PBS Craps on American Taxpayers

Well, that's how I would feel about it.

Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet

Daniel Pipes writes today about a PBS propaganda documentary on Islam, to be premiered tomorrow night:

.... What Muhammad did for women, viewers learn, was "amazing" - his condemning female infanticide, giving legal rights to wives, permitting divorce and protecting their inheritance rights. But no commentator is so impolite as to note that however admirable this was in the 7th century, Muslim women today suffer widely from genital mutilation, forced marriages, purdah, illiteracy, sexual apartheid, polygamy and honor killings.

The film treats religious beliefs - such as Muhammad's "Night Journey," when the Quran says he went to heaven and entered the divine presence - as historical fact. It presents Muslim wars as only defensive and reluctant, which is simply false. All this smacks of a film shown by missionaries....

PBS has betrayed its viewers by presenting an airbrushed and uncritical documentary of a topic that has both world historical and contemporary significance. Its patronizing film might be fine for an Islamic Sunday school class, but not for a national audience....

("Sunday school"?)

Of course, I'm taking Pipes' word for all this. For now. I'll try to watch tomorrow and see if his account is accurate. If anybody else watches, feel free to let me know what you think.

(Thanks Rod.)

P.S. For possible future reference, here is the e-mail feedback form at the PBS website.

[Follow-up: Yes, PBS Crapped on American Taxpayers.]

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Tue. 12/17/02 09:40:14 PM
Categorized as Media.