Michelle Malkin has a copy of an e-mail asking for muslims who can be filmed this April 1st weekend at a Nascar event (and other smaller events) in Virginia.
The purported author of this email, Tarek El-Messidi, writes:
Subject: Looking for Muslim Males to participate in NBC Dateline Segment
I have been talking with a producer of the NBC Dateline show and he is in the process of filming a piece on anti-Muslim and anti-Arab discrimination in the USA. They are looking for some Muslim male candidates for their show who would be willing to go to non-Muslim gatherings and see if they attract any discriminatory comments or actions while being filmed.
They recently taped two turbaned Sikh men attending a football game in Arizona to see how people would treat them. They set them up with hidden microphones and cameras, etc.
They want to do the same thing 2 or 3 other times (in various parts of the USA) with one or two Muslim men in each setting. They are looking for men who actually "look Muslim". They want a guy with no foreign accent whatsoever, a good thick beard, an outgoing personality, and someone willing to wear a kufi/skullcap during the filming.They also want someone who is fairly well accomplished and has contributed to American society at large in some meaningful way.
We already have a hijabi sister who will be filmed there but a Muslim is also needed to join her. I also need candidates for the other filming segments which will take place in the following weeks.
A few weeks later, NBC will fly all the filmed participants to New York City to interview them as a group about their experience and thoughts on discrimination they've faced in America, especially in light of the times we live in (war on terror, 9-11, etc.). The show, if approved by NBC (highly likely), is expected to air sometime this summer.
more...
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Pathetic of NBC.
I´m satisfied they have been caught red-handed, though.
Purported author El-Messedi has been updating the story. Check out this forum:
****30/03/2006
A couple of days ago, I sent out the email below regarding the NBC Dateline producer looking for Muslim males to be filmed. Alhamdulillah, I've been flooded with responses that will be forwarded to them soon. I just wanted to send an update that they decided to postpone the filming at the NASCAR event by one weekend (until April 8th). It's still not too late to submit your information but the sooner, the better.
Also, a couple of sisters have inquired about submitting info. While NBC did mention that they prefer male candidates (because they feel that people are less likely to show discrimination to a woman out of courtesy), I will also forward emails I receive from sisters. They may consider filming another hijabi sister if she's very qualified for the role. Please read the initial email I sent below about what to submit.
Again, please forward this out to as many email lists as possible.
Salam,Tarek El-Messidi
Lack of integrity at NBC?
Fools. Unveiled fools.
Will NBC shoot the scene the 8th?
If you feel like asking, you can do it here: dateline-at-nbc.com
It was rich irony indeed. The day after NBC News led its evening newscast with a report that the White House had staged an event with our soldiers in Iraq, NBC News was caught staging one. And by any objective measure, the NBC News case was far more newsworthy and objectionable. After all, this was done by a "professional" news organization that is supposed to know better.
Update 1: Tarek El-Messidi was interviewed by WBIR.COM (NBC) in 2001 after the 9/11 attack. Read it here.
In 2001 he started a "gratitud project":
"Part of gratitude in Islam is that if you are given blessings, you should use them as they are intended to be used - in worship, to give to others," says Tarek el-Messidi, a student at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, who started the project in 2001. This year some 130 campus MSAs participated, with an estimated 20,000 students joining the fast. According to the MSA at the University of Maryland at College Park, money raised in their effort was enough to feed more than 4,600 people in need.
In 2003 FBI looked for help in War Effort from Iraqi-Americans living in East Tennessee. El-Messedi stated:
"There is difference from the average American's lifestyle for Muslims," says Tarek El-Messini. "But at the same time, we are still citizens of this country. We still give back to society. We still participate in civic groups and community service. We work for corporations like everyone else."
"I don't think any Muslim would disagree with the fact that he is a ruthless dictator and I don't think any of us would like to see him in power," El-Messidi says. "On a community level, none of us would support Saddam Hussien at all. We just hope that his civilian people don"t have to suffer because of his actions."
Update 2: NBC answers Lars Larson Radio Show in an e-mail:
"Dateline" is looking into this story. We were intrigued by the results of a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll and other articles regarding increasing anti-Muslim sentiments in the United States. It's very early on in our newsgathering process, but be assured we will be visiting a number of locations across the country and are confident that our reporting team is pursuing this story in a fair manner. We did not write or authorize Tarek El-Messidi's email.
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Tags: nbc, staged news, news, media, muslim, islam, U.S, america, united states, nascar, NBC Dateline show
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