KVIE, a Sacramento public television affiliate, aired a segment last month as part of its ViewFinder series titled, “Songs of Hope.” The title refers to a Sacramento Philharmonic performance of the same name that featured three musicians of Egyptian/Muslim, Arab-Israeli/Christian, and Israeli/Jewish persuasion, respectively.
In the process, the show’s producers sought to answer the question: “How does someone outside the Muslim faith get an accurate glimpse of Islamic faith when those leading the effort to educate (Middle East studies professors and the lobbying group, CAIR, Council on American Islamic Relations), have come under constant criticism?”
In a laudable effort to include a variety of viewpoints, “Songs of Hope” features interviews with CAIR-Sacramento executive director Basim Elkarra, founder of CAIR Watch and Chairman of Americans Against Hate, Joe Kaufman, California State University, Sacramento sociology professor Ayad Al-Qazzaz, and me (Campus Watch Northern California Representative Cinnamon Stillwell). Professor Al-Qazzaz, it may be remembered, was the subject of a Campus Watch article about his role in approving the biased and controversial textbook, History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond, for use in California public schools.
Although the segment it not available in its entirety at the KVIE website, the transcript has been posted at Campus Watch and several unedited videos, including my own, can be viewed here.
