Word: emerson
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This past week, in an exchange on a public list-serve, Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR's director of communications, instructed local students on how best to respond to Emerson's appearance. At one point during the correspondence, Hooper suggested that picket signs might not be an effective tactic. A student at the University of Massachusetts at Boston protested "I really liked the one which said: 'Steven Emerson: Another Zionist Puppet...
Regardless of whether the angry students at Wednesday's lecture wish to believe that Emerson is in fact a "zionist puppet," his documentary stands on its own. First, it is essential to point out that the film begins and ends with explicit statements acknowledging that the overwhelming majority of Muslims are not associated with militant groups. In the body of his work, Emerson presents direct recordings--the authenticity of which have never been disputed--of Islamic fundamentalists meeting on American soil, often under the guise of benign humanitarian or cultural banners, celebrating the use of violence against Westerners...
...documentary's ultimate message is simple and forthright: Islam as a religion does not condone violence. Everyone's rights must surely be protected. But, there is a legitimate danger posed by militant groups who claim to act in the name of a distorted version of Islam. Our challenge, as Emerson states it in the film, is to find a way of "combating these groups within the boundaries of the Constitution...
What, then, if you cut through all the uproar, is the precise objection to Emerson and his project? One woman explained to me that she was offended by his use of the term "Islamic terrorist" because it stigmatized an entire people. Never mind that the term is concretely accurate--there are terrorists who claim to act in the name of Islam. Another argued that the use of Arabic chanting in the documentary demonized the Arabic language. The chants in question were in fact calls to violence, naturally spoken in the language that these militants speak. Another man argued that Emerson...
Another more chilling explanation for the opposition to Emerson presented itself in the remarks of two other attendees. They attacked him for "not properly contextualizing" the fundamentalist activity he was chronicling--as if an exploration of the Middle Eastern political quagmire might somehow justify the slaughter of innocent civilians. Emerson responded by pointing out what should have been obvious: Terrorism of any brand, born of any motivation, is abhorrent. Within the constraints of a one-hour broadcast there was no reason to seek excuses for murderers...