US Media Behind Worsening Islamophobia
“The American people are basically consumers of news media, whatever they hear, they believe,” Raya Shokatfard told Press TV in a phone interview on Tuesday.
“So, naturally when they believe whatever they see [and] whatever they hear, it creates some feeling of hatred towards Muslims,” she said.
Shokatfard said the shooting deaths of three American Muslim students by a neighbor in North Carolina last week was hardly covered by American news organizations.
Craig Stephen Hicks shot dead Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, in their home last week.
The families of the three victims, who were shot in the head, said they were executed for their religion, Islam, and want Hicks to be charged with a hate crime.
The fatal shootings have caused outrage among Muslims all over the world. Many claim the crimes would have gained more attention if the attacker had been a Muslim and the victims were non-Muslim whites.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened a preliminary inquiry into the murders to determine whether or not any federal laws were violated.
“This does not mean this is the end of it, the FBI is going to check into this and it’s going to be the end of it,” Shokatfard noted.
“It is basically probably going even toward climax and we have not even reached the climax, it’s only going to get worst because [of] not only the media, [but because] of the political situation and one-sided reporting of news,” she added.
Source: Press TV
