"There is nothing “violent” in this peaceful ritual. CBC’s choice to (i) open the article with Levant’s quote, “they're worried about violence and they have every right to be” and (ii) give undue prominence in the entire first half of the article to the owner of Rebel News Network despite his involvement in this Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian incident AND without adding a Muslim or Palestinian perspective perpetuates misconceptions about Islam and unfairly associates peaceful religious acts with unwarranted fear."
June 21, 2024
To:
Nancy Waugh, Managing Editor, CBC News
Paul Moore, Senior Advisor for Journalistic Standards and Language, CBC News
Brodie Fenlon, News Editor in Chief, CBC News
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express my concerns regarding your recent article: “Truck with anti-Muslim messaging registered to Rebel News Network”, published by CBC News on June 20, 2024.
The article was reporting on the truck that was seen in Toronto showing a video asking “Is this Yemen? Is this Syria? Is this Iraq?” and then proceeded to show images of Muslims praying, followed by the text declaring, “Wake up Canada. You are under siege”. As rightly pointed out by Amira Elghawaby, the federal government’s Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia, this incident is a blatant attempt to portray Canadian Muslims and communal prayer as threatening and dangerous.
First, as a Muslim, I found the article deeply unfair to read, as CBC chose to begin with a quote from the individual who is taking responsibility for the blatantly Islamophobic ad, Ezra Levant, the owner of Rebel News Network.
He says, “They're worried about violence and they have every right to be.” Praying is one of the 5 pillars of Islam where we pray to Allah (God) 5 times a day to show our gratitude and to commune with him. Before praying, it is an obligation to perform “wudu” which is a purification procedure for cleansing parts of the body. There is nothing “violent” in this peaceful ritual. CBC’s choice to (i) open the article with Levant’s quote, “they're worried about violence and they have every right to be” and (ii) give undue prominence in the entire first half of the article to the owner of Rebel News Network despite his involvement in this Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian incident AND without adding a Muslim or Palestinian perspective perpetuates misconceptions about Islam and unfairly associates peaceful religious acts with unwarranted fear.
CBC’s decision to structure the article in this way, with someone perpetuating hateful rhetoric at the top where they can define the narrative, constitutes the prejudicial placement of a viewpoint. I, therefore, recommend that CBC add the perspective of a Muslim or Palestinian affected by this hateful incident before Ezra Levant to resolve this issue.
It is hard to imagine another scenario where someone accused of a possible hate crime is invited to speak first and define the issue.
Along the same lines, whether unintentional or deliberate, burying the comments from The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and Amira Elghawaby, Canada's Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia to the end of the article further marginalizes Palestinian and Muslim narratives. It is crucial for CBC to ensure that reporting is balanced and does not inadvertently amplify the voices of those who spread hate or discrimination. As CBC well knows, many readers will only read the start of the article and never make it to the end.
I again recommend that CBC starts the article with perspectives that uphold the dignity and rights of the Muslim and Palestinian communities affected. This could include quoting Amira Elghawaby at the beginning of the article instead of burying her comments towards the end.
I hope CBC implements the recommendations I suggested and prevents similar issues from arising in future reporting on Islamophobia and ant-Palestinian racism.
Lynn Naji,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East