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Add to NewsvineFavog discovers, to his chagrin, that our alma mater in journalism, the LSU Daily Reveille, allowed itself to be mau-mau'd by a Muslim student into giving her a column, which she used to proselytize for Islam. As the student herself writes in Shirien Elmasraya's farewell dispatch on the newspaper's online edition:
Anyway, I applied, got called for an interview and then alhamdulillah I got the job. And that started my work in mass dawah [evangelization -- RD]. Which wallahi has been such a blessing from the very beginning. However, you have to have a strong heart when speaking the truth about Islam. Don’t sugar coat things, don’t fall under the pressure of those around you.Wallahi I can’t tell you all how many times I got people saying “Write about something else!” and subhanallah for a brief moment you think about it… then you realize that you are doing this purely for the sake of Allah and I figured if they fire me for not wanting to write about anything other than Islam, then so be it. But they actually loved the readers I would bring and the hits I would bring to the website too, alhamdulillah.
Anyway, so it’s been a good time. I’ve seen a lot of results coming from my columns. People seeing the truth about Islam, new members to our community, changing people’s perceptions; all by the tawfeeq of Allah.
So without further adieu, my last column for the Daily Reveille (I don’t want to re-apply). This column sums up my final message to all the non-Muslims out there- Pick up the Quran and be enlightened, literally...
Now, just imagine a state college newspaper giving a column to a fundamentalist Christian who uses it solely for the purpose of evangelization. Wouldn't happen. Shouldn't happen. But anything can be justified in the name of diversity. Ms. Elmasraya may be a pushy activist with a one-track mind, and a mediocre, jargon-dependent writer to boot, but the lady obviously knows a thing or two about how American newsrooms work. I predict she'll go far.
UPDATE: My error -- Elmasraya's admission that she used her column for evangelistic purposes was made on her private website, not the newspaper's.
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Comments
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She can be offended all she wants. But her censorious attitude of going to the editor and complaining demonstrates that she's uncomfortable with free expression.
Posted by: Scott in PA | May 7, 2008 11:57 AM
>>>>
But isn't going to the editor and complaining ALSO an example of free expression?
And doesn't providing her a space for her writings facilitate the exchange of ideas that is considered by most to be a Good Thing in the Marketplace of Ideas?
Posted by: John E. | May 7, 2008 12:33 PM
But isn't going to the editor and complaining ALSO an example of free expression?
No. That’s an example of complaining that someone is exercising free expression. You’re probably one of those who think that the people shouting down the man at the podium are “ALSO” exercising free expression.
As for her column, I don’t have a problem with its existence, if the terms of her engagement involved a column that essentially proselytizes the Islamic faith. Though I do consider that unusual even for liberal university papers.
Posted by: Scott in PA | May 7, 2008 1:03 PM
I just read the two columns Rod linked to -- as far as the "hijab" challenge is concerned, I have to say that I rarely ever hear Muslim women who wear hijab mount a strong defense their sisters who decline to wear it. Their position seems to be more like the American women at the turn of the previous century who used to insist that they "enjoyed being on the pedestal and didn't need the vote."
The question is not whether some Muslim women choose to wear hijab. The question is whether those who choose not to our subjected to peer pressure (or worse) by their fellow Muslims.
Posted by: Alicia | May 7, 2008 1:23 PM
Posting in a hurry, sorry for the typos.
Posted by: Alicia | May 7, 2008 1:25 PM
>>>No. That’s an example of complaining that someone is exercising free expression.
No, it is an example of someone complaining about the content that someone is expressing.
>>>You’re probably one of those who think that the people shouting down the man at the podium are “ALSO” exercising free expression.
Some places that is - Speaker's Corner in London's Hyde Park, for example.
But that didn't happen in this case, did it? The cartoonist got to express an opinion, the Muslim woman got to express her opinion, everyone's happy...
Except for Scott in PA. Why is that?
Posted by: John E. | May 7, 2008 1:26 PM
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