Welcome to Islamophobia for Dummies.
The step by step guide to seeing how ridiculous Islamophobia really is.
(In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful)
>> Previously, we demonstrated the U.S. government hypocrisy of supporting Hosni Mubarak's brutal dictatorship 
while claiming to promote democratic values.
>> Now other than the U.S. government, who else supported Mubarak's oppressive regime?
Amy Goodman: The Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reports Israeli diplomats are urging the U.S.
and European nations to mute criticism of Mubarak to preserve stability in the Middle East.
>> And for the most part, that's exactly what the U.S. media did:
Fox News, Liz Trotta: 
We don't know where this is gonna go yet.
(Pew Poll) ... 73% of the American people who view television said
that they would really prefer to be watching domestic stories ...
we saw one picture all the time, which apparently bored a lot of people.
Stephen Colbert: 
Egypt continues to be rocked by violent unrest 
in a major test, not only of the power of democracy,
but also of the American attention span.
(joking) 10 days? 
Really?
(joking) I say free yourselves or get off the pot. We've got a Super Bowl coming. Priorities.
>> So what is the most important aspect of these revolutions to the U.S. media?
Brian Williams: 
Tonight, we'll look at the question a lot of Americans are asking:
"What's all this going to do to gas prices?"
NBC: 
Real Americans paying the price for revolution.
>> And how did "real" Arabs and Egyptians feel about the U.S. media coverage:
Mona Eltahawy: 
every Arab who writes to me ... has been telling me,
"Go Egypt! Congratulations, because we want this freedom for the entire region."
This is a historic moment. I urge you to use the word "revolt" and "uprising" and "revolution,"
and not "chaos" and not "unrest."
I was getting really upset that every time I went on a show,
all you would see is "Crisis in Cairo", "Unrest in Egypt"
And they were totally missing the historical significance of what was happening ...
well these incredibly courageous people in Egypt, were standing up to a tyrant of 30 years ...
and all they wanted to ask was, "Are American citizens safe? And how are the artifacts in Egypt?"
And I said, "Look, everybody is safe. We all care about the artifacts,
but can we please talk about Egyptians and what a historic moment this is?"
>> But then there was a major turning point in the U.S. media coverage:
Colbert: These days it seems like you can't have an armed street mob without it turning ugly.
And unfortunately one of the exquisite works of art in the region was damaged.
Namely, Anderson Cooper who today was punched 10 times in the head.
Anderson Cooper: 
We were set upon by pro-Mubarak supporters, punching us in the head,
attacking my producer ... my cameraman as well.
Jon Stewart: 
All right Hosni. 
Now you've gone too far. Hands off Anderson Cooper.
There is not to be a silvery wisp out of place on that man's glorious head.
Cooper: The crowd kept growing, kept throwing more punches, kicks, trying to grab us.
It was pandemonium, I mean there was really no control to it.
Suddenly a young man would come up, look at you, and then punch you right in the face.
Colbert: 
It's worse than we thought.
Cairo has turned into the Jersey Shore.
>> Violence by Mubarak's forces, not against Egyptians, but against foreign journalists,
is when some in the U.S. media really started living up to their journalistic responsibilities:
Colbert: As soon as I saw the Egyptian people battling in the streets, I knew
that as a journalist it was my duty to get on a plane
and fly straight to the Luxor Casino in fabulous Las Vegas.
No way I was going to Cairo, I saw what they did to Anderson Cooper,
and frankly, if I'm going to get stampeded and punched in the head, it had better be at the prime rib buffet.
As bad as it is there, it could get worse, and I know because Anderson is still wearing a shirt with a collar.
Until Anderson puts on the tight black Donna Karan, legally, the U.N. doesn't send in peacekeepers.
The unrest continues folks, and it hit terrifying new heights when for the 2nd day in a row,
CNN's immortal news elf, Anderson Cooper, was assaulted. He tweeted:
Cooper: Situation on ground in Egypt very tense. 
Vehicle I was in attacked. My window smashed.
Colbert: I never thought I'd say this, but clearly the time has come
for Anderson Cooper to step down.
His cruel reign of making us self-conscious about our abs is over.
The Egyptian people have spoken, you're reign has ended.
>> The sad thing is that there were actually people angry at reporters like Anderson Cooper
for siding with the protestors and exposing Mubarak's goon squads:
Fox News: The protesters have been "set up" as being on "the right side" ...
I mean, again, Anderson Cooper went on the Letterman Show to talk about how he was roughed up by the crowd.
Hasn't the man any modesty at all?
Forget journalistic ethics, doesn't he have any personal modesty?
Stewart: When you started saying "Mubarak is lying, and here's why", it actually caused controversy.
Cooper: Yeah, which I was really stunned by.
Stewart: A reporter saying "OK, here are some lies that he's telling, and here's why they're lies"
and people thought, oh, he shouldn't be doing that.
Cooper: I know, it was really weird, there was some guy in the L.A. Times
and somebody else on a couple of other networks.
>> Such as this lady on Fox News:
Fox News: Anderson Cooper of CNN, whose performance was really shocking ...
any correspondent worth his salt knows that you shouldn't be making editorial comments, and
he really became quite incoherent, accusing Mubarak of lies, and
though they may be lies, and probably were, it's not in his purview to say so.
>> Doesn't Anderson Cooper know that the job of the U.S. media
is to report the "news", whether the news is true or not?
Cooper: I try not to take any political stands, but
you know, just based on facts, the guy is lying, what he's saying. And it's demonstrably untrue.
Stewart: is that maybe just a misunderstanding that you have with modern journalism ...
but they (Fox) say truly outlandish and crazy things, and then you come out with, I guess you call them,
what did you call them again? Facts.
Cooper: Yeah, I find it weird that that seemed to cause 
a drama in the world of journalism. Stewart: Well, I really hope that in the future,
(joking) you think a little more cautiously about this whole "objective reality" thing.
>> And if you thought the U.S. media's lack of objectivity was funny,
wait until you see who they think should get credit for the Egyptian Revolution:
Stewart: Perhaps more important than the outcome of these revolutions, is who gets the credit.
Fox News: Ironically, it may have been the Bush administration and Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice's famous speech in 2005 at the American University in Cairo that launched this revolution.
>> How on earth could anyone give credit to George Bush for the Egyptian Revolution?
Team Bush: This is all thanks to President Bush. 
Ok. Democracy is spreading because they know if it doesn't, America's going to go in there and spread it for them.
That's right, USA! USA! USA!
Now let's go knock down some statues.
Asif Mandvi: I would argue that each of these nations is reacting to specific circumstances unique to their country...
In Egypt, pent-up frustration over 30 years of corrupt rule, in Yemen ...
Team Bush: No! Bush Doctrine.
>> But seriously, is there anyone who wants to give credit to the Bush Doctrine?
Fox, Brian Kilmeade: along with President George Bush you talked about freedom back as early as 2004 coming to the Middle East.
A lot of people said you're crazy, you don't understand the culture ...
Can you take any pride in what is taking place in the Middle East?
Stewart: Hey, hey, hey! 
Just so we're clear, President Bush and Tony Blaire didn't invent "freedom" in the early 2000's ... by the way, Brian
the argument against the Iraq war wasn't "people in the Middle East can't handle democracy",
it was that they might not appreciate its forced import.
>> And then there are those that will give this credit to President Obama:
Question: Are there any starting factors that the President sees crediting for this unrest?
White House: Jared, I would ... a starting point would be the speech in Cairo.
>> Oh, really?
Team Obama: Freedom is spreading through the Muslim world because of Obama and his 2009 speech in Cairo.
He inspired and impressed people to embrace democracy, and
19 months later, here we are.
Stewart: From 1 speech?
Team Obama: From 1 "Obama" speech.
Daily Show: You know how badass Obama is ...
to foment Middle Eastern democracy, this time, he didn't even have to send our military.
All Obama had to do was think "Egypt", and sha-shaa,
total Jedi.
This is not the dictator you're looking for.
Team Obama: Asif, Obama taught your people how to love.
Asif: I'm not Egyptian.
Team Obama: (joking) Well, you're something like that, I don't know.
Team Bush: Don't make us invade you, fella.
>> The U.S. media should have called out the White House's ridiculous attempts to take credit:
Daily Show: We did it! We toppled another despotic dictator. Whoo!
Stewart: Wyatt, I don't think this is us, though. Do you really think that the U.S. deserves the credit here?
Daily Show: Hell, yeah. Just look at this dramatic image
of our brave boys tearing down a statue of the tyrant Mubarak. USA! USA!
Stewart: We didn't have anything to do...
>> Who else does the media want to give credit to?
This protest has been organized largely on Facebook and Twitter.
Fox News: It was a revolution that really started on Facebook, it was sustained by Twitter, and saved by Google.
Stewart: Quick question. If 2 speeches and a social media site is all we needed to spread democracy,
why did we invade Iraq, why didn't we just, I don't know,
"poke" them?
So in Egypt, they used social media to foment and sustain a peaceful revolution,
whereas here, we might use it to, say ...
see an orangutan pee into his own mouth.
By the way, when ...
when is that coming out in 3D?
>> And you'll never guess who wants to take credit for the freedom of communication and open internet in Egypt:
Mubarak: These demonstrations wouldn't have taken place without the freedom of expression, freedom of press,
and many other forms of freedom, that were GRANTED to the Egyptian people by the reforms Egypt is embracing.
>> Hosni Mubarak and the U.S. government should get equal credit for the revolution,
in that they are both responsible for the oppression of Egyptians:
Daily Show: Really, is that where this has to go?
(joking) You want to give less credit to the U.S.A.
than to Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) and a bunch of Egyptians nobody's ever heard of?
So from now on, you just sit back and let nations build themselves?
Who can rebuild Egypt better than us?
We already did it once in Vegas, and it's way better than the real Egypt.
We spend a lot of money in the Middle East, that makes it ours.
We bought it, we get to break it.
>> But there is a group that deserves less credit for the Egyptian Revolution than the U.S. does:
Daily Show: Al Qaeda wants the world to know that while they support this coup
of a secular, western-backed autocrat, they deplore the methods used in carrying it out.
Stewart: It was a peaceful, home-grown rebellion. Egyptians rising up for themselves.
Daily Show: it's just that Al Qaeda likes to think
there's still a place in the world for violent, chaotic, and ultimately futile expressions of murderous, extremist rage.
>> The Egyptian people are the only ones who deserve credit, and a few in the media did recognize this:
Stewart: Some people chose to neither give credit to, nor fear  for, America, 
placing the focus on, (joking) of all things, Egypt.
CNN, David Gergen: The credit does not belong to us ...
the credit belongs to those young people out in the streets of Cairo who were so brave.
Stewart: 
(joking) That is over the line, Gergen!
It was us, and the internet.
George W. Bush and pets.com, it was
freedom fries and Jdate (Jewish dating site), well ...
probably not Jdate.
>> So let's focus on the Egyptian people for a minute:
Democracy Now: They're very aware of the role the U.S. has had in propping up Mubarak ...
Many of them say they respect President Obama ...
but they are very disappointed in his response to this popular uprising,
that he has not given an outright call for Mubarak to step down.
Stewart: those people in Egypt are probably wondering why we, in the U.S.,
had supported this repressive regime of Mubarak's for almost 30 years now.
Well, its ... funny. It's a simple explanation:
(joking) We were testing you.
We had to know if you were worthy, or if under duress, you would, perhaps, give away our secrets, our freedom secrets. Perhaps,
it will all make sense if I show you what you've won ...
[come with me, and you'll be, in a world of voter participation]
[take my hand, go into the booth, and vote for an electoral representative who will represent your community]
Anyway, good luck with all of it, sorry about the tear gas canisters
>> As for what credit the U.S. government deserves, the British Journalist Robert Fisk best describes it:
"One of the blights of history will now involve a U.S. President who held out his hand to the Islamic world,
and then clenched his fist when it fought a dictatorship and demanded democracy."
>> In conclusion, all the credit goes to the Egyptian people, of whom 70 million are Muslims, 
and not 1 of them blew himself up or anything.
Well, there goes the bigoted efforts of decades of fear mongering against Muslims.
