Published on 12/21/10
at Dallas Morning news
Each December, the Religion Newswriters Association
asks members to choose the top 10 religion stories of the year. We decided to
flip that around and ask you our esteemed Texas Faith panelists which religion
stories, trends, developments did NOT get the media attention they deserved in
2010.
Here's what they said:
MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation
for Pluralism, Dallas
A great initiative was taken by the Foundation for
Pluralism to mitigate conflicts by demystifying the myths about Qur'aan, which
were aggressively pushed by the right wingers to pit one American against the
other.
Pastor Robert Jeffress (of First Baptist Church of
Dallas) called Qur'aan an evil book written by a false prophet. He did not tell
the truth nor did he take up the challenge to identify what is evil in Qur'aan.
The media failed to ask him the specifics; his words were carried on the
airwaves like the gospel truth.
The purpose of the Foundation for Pluralism
conference was to understand the issues and find ways to remove such fears and
phobias in an open forum and restore the cohesiveness of our society and work
towards building a safe and secure America.
Pastor Jeffress declined to attend the conference.
This story should have been on the front pages and evening news and it was not.
Are the neglected subjects in the media a function
of the media's relentless focus on competitiveness and profits, and, at this
moment, survival?
Indeed, the media are at a critical juncture of having to choose between fulfilling their societal responsibility and succumbing to the political compulsions of our times.
Indeed, the media are at a critical juncture of having to choose between fulfilling their societal responsibility and succumbing to the political compulsions of our times.
Please visit Dallas Morning News to read all the
responses: http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/12/texas-faith-what-religion-stor.html
MikeGhouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News and regularly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily.
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