From:  Donia Saber <donia_saber@y...>
Date:  Fri Dec 5, 2003  11:46 pm
Subject: Fwd:  [thecalltoislam] PAUL HARVEY SAYS ISLAM 'ENCOURAGES KILLING'

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

CAIR ACTION ALERT #407

PAUL HARVEY SAYS ISLAM 'ENCOURAGES KILLING'
Islamic civil rights group seeks on-air apology

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/5/2003) - The Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) is calling for an on-air apology from syndicated radio
commentator Paul Harvey who said on his Thursday program that Islam "encourages
killing."

Harvey, who has 24 million weekly listeners on some 1,600 radio
stations in this country and around the world, made that claim during his Thursday
noon commentary.

In that segment, Harvey described the bloody nature of cock fight
gambling in Iraq and said: "Add to the thirst for blood a religion which
encourages killing, and it is entirely understandable if Americans came to this
bloody party unprepared."

TO LISTEN TO THE SEGMENT, GO TO: http://www.paulharvey.com/
Click on the Thursday noon program. The section with the offensive
quote begins at 6:53. The quote itself begins at 8:25.

"We had hoped that a respected broadcast professional like Mr. Harvey
would not join the growing number of Islamophobic hate-mongers in our
society," said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. "He falsely
attributes to Islam two things that are specifically prohibited by our faith, murder
and cruelty to animals." (Islam also prohibits gambling.)

Hooper quoted the Prophet Muhammad, who said one of the "biggest of
(the great sins)" is "to murder a human being." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, 9:10) He
also cited the Quran, Islam's revealed text, which states that when someone
takes another's life, "it would be as if he slew all mankind." (Quran,
5:32)

On animal cruelty, the Prophet said: "A woman was punished [by God]
because of a cat. She had neither provided it with food nor drink, nor set it
free so that it might eat the creatures of the earth." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith
1047)

In another tradition related by the Prophet, a man was rewarded by God
for helping a thirsty animal. The man, who had just climbed down a well to
get water for himself, saw a dog panting and licking mud because of
excessive thirst. He went down the well again and filled his shoe with water for
the dog. God thanked him for that deed and forgave his sins.

After relating that story, the Prophet was asked: "Is there a reward
for us in serving animals?" He replied: "Yes, there is a reward for serving
any (living being)." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, 3:646)

In other Islamic traditions, the Prophet prohibited capturing young
birds because of the distress caused to their mother, and rebuked his
companions who burnt an ant hill.

Hooper also cited the Quran, which says: "There is no beast that walks
on earth and no bird that flies on its two wings that is not [God's]
creature…Unto their Sustainer shall they [all] be gathered." (Quran,
6:38)

In 1999, Harvey issued an on-air apology to Muslims for remarks
suggesting that Islam was a "fraudulent religion." The apology came after hundreds
of concerned Muslims called, faxed and e-mailed both Harvey's office and
that of ABC Radio Networks, his program's syndicator.

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, is headquartered
in Washington, D.C., and has 25 regional offices and chapters nationwide
and in Canada.

- END -

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be firm but POLITE.)

Contact Paul Harvey to ask that he apologize on-air for his remarks.

CONTACT:

Mr. Paul Harvey
333 N Michigan Ave, Suite 1600
Chicago, IL 60601-4005

Phone: (312) 899-4085
Fax: (312) 899-4088

E-MAIL: http://www.paulharvey.com/email_form.shtml
COPY TO: Irma.N.Aviles@..., Kevin.L.Miller@...,
jennifer.purtan@..., Steve.Jones@..., cair@...

PAUL HARVEY'S SPONSORS MAY BE LOCATED AT:
http://www.paulharvey.com/sponsorlist.shtml

Please make Mr. Harvey's sponsors aware of your concerns.

- PLEASE ANNOUNCE, POST AND DISTRIBUTE -