WNYC radio host Brian Lehrer is progressive. He reflects liberal Manhattan values and he takes on rightwingers on countless issues, gun control, gay rights, feminism, economic justice. But not when it comes to the Middle East. Last week Lehrer did an interview with a woman who supports the mosque at Ground Zero. Daisy Khan, executive director for the American Society for Muslim Advancement, is married to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is leading the mosque plans; and anti-Muslim prejudice suffused Lehrer’s interview. He channeled Rick Lazio, the Republican candidate for N.Y. governor, who has made attacks on the Cordoba mosque a centerpiece of his campaign.
For her part, Khan said, "Muslims want to be part of the rebuilding of lower Manhattan… We have felt the impact of 9/11 more than other people have…" The mosque reflects the Muslims’ struggle for acceptance in America.
Lehrer repeatedly doubted this message of tolerance.
He quoted the New York Post saying that the imam has ties to Perdana, the Malaysian charity that helped float the "pro-Palestinian activists" of the Gaza flotilla. Lehrer treated the flotilla as a kind of terrorist action aimed at supporting Hamas. Nine passengers "died" on the flotilla, Lehrer said, erasing the Israeli commando action.
Khan dissociated herself and her husband from Perdana, saying that he had merely attended one conference the group organized.
"You don’t donate money to this organization?" Lehrer went on. Then he said, "Imam refused to condemn Hamas as a terrorist organization…"
Khan said her husband wasn’t a politician, and has dedicated his life to peace-building. "His position on Hamas is very clear. He hates the actions of terrorists, whether it’s Hamas or any other group…." He has received the support of Christian groups and Jewish groups and is associated with the peace-in-the-Middle-East group, One Voice. We are, she said, an "amplifier for the moderate Muslim voice."
Lehrer: "Do he and you stick by a refusal to label Hamas a terrorist organization, as the State Department does?"
"I think I will personally.. have no problem with condemning them… as I personally think they commit acts of terror."
Joseph Glatzer adds: "Do you condemn Hamas as a terrorist organization?" is the new McCarthyist question "Are you a communist?" Notice this is the same question being asked of the Muslim girl when David Horowitz gave that speech at the college. I’m sure there’s numerous other examples of this litmus test
