Nutty former congressman teams up with CAIR to improve Islam's image

Paul Findlay was a central Illinois congressman until from 1961-1982, until future Senator Dick Durbin knocked him off. 1982 was a very bad year for the Republican Party because the country was in the midst of a painful recession--the benefits of Reagan's reforms had yet to bear fruit.

But it wasn't just a poor economy that hurt Findlay in the ballot box. He hopped on the anti-Israel bandwagon a few years earlier, and outside money and volunteers pushed the tide in Durbin's favor and ended Findlay's career as an elected official.

Often trotted out as an anti-Bush Republican voice by Bush haters, Findlay has been off-the reservation for years.

From the Arab News:

A survey conducted by Cornell University recently found that around half of Americans have a negative view of Islam and would like the US government to curtail the political activity of Muslims in the US.

Addressing a press conference at the headquarters of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), Paul Findley, a former US Congressman, said that the cancer of anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic sentiments was spreading in American society and requires corrective measures to stamp out this malaise.

It was also announced that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) would be launching a massive $50 million media campaign involving television, radio and newspapers as part of its five-year program to create a better understanding of Islam and Muslims in the US.

Referring to the anti-Islamic sentiments in the US, Findley said that the campaign was being spearheaded by a tiny but influential section of society, including some politicians, academics and opinion-makers.

I'm very pleased that American media outlets will get a $50 million dollar windfall from CAIR. But the media effort will be as successful as the Saudi Arabian post-9/11 campaign that bragged about "The People of Saudi Arabia: Allies For Peace." Four years later, the image of Saudi Arabia in the United States is a bad as it was then.

There is too much violence, cruelty, and barbarity brought upon the world by some Muslims to be countered in the arena of public opinion by CAIR's $50 million public relations campaign. First, Islam needs a reformation.

And $50 million can't even resuscitate Paul Findlay's reputation.

Technorati tags: CAIR Terrorism Islam Paul Findlay Illinois IsraelWAMY Durbin