GRAMSCI EFFECT: SILENCING MUSLIM MODERATES

The Gramsci Effect is in full force at PBS. Everyone's favorite tax-dollar funded broadcasting corporation is all set to run an 11-part series on America in the post-9/11 era. Called America at a Crossroads, the documentary spends a lot of time looking at the clash between Western civilization and Muslim fundamentalists, however, some of the producers are concerned with segments that deal with "moderate Muslims."

If Dr. Zuhdi Jasser of Phoenix were a Christian - and he emphatically is not - we might deem him a saint.

But Jasser is a Muslim. He believes in his religion as fervently as any Catholic bishop believes in his. Or any Muslim imam, for that matter. He is faithful to the Quran, which Jasser believes conveys a message of peace.

Because of his faith, and because of what he has done to act on his faith, Jasser has evolved into an extraordinary symbol of what true heroism means in the post-Sept. 11 world. He is a Muslim and an American. And he is a man of peace - a rare, bold iconoclast who is willing to speak out against people who, he believes, have stolen his faith for evil ends.

So, is Zuhdi Jasser what you might call a "moderate" Muslim? If you do, then the Public Broadcasting Service has a problem with you.

[...]

As the PBS producers affirmed time and again in their letters and e-mails, who is an Islamic "extremist" and who is a "moderate" depends entirely on which side of the street you're standing. In large part, it is about "context."

"We felt the program was flawed by incomplete storytelling and problems with fairness," said Jeff Bieber, executive producer of the Crossroads series. "We felt the writing was alarmist and without adequate context."

And there you have it. Gramsci's legacy in a nutshell. There is not good and bad, no right and wrong...it's all a matter of perspective. However, Bieber then slips on his own rhetoric.

"We just felt there was incomplete context, (that) could lead viewers to the wrong conclusions."

Hold on! "The wrong conclusions?" Maybe it's not that these PBS producers are practicing postmodernists, maybe it's that they've chosen a side and are doing what they can to protect them. Can you guess who I'm talking about?

RTWT.