MSNBC 'Imus' Segment Refers to 'Raghead Cadaver'

ACTION REQUESTED: Contact NBC and MSNBC to renew your demand for an apology and a reprimand for all those involved in both programs. (Send a demand for an apology even if you sent one based on the earlier alert.)

CONTACT:

Mr. Rick Kaplan President MSNBC 1 MSNBC Plaza Secaucus, NJ 07094-2419

TEL: 201-583-5050 FAX: 201-583-5179

Mr. Neal Shapiro President NBC News 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112-0002

E-MAIL: rick.kaplan@msnbc.com, neal.shapiro@nbc.com COPY TO: imus@msnbc.com, alana.russo@msnbc.com, leslie.schwartz@msnbc.com, fccinfo@fcc.gov, cair@cair-net.org

--------------------------- (WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/19/04) - CAIR is once again calling on people of conscience to demand an apology from the MSNBC cable television network for anti-Arab/anti-Muslim remarks made on its "Imus in the Morning" program.

In a segment today commenting on the apparent execution of a wounded Iraqi in Fallujah by a U.S. Marine, a fictitious "Senior Military Affairs Advisor" to the program justified the killing by referring to a "booby-trapped raghead cadaver." The fictitious advisor also said the killing provided an "Al-Jazeera moment" causing the "Muslim masses to respond with their routine pack of rabid sheep mentality."

Yesterday, CAIR issued a similar call for an apology for a November 12th "Imus" program that referred to Palestinians as "stinking animals" and suggested that they all be killed.

"We thank all those who already contacted the network to express their concerns about the racist remarks and ask that they keep up the pressure until those concerns are properly addressed," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.

Don Imus, the program's host, has a long history of controversy over anti-Arab and Islamophobic remarks. As early as 1985, he was forced to apologize for referring to Arabs as "goat-humping weasels." (Sunday Mail, 4/21/85) He has also been criticized for using the derogatory term "raghead." (Accuracy in Media) In a reference to the crash of an Iranian airliner earlier this year that killed 43 passengers, Imus said, "When I hear stories like that, I think who cares." He then stated: "Too bad it wasn't full of Saudi Arabians." (National Iranian American Council)

Earlier this year, CAIR announced a "Hate Hurts America" campaign designed to counter hate speech on talk radio.

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