A Professor of the Binghamton University, New York, has been stabbed to death by a student to death. But none of America’s mainstream news organizations would pick the story. Why?


Professor Richard T. Antoun stabbed to death by Muslim student
Professor Richard T. Antoun

The victim in this case is a Jew. And before I shed light on attacker's background, let us consider couple of possibilities:

1. Suppose a Jewish or black professor gets stabbed to death by a white Christian student.

No doubt the story would get into the frontpage of many newspapers; some even might suggest Christian/white extremism or racism behind the horrid act.

2. How about a case, in which a Muslim professor gets stabbed by a white Christian or Jewish student at the same university?

The story would undoubtedly make the frontpage news for almost every newspaper, combined, probably, with vociferous condemnation of American/Christian/Jewish extremism, racism, and Islamophobia, not only in America, but also all over the world.

In the present case, the attacker is a Muslim. While it is hard to get any information about the case, because of its lack of coverage by the media, some bloggers are reporting that the attacker, named Abdulsalam Al-Zahrani, 46, a graduate student of Cultural Anthropology at the university, is either from Egypt or Saudi Arabia.

Abdulsalam Al-Zahrani attacker of prof. Richard T. Antoun
Abdulsalam Al-Zahrani, attacker
of Prof. Richard T. Antoun

While it can well be a freak criminal incident, but information coming out suggests that, for two reasons, it might well turn out to be a case of Jihad assassination as well.

First, the victim, Professor Emeritus Richard T. Antoun, 77, was a Professor of Anthropolgy, specialized in Middle Eastern and Fundamentalist studies.

Importantly, Antoun is a published author of several books on Islam, including “Understanding Fundamentalism: Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Movements”. It is possible that the attacker al-Zahrani did not like the Islamic part of his research.

Secondly, unconfirmed report claims that Professor Antoun was likely a convert to Judaism, from none other than the ‘religion of peace’, Islam. His grandfather was a Muslim.

Apostasy from Islam, we all know, is publishable by death, which the Saudis observe with strict enforcement.

These factors, individually or combined, can motivate a true Muslim, especially one from Saudi Arabia, to commit the crime for her/his religious conviction. But, for now, we have wait and see for information on the attacker's motive to come out, if at all.

Any how, stabbing of a university professor by his/her student in America is a once is lifetime incident of shocking proportion and deserve to get wide coverage in the media. Media's complete blacking out the news is a disgrace to journalistic ethics, and certainly because, the offender is a Muslim.

Comments powered by CComment

Joomla templates by a4joomla