Lantern not 'anti-Islam' despite ad
Published: Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Updated: Saturday, June 16, 2012 01:06
I consider myself to be a devout Muslim woman, and it hurts me dearly when I see people speak ill of a religion which I hold so dearly. Therefore, I understand when some, if not most Muslim students at Ohio State were offended by the ad that ran in Monday's paper.
However, I strongly believe the majority of students overreacted over the ad.
The title of the ad was "Former Leaders of the Muslim Student Association (MSA): Where are they now?" And the ad listed the names of several al-Qaida and al-Shabab members who were MSA presidents during their college careers. Then at the bottom of the ad was the name of the pamphlet, "Muslim Hate Groups on Campus."
The ad, without a doubt, is controversial and offensive to Muslims, and several students have voiced their anger toward the ad by dedicating Facebook statuses and tweets to the ad.
Some of the Facebook statuses questioned The Lantern's judgment in choosing to run the ad. Others called The Lantern "hateful" and "anti-Islam."
Others sent editors emails labeling editors as well as The Lantern, "irresponsible, reprehensible and foolish."
Most students questioned The Lantern staff's "decision" to include the ad in Monday's paper.
But I must ask, did the students that called The Lantern hateful in their emails and Facebook statuses take a second to think and ask themselves, who is responsible for this? Did these students know that at The Lantern, there is a divide between the editorial staff and the business staff? Did they realize that editors have no say in which ads make it to the paper and which don't?
The answer is no, they did not.
And instead of inquiring about The Lantern's advertisement policy or simply asking who's in charge of the ads that run in the paper, the majority of students have relied on hearsay to form opinions on the issue.
Most people overreacted over something they knew almost nothing about.
Editors were bombarded with emails demanding explanations for the ad.
I've personally received several phone calls and text messages from fellow Muslims and MSA members asking me if I knew why The Lantern staff chose to run such offensive ads.
I told them all the same thing: you should not associate the ads that run in the student newspaper with the editors, they have no control nor do they have a say. They are only responsible for the written content, i.e. articles in the paper.
As a former Lantern editor myself, I can attest to the absence of racism, anti-Islamic views and prejudice in the Lantern newsroom. There is zero tolerance for such behavior and I'm a walking example of that.
Think about it, if The Lantern was so anti-Muslims and Islam, why was I a paid member of staff? If I was treated with that kind of hate and disrespect, why would I choose to not only work for, but write for a publication that allegedly spreads hate?
If there's someone we should all be mad at, it's Daniel Greenfield who wrote the pamphlet, not The Lantern staff.
Although I was as offended by the ad as any other Muslim would be, let's keep in mind that every American has a right to freedom of speech. And even though Greenfield's book offended and upset a great majority of us students, he does have the right to express his views.
But we should look at the big picture here: the more we keep dwelling on this topic, we are giving Greenfield some undeserved and free publicity by talking about his irrelevant and highly offensive $3 pamphlet.
So before you pick up the phone to make a call or send an email to a Lantern editor calling them ignorant, hateful and anti-Muslim, make sure you do your homework and separate the rumors from the truth.
24 comments
It spoke truth and facts.
These are people who want to kill us.
I would as soon put a bullet in the head of a terrorist as I would a rabid dog.
I have seen the evil of Islam first hand.
www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pages/Opinion-Polls.htm
It appears Muslims who do NOT support terrorism are in the minority. Not surprising given Islam's prophet, Mohammed, was in many ways a terrorist. The Qur'an, hadiths and sira tell us this is so for these books tell us if his and his men's raping of women, enslaving children, pillaging to their heart's content, murder and mayhem. These are not my words but are the words of the Muslim's holy books.
If Muslims themselves do not make any noise about such an incident then who will stand up for them? If students simply over looked the issue do you think the Lantern would automatically correct itself and not publish such an ad again? If you believe that then take a moment to think about this: would a business change any of its rules, regulations, or constantly try to improve itself if none of the customers complained or gave any feed back about what they did not like? Also think about your reaction and they way you phrased this article. Suppose you wanted to return an item from a store because it was faulty and you were extremely upset. Do you think the clerk working there should get mad and point a finger back at you saying it is not his fault and that you are overreacting and should go talk to the people in charge? If you want to be held at the standard of a professional then act like one! You are a worker for the Lantern, you are a representative and complaints are being filed, what do you do?
I would like to also note that such hateful and hurtful speech should not be tolerated on OSU campus, no matter who it is directed against. It is true, every American has the right to freedom of speech. However, this is not some private publication, you are not professional journalists, and it is The Ohio State University's newspaper. And being a University paper it is obligated to hold itself to the same standard and principles this institution so proudly proclaims. To try and end the debate of whether it was right or wrong by waving the First Amendment in front of every one is ignorant and asinine.
Unfortunately, it seems you have already told us what you will do when under pressure. This unprofessional and inappropriate public response WAS published because the editorial staff gave it their approval. If you can not even handle this situation correctly how could you possible handle the life of a real journalist? Did you think because a Muslim wrote the article people would just accept it?This was truly disappointing.
is a member of the 
