Over the last year or two I have noticed some curious reporting on the BBC website and Ceefax. Whenever there are violent attacks on Christians around the world, the story is often titled “Clashes between Christians and <whoever>”. It’s usually Moslem attacks on Christians, of course.
They did it again on Wednesday.
At least 16 people have been wounded after Muslims attacked a church and Christian homes in a village near the Egyptian capital, Cairo, officials say.
And how was it titled? Yup:
Coptic-Muslim clashes erupt in Egypt
The article tries to create a false equivalence to back this up. We are solemnly told that, four days earlier, some Moslem was complaining a Copt burned his shirt while ironing, and a punch-up ensued, in which firebombs were traded to and fro and a Moslem died. But the BBC didn’t report that. And even the BBC can’t conceal the one-sidedness of the “clashes”.
Last October, a suicide attack on a church in Alexandria killed 24 people.
Police in Dahshur early on [the previous] Wednesday fired teargas to stop a Muslim mob from setting fire to a church, but the rioters instead torched several Christian properties and three police cars, officials said.
Ten policemen were among the 16 injured, according to the authorities.
The office of the local Coptic archbishop of Giza said the entire Christian population of Dahshur had now fled, according to the Associated Press.
Doubtless the BBC would head that last detail “Moslems and Christians flee violence.”
I prefer honest information, myself.
Thank you very much Roger for bringing this up. It is not just the media in the West, but also political leaders.
In Egypt it is almost always violence against the Copts by Muslim fanatics and officials, including army. But, as you said, it is always presented as clashes between Copts and Muslims, therefore putting both on the same moral level.
I have spoken about this in my Blog a few times. I put up two links:
1. The media inaccuracy in reporting the violence against the Copts in Egypt (21 May 2011)
2. Barak Obama and William Hague on the Maspero massacre of the Copts by the Egyptian army on 9 10 11 – what their pathetic responses tell us. What should we do? (16 October 2011)
Regards.
Dioscorus
PS If you feel this is too political, please delete it.
(I have converted that upper case into links — upper case looks like SHOUTING).
I can’t take up the cause of the Copts here, as I try to avoid politics here, but I am entirely sympathetic.