Is Roshonara Choudhry A Victim Of Her Religion?
ROSHONARA Choudhry has been sentenced to live in jail for trying to murder Stephen Timms because he’s an MP and she did not approve of his support on the was in Iraq. But how does the media bill her? She needs a label. Is she Muslim, a student, a terrorist, or a Londoner?
Is labeling her a Muslim a statement of fact or just part of her that fits an agenda? No words arrive on a news page by accident.
Choudhry was studying English and communications at King’s College, London, She dropped out in 2010. So. She’s a student, right? Although she knifed her local MP, so isn’t Choudhry primarily a Londoner?
Yesterday, the BBC reported on the case and made no mention of her being a Muslim. The Mail used the word “Muslim” in its opening line. The Guardian called her “gifted“.
One day on and the BBC lunchtime news bills her as a “Muslim student”.
On the web, the headline says “student” but deep into the story, the BBC says:
The BBC learned from police sources that the Muslim student had become radicalised having watched online sermons by Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical American Muslim cleric of Yemeni descent.
In sentencing Jeremy Cooke, who sentenced her to life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years, said:
“You said you ruined the rest of your life. You said it was worth it. You said you wanted to be a martyr. [You] simply committed evil acts coolly and deliberately. You did so as a matter of deliberate decision-making, however skewed your reasons, from listening to those Muslims who incite such action on the Internet.”
So. Her religion is relevant to the crime. Outside a few lurkers hold pieces of paper on which is written “Islam will dominate the world”.
In court voices scream in the public gallery “Allahu akbar”, “British go to hell” and, imaginatively with dash of the occult (isn’t that against religion?) , “Curse the judge”.
Still, Channel 4 calls her a ”Student”. It does say she is a Muslim, only that she listened to Muslim sermons.
The Mail notes:
In one sermon, entitled 44 Ways To Support Jihad, he says: ‘Jihad today is obligatory on every capable Muslim’.
The Mail says:
She had been a moderate Muslim student looking forward to a career in teaching before watching the videos.
Christian Today calls her a “student”.
The Sun calls her a “student”, again with no mention of her religion.
Although in other piece she is “the 21-year-old Muslim”.
The Guardian calls her a “radicalised student”.
The Star calls her a “ radicalised Muslim woman”.
The Mirror takes a different angle:
Muslim woman terrorist who tried to murder Labour MP Stephen Timms linked to ink bomb plot leader
In the Mirror Choudhry is first and foremost a Muslim.
She wrongly thought the MP had gun guards and hoped to become a martyr after becoming brainwashed by the hate rants of al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki – behind last week’s ink bomb bid.
One question: had Choudhry not been Muslim would she have knifed Timms?
Posted: 3rd, November 2010 | In: Reviews Comments (3) | TrackBack | Permalink
