covers Header

Monday, May 16, 2005

Holy Shit, Newsweek!

Click to Send Postcard

If one can verify a basic fact
One need not all their words retract
As the finger pointers throw rock and stone
The truth, no doubt, will stand alone
Quran, Torah, Bible too
The sacred versus boil and stew
An image abroad was a long time lost
With the Iraqi war at any cost
Guantanamo sunshine, Abu Ghraib rain
Let liberty languish, let freedom drain
America sweetheart, to whom do you lie?
Islam, darling, how much do you deny?
Christian soldiers and violent crusades
Jihad beheadings with unsharpened blades
The religion of politics is rotten to the core
Judicial pretense under the guise of law
Verses that instruct how to kill and to die
Deserve their fate, whether truth or lie
And if I am wrong, then help me I pray
By proving and acting, not worsening the fray

RELATED ANNOY.COM COVERS

Diplomatic Immunity
January 31, 2005

Just Ice
December 7, 2004

Mandated Morality
November 24, 2004

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
October 7, 2004

Like Apple Fucking Pie
June 5, 2004

Behooded!
May 26, 2004

Person of the Year
May 11, 2004

End Game
October 10, 2002

Faith Based
March 14, 2002

Qibla Quibblers
Janaury 30, 2002

NOISE

The damage-control efforts by Newsweek followed criticism by White House spokesman Scott McClellan, who called it "puzzling" that Newsweek, in his view, had "stopped short of a retraction."

"That story has damaged the image of the United States abroad and damaged the credibility of the media at home," McClellan said in an interview. He said that Americans, including President Bush, "share in the outrage that this report was published in the first place."

Whitaker said in the interview that Newsweek is "still trying to ascertain" whether there is any evidence that such a Koran incident took place, as some detainees have alleged. Last year, four former British detainees charged in a lawsuit that Guantanamo guards not only beat and stripped them but also threw prisoners' Korans into a toilet.

Howard Kurtz, Newsweek Retracts Guantanamo Story, Washington Post, May 17, 2005


For centuries, Islamic philosophers have been telling the story of the "Satanic Verses." These are verses that the Prophet Muhammad reportedly accepted as authentic entries into the Quran. Later, he realized that these passages deify heathen idols rather than God Himself. So he belatedly rejected the verses, blaming them on a trick played by Satan. Which means that the Prophet Muhammad edited the Quran.

Let's push the point further. If pious Muslims emulate Prophet Muhammad's life, then those who compiled and organized the Quran's verses after the Prophet's death might very well have followed his example of editing along the way. The compilers were, after all, only human -- as human as Muhammad himself was. Moreover, they collected the Quran's verses from sundry surfaces such as leaves, stones and tree bark. Is it not possible that errors could have infiltrated the process of pulling together the "official" Quran?

In asking this question, I'm not impugning the wisdom of the Quran or inviting another fatwa on my life. I'm suggesting that Muslims have to get comfortable asking such questions if we're going to avoid the further desecration of human life. Jalalabad's riots have resulted in several attacks on innocent people, including aid workers. How does this benefit the cause of dignity -- for anyone?

Irshad Manji, The Riots in Jalalabad, The Huffington Post, May 16, 2005





CLINTON FEIN ABU GHRAIB IMAGES DESTROYED BY PRINING COMPANY:

Corporate Policy Leads to Political Censorship
By Molouk Y. Ba-Isa
Arab News
January 11, 2005

Artist and advocate Clinton Fein has his controversial images destroyed prior to exhibition
By Kresta Tyler Johnson
ArtThrob Magazine
November 4, 2004

Printer rebels at artist's imagery
By Louise Roug
The Los Angeles Times
October 13, 2004

2 of Clinton Fein's political works run afoul of his printer's policies
By Kenneth Baker
The San Francisco Chronicle
October 12, 2004

Annoy.com Webmaster says war art censored
By Paul Festa
CNET/News.com
October 6, 2004

Print shop refuses to release political images
By Jack Fischer
San Jose Mercury News
October 6, 2004

Local Artist Censored: Printing Company Refuses To Release Abu Ghraib Images For Exhibition
Not In Our Name Press Release
October 5, 2004

 
search      

© Copyright 1997-2024 ApolloMedia Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
annoy.com Site Information