Pirate's Cove

Something a little closer to home

Wake County residents in three ZIP codes will find a DVD about Islam bundled in their issues of The News & Observer today, as Muslim residents initiate a public relations effort to counteract a controversial DVD distributed in the paper in September.

Today’s DVD,”The Fog is Lifting: Islam in Brief,” was produced by an Egyptian nonprofit group intent on explaining Islam to non-Muslims. It offers an orthodox defense of Islamic precepts and theology without engaging in issues such as politics or terrorism.

“If the media keeps presenting a certain stereotype, people need to see the other side,” said Mona Dakrouri, an Egyptian-American living in Cary, who was trained to speak to interfaith groups by the Bridges Foundation, which produced the DVD.

The three area codes they are being sent to, 27606, 27607, and 27511 are interesting. Why pick those?

“It’s a full-throated defense of the tradition in which Islam is presented as the perfect egalitarian, scientific, pluralistic, modern religion that doesn’t have the flaws of all the other religions,” said Omid Safi, a professor of religion at UNC-Chapel Hill. “It remains to be seen if it will be seen as preaching to the choir, or if will succeed in persuading people outside the Muslim community.”

Who is Omid Safi? Why not check this post at Jihad Watch to learn a bit more. And, yes, he is the same one. He used to teach at Colgate.

You know what would impress me more, other then talking points on a slickly produced DVD? How about more of the so-called moderate Muslims standing up and refuting the Islamic extremism done in the name of their religion? How about demonstrations in the streets calling for Muslims to put down their bombs, to stop beheading people with dull blades, to stop trying to annihilate the nation of Israel, to stop hanging gays and stoning people, to stop whipping rape victims, and, oh yes, to stop flying planes into buildings. Among others.