Word Search of Incitement
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From a word game in the July 22, 2005 edition of The Muslim Link, an English-language bi-weekly paper serving the Baltimore and Washington, DC metro areas:
- Iraqi City where scores of Muslims die everyday [sic] from civil strife that started as a result of the US invasion (7) — Baghdad
- Manned by US soldiers who frequently fire on innocent people trying to drive through these 'gates' (10) — Checkpoint
- No. VA Islamic scholar and cancer phD [sic] researcher given life sentence for speaking freely (8) — Altimimi
- This 'blockade' enforced by the US around Iraq after the first Gulf war killed 2 million Iraqi children (starts with s, ends with s, 9 letters total) — sanctions
Otherwise, it's pretty much your typical community newspaper — ads for real estate agents, restaurant reviews, tsunami relief donation forms, youth basketball league results — but, wow.
Ali Al-Timimi did "speak freely"; according to members of his audience, he encouraged them to travel abroad and fight US troops, less than one week after 9/11. He claims that he simply encouraged US Muslims to emigrate.
update I've been LGF'd!
update Here's the Muslim Link website, if you want to contact them.
" _____ city where scores of ____ die everyday [sic] from ______ that started as a result of _______. "
hmmm...this could be an interesting blog entry ya got there, Joe.
I vote for (California, honkies, rioting, the Rodney King verdict).
Yes, I'm making fun of the muslim community. This is almost like the National Enquirer or something. One day its "Elvis ghost seen at GraceLand", and the next day its "Elvis spotted in retirement home."
Either Elvis is dead or he ain't, folks. The same type of thing applies here. I'm beginning to believe that you can be either Muslim or American - but not both (e.g. good Muslim *or* good American).
Sorry, 9 cups of espresso makes me ramble...back to work...
Posted by: Bubba on August 1, 2005 3:09 PM | permalinkWell, it probably should come as no surprise that I disagree with you. I don't think the Muslim-American community is irredeemably anti-American. I grew up with plenty of Muslim kids (mostly from Pakistan) who were no less American than me.
I am, however, alarmed by how casual and overtly hostile towards the US it is. This kind of stuff should at least be confined to the Op/Ed section.
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on August 1, 2005 3:17 PM | permalink"tsunami relief donation forms"
Maybe whoever read the original article should place a tip at the FBI website.
How about this crossword puzzle?
" _____ people who _____ like _____ and wear _____ over their heads, who ____ themselves up in a ______ bombing, are called ________.
The answers?
Smelly
pray
scumbags
burqas
blow
suicide
Muslims.
Posted by: Gordon Jones on August 1, 2005 7:01 PM | permalinkCylinder:
I don't believe the puzzle's authors did anything illegal; I just think it's entirely in appropriate.
Gordon:
That kind of approach isn't going to be very persuasive; I think it's a crude characterization of a large and complex group.
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on August 1, 2005 7:11 PM | permalinkJoe:
I was not suggesting it was illegal - the editorial tone makes the charity donation appeal, IMO, worthy of scrutiny. It is these types of tips that forensic accountants work from. Most probably it is innocent.
Posted by: Cylinder on August 1, 2005 9:08 PM | permalinkCylinder:
FWIW, the charity plea was an ad on the back page. The inflamatory puzzle was part of the actual content, in the middle of the paper. Sorry if that wasn't clear.
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on August 1, 2005 10:18 PM | permalinkUnfortunatly it doesn't surprise me.
There are morons everywhere.
I can only hope that, for some odd reason, the puzzle didn't ever get checked by the editor, and now, please, he will check it. And, hopefully, will issue an appology.
Posted by: Kearns on August 4, 2005 11:36 PM | permalinkIt was just really jarring.
I mean it was literally like "youth basketball scores, prayer times for this month, Arabic classes, restaurant reviews, ooh a word game ... holy crap!"
Posted by: Joe Grossberg on August 5, 2005 7:22 AM | permalinkNo more comments! Either someone has violated Godwin's Law, I'm tired of the discussion or, most likely, the ten-week window has closed. You can, however, contact me through email.