An American correspondent in the Middle East sent me this:
“Today the Iraqi government held a one time screening of the most recent execution video of barzan ibrahim and awad hamed al bandar, with no cameras allowed. Bandar was very scared and crying. He was saying the shahada. Journalists asked if Bandar said the shahada. New york times bureau chief and veteran middle east correspondent John Burns asked Basem Ridha, Nouri al Maliki’s spokesman what the shahada was. Basem said that it was the Islamic creed. “whats that?” asked John Burns. Journalists explained that it was “”There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger.”
Wow. At least four or five years in and out in the Middle East, including several as the NYT’s bureau chief in Baghdad, and John Burns doesn’t know what the shahada is. And this is arguably the NYT’s top foreign correspondent. Do you see why I don’t want to read their Middle East coverage? It’s not just the bias, but the caliber of the reporters that’s outrageous.
That is quite a strange story because at what point I think John Burns was actually the NYT’s roving “Islam” correspondent. seriously. He comes across as a pretty sharp guy, though some journalists criticize his arrogance. If the story is true, it’s pretty stunning.
I think he’s doing the journo thing of asking someone else to say what the shahada is. I would be inclined to give John Burns the benefit of the doubt on this one.
What journo-thing, Blake? He wasn’t trying to get a quote, by the sound of it, other journos were asking if Bandar had said the Shahada, and Burns asked “what’s that” – clearly for clarification. If he had wanted a quote, he’d have said “and can you say what the shahada is, Mr. Spokesman?”
No, he doesn’t come across looking too good in this one.
Well, I suppose it is hearsay so some caution is advised. Or maybe he did not hear correctly.
Yeah, or could be journalistic sniping, a rival trying to make Burns look stupid. That’s a fun thought, actually.
And keep in mind, this was originally linked on Angry Arab. As his readers will attest, Angry Arab hates John Burns with a passion. His rants are usually amusing, though.