The Washington Post reports:
A Muslim member of President Obama’s faith council says she was misled about the nature of a British TV talk show on which she was recently interviewed. It was hosted by a representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir, which the State Department has condemned for an anti-Semitic, anti-Western ideology that officials said might indirectly generate support for terrorism.
Dalia Mogahed, senior analyst for the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, did a phone interview on the Oct. 8 show. It was hosted by a member of the group, Ibtihal Bsis Ismail, and featured as another guest the group’s women’s media representative, Nazreen Nawaz.
Mogahed said Friday that she did not know about the affiliation of Nawaz until Nawaz was introduced on air, and only learned later about Ismail’s association with Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Emancipation).
She said that she would not have agreed to the interview had she known of their affiliation beforehand and that she believed that Ismail “misled us” to score propaganda points for an ideological movement.
…..
During the 45-minute discussion on the show “Muslimah Dilemma,” which is broadcast on a small British network, Nawaz, Ismail and callers variously condemned democracy, praised sharia law and advocated the restoration of the caliphate — government inspired by Islamic law.Mogahed said she grew uncomfortable with the discussion and considered hanging up. “I didn’t because I didn’t want to create a story by doing anything dramatic. I just wanted to get through it and say what I could about my research like I had 100 times before and just never go on this show again.”
In fact Mogahed herself said nothing to indicate agreement with the others on the show; she simply discussed polling data. But I think hanging up– or challenging the views of the others– would have been the wiser choice. And I assume she’ll make an effort to find out about the nature of the shows on which she’s invited to appear.
