| Part one | Part two | Part three |
Part four
I sat in on our editorial meeting at Wisconsin Public Radio two days after I attended the Eid al Fitr at the Sheraton Madison Hotel in Wisconsin. Jean Feraca, executive producer and the host of Here on Earth, Radio Without Borders talked about a program she wanted to prepare for the Inside Islam series.
The Global Studies at the University of Wisconsin supported and funded the Inside Islam series to feature informative stories about Islam and Muslims. We broadcast social and educational stories about Muslims that included Arab literature, Islamic art, music, and poetry. Jean was pitching a program. I cannot remember what she was talking about. But I can remember I was so angry.
“Why didn’t we have any stories about Eid al Fitr?” I said, interrupting her in the middle of her conversation. “What?” she said. “I was at the Eid al-Fitr ceremony two days ago. It was at the Sheraton Madison Hotel at John Nolen Drive. There was no reporter or anyone to write about the celebration,” I said. “But, God forbid if we had a terrorist attack attributed to Muslims, we would have been spending our time covering ‘terrorism,’” I said, gesturing my fingers around my head to create a coma for the word “terrorism.”
The timing here was around August 2012. The United States ended its war against Iraq a few months earlier in Dec. 2011. By then, we all knew that George W. Bush lied about Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction to launch its invasion.
By marketing his new “war on terror,” Bush inflamed public hostility against Muslims.
“We would invite experts to unfold the terrorism stories for us, or we would host Muslims to prove their innocence for any alleged terrorist attacks, or we would read out from the State Department’s statements about condemning terrorism. But, when it comes to showing happiness among Muslims, we are shut,” I said.
The room got so quiet. I could hear the gentle tap of Reem’s, our Inside Islam series producer, pen on the table. She suddenly stopped the tapping. There were five people in the room. No one was speaking for several seconds.
Finally, Reem, a hijab-wearing PhD student in Middle Eastern studies at the University of Wisconsin, came to Jean’s rescue. “Maybe we can work on a program to address Sara’s concern,” she said. “I know two writers, really eloquent, who have their book out about Islamophobia. We can invite them to talk about their book and discuss Islamophobia and the direction the media takes toward Muslims,” she said.
I could see Jean’s expression. She was breathing again. “Yeah, I think it is a good idea. What do you know about them?” Jean asked. “I heard about them in one of my classes. Let me dig in more and get back to you tomorrow,” Reem said.
The room was still quiet. We continued talking with a lower voice.
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