"PBS Shelves Film on Moderate Muslims"

Recently, a debate has been started over the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's (CPB) and the Public Broadcasting System's (PBS) decision not to air a documentary on moderate Muslims. This documentary, titled 'Islam vs. Islamists,' was originally going to be a part of PBS's "America at a Crossroads," a six-night series featuring 11 documentaries. It was removed from the listing by PBS, however, because it "needs work" and is a "work in progress," said CPB spokesman Michael Levy (The Washington Times). However, people are outraged that PBS would remove the show, and Frank Gaffney, a production team member, says it is "a well-documented, textbook case of the abuse of taxpayer funding by elements in the public broadcasting system to advocate their agenda and ensure that people who have different agenda don't get on the air." This is a very controversial accusation to make, especially against such a program as PBS, but could there be some truth to it?

PBS has said that there simply was not enough room to air the documentary, and that they felt it was not ready to be aired just yet, but it could be shown later on its own. This seems to be a legitimate reasoning, and since they ultimately are the ones who get to choose what they show on their station, it does not seem to be worthy of such outrage. However, the producers of 'Islam vs. Islamists' disagree, accusing PBS of shelving the film for political reasons, namely that it shows Muslims in different countries, including the US, trying to live a moderate Islamic life amidst the pervasive fear of radical Islam. This apparently goes against CPB and PBS's views of Islam as a militant, radical religion. Personally, I am not sure that I believe PBS and CPB have these extreme views, but I can see how frustrating it is to the producers of this documentary to have their work shelved in such a manner, especially when the message they are trying to get out is such an important one. These producers are trying to show Americans how hard it is for moderate Muslims everywhere to live in societies where all people know of Islam is the radical images they see on the news. Why would PBS not want this viewpoint to be shown?

I think that this is an important issue on more than one count. First, it deals with the rights of television shows to choose what they want to air, despite public outcry, and how much public opinion influences the media. But also, it shows how important different viewpoints are, and how hard it can be to give them a voice. I agree with Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, chairman of the Arizona-based American Islamic Forum for Democracy, who said that "Until mainstream media and mainstream America understands the need to help this debate and expose the plight of moderates who push back against the Islamists within the Muslim community, we will continue to lose ground against militant Islamism (The Washington Post)." What do you think?