We, the undersigned, as believing muslim men and women, citizens of the United States of America, or members of the CNN wider viewing public outside the United States, do hereby protest the continued and deliberate public denouncement and defamation of islamic principles, beliefs and practices, conveyed in whole or in part by CNN (An AOL Time Warner Company) in its programs or by its operatives, guests, and spokes persons.

CNN has an obligation to provide clear and concise news and information to the viewing public consistent with world events. CNN also has an obligation to provide responsible journalistic coverage of events that does not deliberately alienate, exclude, and segregate the viewing public based upon race, ethnicity or creed.

In the advent of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, CNN coverage of world events, specifically for the near and middle east, have increasingly projected a distorted view of the rights of muslim women in islam with regard to the dress of muslim women, particularly the full and partial face veil known as "burkah" and "niqab".

CNN has failed to provide balance in reporting to enable the viewing public to discern the difference between a woman's choice to wear the veil and women forced to wear the veil. This has resulted in the false perception of the largely-uninformed viewing public in every aspect of american society believing that every traditional form of dress for muslim women is a sign of the oppression of women. This is a grossly inaccurate and false perception perpetuated by the media which threatens the freedom of movement of American muslim women who wear traditional forms of dress, and who wear the face veil by choice, by inhibiting their inalienable right to freely practice their religious beliefs through creating an atmosphere of harrasment, intimidation and hostility for women that freely choose to practice this part of their religion.

Hundreds upon thousands of American muslim women from all ethnic backgrounds and walks of life freely choose to wear the traditional dress of muslim women, including the face veil (burkah or niqab), many of whom are unmarried women, as an expression of modesty and increased religious devotion.

The subject of this grievance and petition is the causal relationship between biased representation in the media of muslim women and the resulting inaccurate public perception of muslim women. This case was made painfully evident in the CNN December 14, 2001 segment of "Talk Back Live", during which talk show host Leon Harris ridiculed American taliban John Walker for converting to a belief that requires women to "walk around with rugs covering their faces up.

Aside from the incredibly caustic nature of Mr. Harris' remark, one could objectively understand Mr. Harris' ignorance of islamic customs and beliefs. This in no way minimizes the overtly offensive and insulting nature of Mr. Harris' comment for muslim women in America (as well as other parts of the islamic world with access to CNN broadcasts) that voluntarily choose to wear the face veil (burkah and niqab) and cover their faces in public.

Similarly, would Mr. Harris or any of his panel of guests been permitted to make degrading comments about the religious dress of a catholic nun on national television, or scrutinize the gender-based policies of the catholic vatican based on the alleged crimes committed by a roman catholic criminal suspect?

Further injury was added to insult when during the same segment, a guest panelist, former U.S. congressman and syndicated radio talk show host Robert Dornan, used racially-offensive language in comparing Jesus of Nazarene to Prophet Muhammad of Arabia during his criticism of the father of John Walker, American taliban, for letting Walker "give up Jesus for a camel driver with 9 wives". The use of the term "camel jockey" is a well-known, racially offensive slur directed toward arabs. The offensive reference to polygyny, a practice which neither originated in nor is limited to islam and muslims was a deliberate ethnic slur.

Nonetheless, Mr. Harris continued to address Mr. Dornan as "senator", extending the utmost respect to his public service, as the "senator", to the shock and dismay of the viewing public, continued to make offensive remarks and to show the utmost degree of disrespect for the religious beliefs of more the 6 million american muslims, virtually uninterrupted and unfettered.

At no time did CNN or its staff see fit to effectively intervene to curtail Mr. Dornan's hate speech directed toward muslims. Since Mr. Dornan was a guest speaker, and given a platform on national television from which to express his islamophobic hate speech, he had the implied endorsement of CNN to do so as a result. By so doing, Mr. Dornan committed an intentional act of racial and religious discrimination by creating an atmosphere of hostility for the arab and muslim members of the viewing public.

In light of this event, we, the undersigned, protest the undermining and circumscription of our religious freedom and islamic beliefs through the endorsement of or complicity with religious and racially-offensive hate speech delivered by CNN spokes persons, guest speakers, and staff.

We, the muslim men and women undersigned here in, do specifically protest the continuing derrogatory, degrading, and absolutely false portrayal of the traditional dress of muslim women by the media as a sign of the oppression of muslim women.

We pray for the relief and rectification of this great wrong to the world's second largest religion being committed by the media and request the following:

1. An official and public retractment and apology broadcast in a future Talk Back Live segment and posted at the Talk Back Live web page from CNN anchorman Leon Harris for the ethnically offensive statement he made December 14, 2001, heretofore referenced above;

2. An official and public retractment and apology broadcast in a future Talk Back Live segment and posted at the Talk Back Live web page, solicited by CNN from former U.S. congressman Robert Dornan, for the racially and ethnically offensive statements he made, unfettered and uninterrupted by CNN staff, while a guest speaker in the CNN program segment which aired December 14, 2001;

3. A concerted and conscientious effort to include the voices of american muslim women and american muslims in general in CNN programs and news coverage to offer a more broad-based perspective of muslim views, beliefs, and principles, particularly regarding islam in America and in light of the September 11 attacks.

4. A concerted and conscientious effort on behalf of CNN to control racially and ethnically offensive remarks made by CNN spokes persons, staff, and speakers.


Respectfully submitted by the undersigned: