Newsweek and the Afghanistan Riots

Re “Do Riots Save Islam’s Honor?” Commentary, May 17: There are more than a billion people worldwide who look at the Koran, the holy book of Islam, as a part of their identity. It is no surprise to hear that people across the globe were outraged by hearing that the words of God were literally being flushed down the toilet. So to read that Irshad Manji is attempting to speak on the behalf of all Muslims and call into question this legitimate reaction from the Muslim world is outrageous.

Manji attempts to blame the Muslims for the deaths that have occurred in light of the recent headlines. Yet she fails to acknowledge that those who have died in the protests of Afghanistan have died at the hands of their pro-American government. So perhaps rather than pointing a finger at the Muslims, we should try something new and take blame for our mistakes.

Rama Sabeh

Anaheim

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Although it seems that Newsweek violated its own guidelines in the way it reported the story, it is a gross oversimplification to suggest that its article caused the riots. A significant body of research has established that riots have long-standing structural causes, such as pervasive discrimination, poverty and shifting power dynamics. Research shows that riots do tend to have triggering events -- such as the report of Guantanamo abuses -- but these events only explain the timing of the riot.

The structural conditions contributing to tremendous enmity in the Muslim world toward U.S. policies persist. Newsweek’s editor, Mark Whitaker, was correct in characterizing the retracted article as “the match that lit a fire.”

Any number of events could have triggered these deadly riots, but the fuel was (and still is) there. If the Bush administration insists on ignoring this fact, our actions in the Middle East will continue to fail.

Betsy McEneaney

Asst. Prof. of Sociology

Cal State Long Beach

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Regarding Michael Ramirez’s May 17 editorial cartoon: I think that Newsweek should indeed apologize to the victims of the riots that it provoked. Right after the Bush administration apologizes to all the people who have been killed or maimed because of the numerous mistakes it has made in prosecuting this unnecessary war in Iraq, and perhaps takes back the medals it awarded to some of its top mistake-makers. That should keep Newsweek off the hook forever.

Matt Frey

Sierra Madre

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The May 17 editorial “Selective Outrage” states, “The more interesting question may not be how Newsweek goofed, but why the Muslim world is so ready to believe the story.” There is more to it than that. After the documented abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, the administration’s position that we do not have to observe the Geneva Convention, and its startling definitions of torture, how many of our own country’s citizens find the Newsweek story completely believable? It’s all consistent with the actions the U.S. has taken and is still taking. We should be concerned not only with how we are perceived by others but how we perceive ourselves.

Suzanne Fishman

Hermosa Beach

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Re “Newsweek Retracts Its Article on Koran,” May 17: First Dan Rather of CBS is caught with his political bias down and now this. Compared with the Newsweek story, what Rather and CBS did was merely “spiteful.” What Newsweek did not only incited rioting, killing many people, but it defamed our great nation worldwide.

This irresponsible article was more than spiteful; it borders on the criminal. It seems that the liberal media would take stock of themselves and curb their zeal to tarnish our president and his administration. Sticking to the truth would be a good first step.

Eugene F. Burns

La Habra