ADC protest ‘Christians under seige’ series

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, appeal, 30 October 1998

ADC is protesting the blatant and extreme anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias which characterizes the five-part series “Christians Under Siege,” which is running on the front page of this week's Oregonian newspaper. The Oregonian, which is one of the largest newspapers in the country, is featuring lengthy articles purporting to document the persecution of Christians in 5 countries—Pakistan, Burma, Sudan, Egypt and China. On the Internet, the series can be viewed at URL: <http://www.oregonlive.com/series/christians.html>.

The series is openly tied to the so-called International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, which has been driven by a profoundly anti-Muslim and anti-Arab agenda. The Oregonian articles rely heavily on information from right-wing evangelical groups such as Christian Freedom International, Christian Solidarity International, and the Luis Palau organization, and display a rampant anti-Islamic and anti-Arab bias. This small sample of some the articles gives a sense of their tone:

“With Swiss-based Christian Solidarity International, an anti-persecution group, we chartered a flight to the hot, dusty battle zone of southern Sudan to witness the redemption of black Christians enslaved in a conflict their enemies call a jihad, or holy war.”

“In Cairo, Egypt, we heard the gospel boldly preached to Muslims by Beaverton-based evangelist Luis Palau. We then traveled south to terrorist-laden villages to investigate claims that Christian girls were being forced to convert to Islam.”

ADC's national office and local chapters are challenging this one-sided and distorted Oregonian series, which makes little effort to include the voices of mainstream Arab Christian communities and reflects instead the anti-Islamic fervor of some western evangelical missionaries. It represents one of the worst distortions in recent US media of religious life in the Arab world.

We need to strongly object to these unethical and bigoted articles, not only to correct the record and ensure that the Oregonian understands our concerns, but also to help prevent the widespread syndication of the series.

PLEASE WRITE TO: the Oregonian at 1320 Southwest Broadway, Portland, OR 97201, email to oped@news.oregonian.com or call (503) 221-8150.

For more information, please contact ADC. Please cc any letters or emails to ADC.