Bush."[23] The media watchdog site mediamatters.org noted that: "MEMRI's translation has been challenged by a number of scholars and experts," of whom they quote Juan Cole, professor of modern Middle East History at the University of Michigan; Omer Taspinar, a foreign policy studies research fellow at the Brookings Institution; and Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert and director of the RAND Corp's Washington, D.C. office. They include Juan Cole's statement that bin Laden: "cannot possibly mean that he thinks Rhode Island is in a position to [trifle with Muslims' security]"[17][24] Brian Whitaker went even further, commenting that it was "a clever bit of election propoganda on MEMRI's part, implying that Bin Laden wanted Americans to vote for Kerry"[27]
Professor Halim Barakat of Georgetown University cited MEMRI's translations of his own articles as an example of such distortion: "Every time I wrote Zionism, MEMRI replaced the word by Jew or Judaism. They want to give the impression that I'm not criticizing Israeli policy, but that what I'm saying is anti-Semitic."[28]
On his blog for The Guardian, Brian Whitaker wrote that in a translation of a Hamas video showing Farfur, a Mickey-mouse figure, eliciting political comments from a young girl, the MEMRI transcript misrepresents the segment, by attributing a sentence said by the mouse figure ("I'll shoot") to the child, and ignoring the child's statement ("I'm going to draw a picture") [29] Also, where MEMRI translates the girl as saying "We will annihilate the Jews", Whitaker and others, including Arabic speakers used by CNN, insist that based on careful listening to the low quality video clip, the girl is variously interpreted as saying, "The Jews will[are] shoot[ing at] us" or "The Jews are killing us."[30] Whitaker concluded: "The effect of this is to devalue everything Memri translates - good and bad alike. Responsible news organisations can't rely on anything it says without going back and checking its translations against the original Arabic." [29]
May be Agakhan and his followers are part of this Anti Arab CABAL
Criticism
Bias
Brian Whitaker, the Middle East editor for the Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom, has been one of the most outspoken critics of MEMRI, writing: "My problem with Memri is that it poses as a research institute when it's basically a propaganda operation,"[5] and that "the stories selected by Memri for translation follow a familiar pattern: either they reflect badly on the character of Arabs or they in some way further the political agenda of Israel."[4]
Whitaker has also complained that "MEMRI's website does not mention you [Carmon] or your work for Israeli intelligence. Nor does it mention MEMRI's co-founder, Meyrav Wurmser, and her extreme brand of Zionism.... Given your political background, it's legitimate to ask whether MEMRI is a trustworthy vehicle."[5]
Leila Hudson writes in the journal Middle East Policy, "MEMRI simultaneously highlights stories emphasizing the most extreme stereotypes of clashing Arab and Islamic civilization, which would not otherwise come to light. In effect, it amplifies the noise that most effectively distracts from the projects of engagement and negotiation. This is compounded by the interlinked series of websites, blogs and forums on the right wing of the think-tank periphery. Like the Israeli disinformation site Debka.com, MEMRI produces and amplifies noise, while buttressing the weak 'clash of civilizations' theory with selective extremist writing."[16]
Selectivity
According to Juan Cole, Professor of Modern Middle East History at the University of Michigan, MEMRI has a tendency to "cleverly cherry-pick the vast Arabic press, which serves 300 million people, for the most extreme and objectionable articles and editorials"[17] Similarly, Ibrahim Hooper, a director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, stated in the Washington Times that "MEMRI's intent is to find the worst possible quotes from the Muslim world and disseminate them as widely as possible."[4]
William Rugh, former U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, describes MEMRI as a service which "does not present a balanced or complete picture of the Arab print media.... Quotes are selected to portray Arabs as preaching hatred against Jews and westerners, praising violence and refusing any peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue."[18]
Laila Lalami has written that, "There are three general observations that can be made about MEMRI's work. One is that it consistently picks the most violent, hateful rubbish it can find, translates it and distributes it in e-mail newsletters to media and members of Congress in Washington. The second is that MEMRI does not translate comparable articles published in Israel, although the country is not only a part of the Middle East but an active party to some of its most searing conflicts. For instance, when the right-wing Israeli politician Effi Eitam referred to Israel's Palestinian citizens as a "cancer," MEMRI did not pick up this story. The third is that this organization is now the main source of media articles on the region of Islam, a far greater and far more diverse whole than the individual countries it lists."[19]
Ken Livingstone, former British MP and the current Mayor of London, has accused MEMRI of "outright distortion".[20][21] Journalist Rima Barakat wrote of the January 2005 Greater London Authority report that: "A study was commissioned to investigate the 'Islamic conspiracy dossier.' This dossier was compiled to defame a renowned Muslim scholar and was presented to British officials in an attempt to prevent a renowned Muslim scholar, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, from entering Britain to participate in a London conference. The report found that "nearly all the distortions came from material produced by the MEMRI."[22]
Translation inaccuracy
The accuracy of MEMRI's translations is sometimes disputed.[23][24][5][21][25]. For example, a controversy arose over MEMRI's translation of the Arabic words "ay wilayah" in the 2004 Osama bin Laden video. Osama bin Laden's statement was widely translated as: "Every state that does not toy with our security has automatically guaranteed its own security".[26] The US media in general translated "state" as nation-state, and viewed Bin Laden's statement as a warning to the US to stop intervening in the Middle East in order to guarantee US security[23]. But MEMRI interpreted "state" in the sense of a US state rather than a nation-state. MEMRI's translation was widely reported since it differed from most earlier translations and since MEMRI's "Special Alert" published along with Bin Laden's speech the weekend before the 2004 presidential election stated that: "Osama bin Laden ... included a specific threat to 'each U.S. state,' designed to influence the outcome of the upcoming election against George W. Bush."[23] The media watchdog site mediamatters.org noted that: "MEMRI's translation has been challenged by a number of scholars and experts," of whom they quote Juan Cole, professor of modern Middle East History at the University of Michigan; Omer Taspinar, a foreign policy studies research fellow at the Brookings Institution; and Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert and director of the RAND Corp's Washington, D.C. office. They include Juan Cole's statement that bin Laden: "cannot possibly mean that he thinks Rhode Island is in a position to [trifle with Muslims' security]"[17][24] Brian Whitaker went even further, commenting that it was "a clever bit of election propoganda on MEMRI's part, implying that Bin Laden wanted Americans to vote for Kerry"[27]
Professor Halim Barakat of Georgetown University cited MEMRI's translations of his own articles as an example of such distortion: "Every time I wrote Zionism, MEMRI replaced the word by Jew or Judaism. They want to give the impression that I'm not criticizing Israeli policy, but that what I'm saying is anti-Semitic."[28]
On his blog for The Guardian, Brian Whitaker wrote that in a translation of a Hamas video showing Farfur, a Mickey-mouse figure, eliciting political comments from a young girl, the MEMRI transcript misrepresents the segment, by attributing a sentence said by the mouse figure ("I'll shoot") to the child, and ignoring the child's statement ("I'm going to draw a picture") [29] Also, where MEMRI translates the girl as saying "We will annihilate the Jews", Whitaker and others, including Arabic speakers used by CNN, insist that based on careful listening to the low quality video clip, the girl is variously interpreted as saying, "The Jews will[are] shoot[ing at] us" or "The Jews are killing us."[30] Whitaker concluded: "The effect of this is to devalue everything Memri translates - good and bad alike. Responsible news organisations can't rely on anything it says without going back and checking its translations against the original Arabic." [29]
May be Agakhan and his followers are part of this Anti Arab CABAL
-
Muslim First
- Posts: 6893
- Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2001 4:01 am
Re: Wahhabi Quandary....
TurboochLaila Lalami has written that, "There are three general observations that can be made about MEMRI's work. One is that it consistently picks the most violent, hateful rubbish it can find, translates it and distributes it in e-mail newsletters to media and members of Congress in Washington. The second is that MEMRI does not translate comparable articles published in Israel, although the country is not only a part of the Middle East but an active party to some of its most searing conflicts. For instance, when the right-wing Israeli politician Effi Eitam referred to Israel's Palestinian citizens as a "cancer," MEMRI did not pick up this story. The third is that this organization is now the main source of media articles on the region of Islam, a far greater and far more diverse whole than the individual countries it lists."[19]
Shame on you and your God for being tool of Zionist propaganda
Re: Wahhabi Quandary....
MF QUOTE:
"Turbooch
Shame on you and your God for being tool of Zionist propaganda"
The God of Turbo happens to be the same God you and I and every self confessing muslim bows down to regardless of sect. And that my friend is no other than Allah.
So essentially you are saying Shame on Allah? (nauzubillah).
I would take my words back quickly and repent to Allah before its too late.
"Turbooch
Shame on you and your God for being tool of Zionist propaganda"
The God of Turbo happens to be the same God you and I and every self confessing muslim bows down to regardless of sect. And that my friend is no other than Allah.
So essentially you are saying Shame on Allah? (nauzubillah).
I would take my words back quickly and repent to Allah before its too late.
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Muslim First
- Posts: 6893
- Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2001 4:01 am
Re: Wahhabi Quandary....
Br. Pardesi
Yopur god is called Ali
Allah is God for Muslim
.
Yopur god is called Ali
Allah is God for Muslim
.
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turbocanuck
- Posts: 1531
- Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2003 4:01 am
Re: Wahhabi Quandary....
TurboochOriginally posted by Muslim First:
Shame on you and your God for being tool of Zionist propaganda[/QB][/QUOTE]
Dear moron forever, did i sense you crying? you seemed distraught. did i touch a nerve? sorry for hurting your feeling......but dont go around whacking your womenfolk in retaliation. you idiots like to take it out on women when cornered
hey how about a week at the canadian peace village? all inclusive? -
turbocanuck
- Posts: 1531
- Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2003 4:01 am
Re: Wahhabi Quandary....
Dear MF,
it doesnt matter what MEMRI has said, or whether they are a mouthpiece of the Zionists. what is on that report IS true whether Wahhabi thugs like it or not. and what they have mentioned is the Jihadi website called "al-ekhlaas". Now dont tell me that the terrorist sites like "al-ekhlaas and Haq chaar yaar" are a figment of Zionist imagination? what a dummy!!!
it doesnt matter what MEMRI has said, or whether they are a mouthpiece of the Zionists. what is on that report IS true whether Wahhabi thugs like it or not. and what they have mentioned is the Jihadi website called "al-ekhlaas". Now dont tell me that the terrorist sites like "al-ekhlaas and Haq chaar yaar" are a figment of Zionist imagination? what a dummy!!!
Re: Wahhabi Quandary....
Ah! Thanks for your guidance. I thought Ali was one of Allah's names?Originally posted by Muslim First:
Br. Pardesi
Yopur god is called Ali
Allah is God for Muslim
.
You know darn well what is the status of Ali among Shias and that Ali, the person, is not god of the Shias. Keep beating the same old drum, you will not get any attention on that subject.
Re: Wahhabi Quandary....
May be Agakhan and his followers are part of this Anti Arab CABAL
Did not take long for the judge, the jury and the executioner to pass judgement! Maybe the hadith collection was ruled sahih in the same quick time eh?Shame on you and your God for being tool of Zionist propaganda
Re: Wahhabi Quandary....
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Originally posted by Muslim First:
"Yopur god is called Ali
Allah is God for Muslim"
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ali(RA) is not the GOD of anyone, he is wasi of Rasulallah (SAW.
BUT its for your that your type has taken Abdul wahab more serious than Rasul or his Ahl and take pride in killing the followers of islam (Including those who follow 5 pillars).
Originally posted by Muslim First:
"Yopur god is called Ali
Allah is God for Muslim"
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ali(RA) is not the GOD of anyone, he is wasi of Rasulallah (SAW.
BUT its for your that your type has taken Abdul wahab more serious than Rasul or his Ahl and take pride in killing the followers of islam (Including those who follow 5 pillars).
Re: Wahhabi Quandary....
correction :
" BUT its for your that your type has"
Read As : BUT its people of your type who have
" BUT its for your that your type has"
Read As : BUT its people of your type who have