Newspaper wasn't sensitive to Muslims

Newspaper wasn't sensitive to Muslims

Wednesday,  October 8, 2008 3:10 AM

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The Saturday Forum column "Suppressing speech is not the answer" by Dispatch Editorial Page Editor Glenn Sheller concerned complaints about the paper's acceptance of the DVD Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West as an advertising supplement.

Sheller said, "The discomfort of blameless Muslims, however, is not more important than the expression of free speech." He also said, "For many years, CAIR has waged a campaign to intimidate and silence anyone who raises alarms about the dangers of Islamic extremism."

I don't doubt Sheller's sincerity, but I would challenge him to document those assertions about the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Freedom of speech is essential in a democracy, and I would not deny Sheller's right to express his views, but I am disappointed that a great newspaper like The Dispatch would carry his characterization of the situation as "discomfort" and accuse CAIR of engaging in a campaign to silence its critics.

Why did The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer and Cincinnati Enquirer decline to accept the DVD ad ? Does The Dispatch believe those newspapers are silencing free speech?

I have appreciated the paper for a long time and have been a consistent advocate on its behalf, but I am convinced that Sheller's column unfairly minimized the understandable apprehension within the Muslim community and distorted CAIR's work on its behalf.

JOHN WAGNER
Westerville