Newsweek's Retraction of the Holy Qur'an Story By Minhaj Qidwai

Newsweek's Retraction of the Holy Qur'an Story

By Minhaj Qidwai

Al-Jazeerah, May 23, 2005

Newsweek recently, retracted its story about the desecration of the Holy Qurيan. However, the contradictions in the statements from the Newsweek magazine, and the timing of withdrawal of the news, makes it apparent that the matter need a thorough analysis.

May 15th: We're not retracting anything. We don't know what the ultimate facts are. Newsweek editor Mark Whitaker (1)

May 16th: "Based on what we know now, we are retracting our original story that an internal military investigation had uncovered Qur'an abuse at Guantanamo Bay." Newsweek editor Mark Whitaker (1) May 17th: Michael Gawenda of Newsweek in an article titled ى Newsweek apologises for Koran storyî writes that ىA report that Islam's holy book was flushed down a toilet, which sparked fatal riots is inaccurateî. The Newsweek fully investigated the story and verified through various sources. Not ىaî source, and then printed the story. So, the reason of reporting inaccuracy, and retraction, is either the pressure from the American administration or the main source out of the sources, is so influential in the administration that his name could not be revealed, and will be kept as anonymous. This is a usual pattern. The sources that leak their news to the media make sure that their names are kept secret. But, this story did not have its base on a single source. So, if one source has refused to endorse the story, the fact remains that the incident happened, as informed by the other sources. Furthermore, this story also gained significance as it was coming for the first time from an official representative of the US Administration, which gave it a legal backing. Mr. Mark Whitaker of Newsweek said himself in an interview "The fact that a knowledgeable source within the U.S. government was telling us the government itself had knowledge of this was newsworthy," Whitaker said in an with Howard Kurtz (2)

The actual news published by Newsweek speaks itself the genuine nature of the story. The news was titled ىGitmo: SouthCom Showdownî, in the Newsweekيs May 9th issue. We must consider that the reporters for this news item consisted of Michael Isikoff and John Barry, who are reputed journalists. Michael Isikoff is an experienced investigative reporter. He made his bones breaking the Lewinsky scandal back in the 1990's. More recently, Isikoff and Barry won an Overseas Press Club award for their reporting on Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

The news which appeared in Newsweek goes like this, ىInvestigators probing interrogation abuses at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay have confirmed some infractions alleged in internal FBI e-mails that surfaced late last year. Among the previously unreported cases, ىsourcesî tell NEWSWEEK: interrogators, in an attempt to rattle suspects, flushed a Qur'an down a toilet and led a detainee around with a collar and dog leash. An Army spokesman confirms that 10 Gitmo interrogators have already been disciplined for mistreating prisoners, including one woman who took off her -------------.î On retraction, the Newsweek reported that the reporters, Michael Isikoff, and John Barry, had showed a draft of the article to the source and to a senior Pentagon official asking if it was correct. The source corrected one aspect of the article, which focused on the Southern Command's internal report on prisoner abuse. "But he was silent about the rest of the item,". This is an everyday occurrence in Washington. An "anonymous source" favours the media by exaggerating or even making up out of whole incident/s or quote that reflect badly on someone else. Who knows what this guy's axe is. The fact that the guy in this story is backtracking from his story immediately after the riots indeed raises the question "How could he be credible now?"

The retraction, appears to be an arm-twisting by the American administration after what happened in Afghanistan and Pakistan. And instead of telling the truth, the Newsweek while reporting retraction, blamed a Pakistani Cricketer turned politician Imran Khan of flaring up the issue. And that he was instrumental in sparking the rioting and the protests across large parts of that region, which later spread in the Muslim world. It is important to consider the current state of journalism in recent times in which journalists have been dismissed from US newspapers and television stations for a variety of sins including plagiarism, shabby research and the use of anonymous sources that turned out to be fictitious.

Not long ago, we had an apology from the New York Times on the news items that were published on the Weapons of Mass Destructions of Iraq that became the pretext of occupation of Iraq. Thousands of Iraqis and Americans have died, several disabled, and the impact on their families has not been even reported. But, New York Times had to support the administration, and the Neo-Cons. So, it depended for information from the defectors of Saddamيs regime, and went on trumpeting the false reports for Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. This reporting served the objective of occupation of Iraq. It secured contracts for the Haliburtonsي like companies.

So, there was no harm in apologizing after the objectives were achieved. Who cares for what has happened to a common man in Iraq, since the occupation? Dan Rather, NBC's long-time host of the evening news, stepped down several weeks ago after an investigation concluded that documents he had used for a report last year on President George Bush's service in the Texas National Guard were forgeries. So, the journalists need to be extra cautious what they are reporting, and be prepared to utter the name of their source, if required. Any story that is published should be thoroughly investigated and vetted before it is set for printing. And especially a story which can inflict heavy wounds like this on the Muslims, who are currently subjected to oppression and abuse.

The Newsweekيs story not only flared up the emotions of the Muslims, but also showed the geographical areas which represent the true Muslims. And those touched by this issue. However, there are writers like Irshad Manji, who will not understand how it feels to be a Muslim, in such a situation where the religion or the Holy Book is disrespected. In a recent article ىRiots and rage won't salvage Islam's honour Newsweek erred, but that doesn't justify violent protests and mayhem, says Irshad Manji. What! Is she a Muslim uttering these words. Why not to protest? She further questions ىStill, at least one more question needs to be asked: Even if the Qur'an was mistreated, are violent riots justified? What does she mean to say ىEven if the Qurيan was Mistreatedî. A Muslim respects Qurيan more than his life. Ms. Manji is probably affected more by the Non-Muslim Media and especially her brought up in a society where she was allowed to grow with her own view and ideas about Islam. For her, Qurيan may be merely a reading book, but for Muslims it is a Holy Book. And its desecration means something to them.

It is advised that she refrains from make such drastic comments on the Muslimيs Holy Book. May Allah guide Ms. Manji on the right path. So that she takes up the news of desecration of Holy Qurيan from the perspective of a Muslim, rather than a writer. The Western Media considering her as a Muslim, will bring her forward to create distortion about Qurيan. But it is upto the Muslims to make her realize the talent she has that can be used for glorifying Islam, rather than demonizing it. Journalism is defined as a discipline of collecting, verifying, reporting and analyzing information gathered regarding current events, including trends, issues and people. Those who practice journalism are known as journalists. If the people like Michael Isikoff, Mark Whitaker, and John Barry want themselves to be known as journalists, it is their responsibility to tell the truth behind this retraction. There has to be a body of journalists who should examine such cases, and suggest punitive action against those responsible for such irresponsible acts.

It is unlikely that Newsweek's hedged apology will be the end of the matter. The retraction is already the subject of fierce debate among journalists and on the internet. The fact that the magazine at one point mentioned about îsourcesî of information, and at the other relied on one anonymous source for retracting, makes it a dubious retraction. The journalists involved in such reporting need not only to verify the veracity of the news before it is printed; but should also consider the aftermaths, if the source or sources backtracks. Especially in a sensitive matter like desecration of Holy Qurيan. As a gesture of goodwill, Newsweek can offer compensation for the lives lost in Afghanistan to empathize with Afghans in general and Muslims in particular.

1. http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2005/05/17/nwsk_err.html
2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/15/

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Dr. Minhaj Qidwai is a Medico-Marketing Consultant in North America. He writes free lance on world affairs.

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