John Burns, Say it Isn't So Posted by Shadi Hamid

Look, I'm sure that "veteran Middle East correspondent for the New York Times" John Burns is a great guy. He did, after all, win a 1993 Pulitzer for "his courageous and thorough coverage of the destruction of Sarajevo and the barbarous killings in the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina." Burns has been based in Baghdad for the last couple years. So this juicy tidbit about Burns not knowing the most basic thing about Islam is unbelievable and dispiriting for all those who would like to think that we will ever understand the Muslim world. From the Angry Arab:

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.'"

If this is true, then it really is pathetic. John Burns, say it isn't so?

Comments

[chris]

Wait a second ... every smart journalist knows he or she's got to ask dumb questions. Burns may have been feeling the guy out, or wanting to get a quote for a story, or double-checking for himself, or just keeping the ball rolling. There are plenty of good reasons for a reporter to ask dumb questions. Better to ask a dumb question before filing a story than to find out after. Also, have you seen Columbo?

OK, maybe Burns is ignorant, but maybe not.

[Cal]

Burns may have been feeling the guy out, or wanting to get a quote for a story, or double-checking for himself...

The last reason is the same as saying he's ignorant. Burns wouldn't double check unless he was uncertain, and if he's uncertain about basic facts of Islam then he's in the wrong job.

Reporters ask dumb questions about policy, and the policymaker's intentions, in hopes of tripping the subject up on his own exasperation. There's nothing to be gained by asking about shahada, unless Burns thought that the spokesman for the fundamentalist Iraqi gov't didn't know his own religion.

Burns is a dishonest reporter. He was on Charlie Rose last week saying that the Sunnis want us there to protect them. The latest polls show that 91% of Sunnis want us to leave within a year.

BTW Chris, are you John Burns' spokesman? You left the same comment on Brad Delong's site.

[chris]

nope, just impressed by my own insight!

[ajkrik]

So is it true? Who was the columnist? What is John Burns' response? How do you have a discussion about this without reporting your source, without confirming this from another source, and with out Burns' response? Your blog is a joke.

[jay]

re; Burns is a dishonest reporter. He was on Charlie Rose last week saying that the Sunnis want us there to protect them. The latest polls show that 91% of Sunnis want us to leave within a year.

I agree with ajkirk...you are obviously close-minded and biased. Burns was there for a loooooong time, probably talked with more than the WRO pollsters did. they managed to speak with less than 1000 people to get their numbers.. Crap poll to be sure. as biased as you. ...........

Methodological note: In September 2006, WPO’s survey included 159 Shias in Baghdad and 342 Shias in the rest of Iraq, plus 75 Sunnis in Baghdad and 324 Sunnis in the rest of Iraq. In January 2006, the sample included 144 Shias in Baghdad and 342 Shias in the rest of Iraq, plus 85 Sunnis in Baghdad and 336 Sunnis in the rest of Iraq.

Each sample design included an intentional oversample of 150 Sunnis across Iraq. In previous articles on the total Iraqi population, the samples were weighted for appropriate projections. Here unweighted samples have been used to provide sufficient numbers for meaningful analysis.

November 20, 2006

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