Well, that, and NASCAR fans at the Martinsville race apparently paid no attention to NBC's "Muslim" plants. Nary a ruckus ensued.
Michelle Malkin has been following the story all week, and she reports her findings here, here, here, and here.
It started with an email message to Muslim groups, soliciting "victims" of anti-Muslim or anti-Arab discrimination:
Salam,
I hope everyone is doing well.
I have been talking with a producer of the NBC Dateline show and he is in the process of filming a piece on anti-Muslim and anti-Arab discrimination in the USA. They are looking for some Muslim male candidates for their show who would be willing to go to non-Muslim gatherings and see if they attract any
discriminatory comments or actions while being filmed.They recently taped two turbaned Sikh men attending a football game in Arizona to see how people would treat them. They set them up with hidden microphones and cameras, etc.
They want to do the same thing 2 or 3 other times (in various parts of the USA) with one or two Muslim men in each setting. They are looking for men who actually "look Muslim". They want a guy with no foreign accent whatsoever, a good thick beard, an outgoing personality, and someone willing to wear a kufi/skullcap during the filming.
They also want someone who is fairly well accomplished and has contributed to American society at large in some meaningful way.
That said, I'm urgently looking for someone who can be filmed this April 1st weekend at a Nascar event (and other smaller events) in Virginia. NBC is willing to fly in someone and cover their weekend expenses. The filming would take place all day on Saturday and Sunday.
We already have a hijabi sister who will be filmed there but a Muslim is also needed to join her. I also need candidates for the other filming segments which will take place in the following weeks.
A few weeks later, NBC will fly all the filmed participants to New York City to interview them as a group about their experience and thoughts on discrimination they've faced in America, especially in light of the times we live in (war on terror, 9-11, etc.). The show, if approved by NBC (highly likely), is expected to air sometime this summer.
What I need from interested candidates is an email with an attached clear photograph, a resume, and contact information. I also need basic information such as age, ethnic background, accomplishments, etc.
The sooner I can get this the better and please don't make emails too long. I will then submit a group of candidates to NBC so they can choose the people for the show.
Please forward this to all Muslim lists you can. Because of the upcoming filming in Virginia, this is pretty time-sensitive. My contact information is below.
Salam,
Tarek El-Messidi
NBC has confirmed it is working on the story. Apparently, it sees nothing wrong with its news-gathering methods, or with its blatant stereotyping:
By its own admission NBC News was so "intrigued by the results of a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll and other articles regarding increasing anti-Muslim sentiments in the United States" that it decided to make the news, rather than merely report.
On Wednesday, NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston responded to NBC's shenanigans:
NBC will apparently try again at this weekend's race, which will take place in Texas. Not to worry, though. NASCAR fans have been coming up with suggestions all week on how to, er, make the Muslim feel like a true victim. My personal favorite comes from Malkin reader Chris S:"It is outrageous that a news organization of NBC's stature would stoop to the level of going out to create news instead of reporting news," Poston said.
"Any legitimate journalist in America should be embarrassed by this stunt. The obvious intent by NBC was to evoke reaction, and we are confident our fans won't take the bait," he said.
"...[I]f NBC wants to guarantee they get a negative reaction to their "plant", all they need to do is put him in a Jeff Gordon t-shirt. The Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fans will be sure to give him a rough time! His fans are definitely the most vocal of them all."Yeah, that would work, I'm pretty sure.
Incidentally, Fox (and not NBC) will carry the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 live on Sunday, starting at 1:30 pm EDT.
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