Times of Ahmad: US: Is Fox's Bill O’Reilly contagious? National Public Radio fires analyst over comments against Muslims

Williams’s role as an analyst for both NPR and Fox News has caused concern in the past. In 2009, complaints from radio listeners prompted NPR to ask Fox to stop identifying Williams as an NPR analyst.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Express Tribune | AFP
By AFP/Express/AT | October 21, 2010

WASHINGTON: A top US public radio network has sacked a senior news analyst after he made disparaging remarks about Muslims on television.

National Public Radio (NPR) said it notified Juan Williams late on Wednesday that it was terminating his contract as a senior news analyst for NPR News. Williams was fired just two days after he made a Fox News Channel appearance during which he agreed with a television host that the United States was facing a “Muslim dilemma.”

On his show “The O’Reilly Factor,” host Bill O’Reilly said: “The cold truth is that in the world today, jihad, aided and abetted by some Muslim nations, is the biggest threat on the planet.”

Williams, who is also a political analyst for Fox News, said he concurred with O’Reilly, adding: “I think, look, political correctness can lead to some kind of paralysis where you don’t address reality.”

The analyst said he felt nervous when boarding planes with Muslims on board. “I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country,” Williams said. “But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”

NPR said in a statement that Williams’s remarks were “inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR.”

It thanked Williams for his many years of service as a “valuable contributor” to NPR. “We did not make this decision lightly or without regret,” it added. “We regret these circumstances.”

Williams’s role as an analyst for both NPR and Fox News has caused concern in the past. In 2009, complaints from radio listeners prompted NPR to ask Fox to stop identifying Williams as an NPR analyst. NPR ombudswoman Alicia Shepard said at the time that Williams “tends to speak one way on NPR and another on Fox.”

O’Reilly had brought Williams on his show after the Fox News host said “Muslims killed us on 9/11″ during an appearance on ABC television’s “The View” last week, prompting talk show hosts Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg to walk off the set.

"#NPR terminates contract of longtime analyst Juan Williams for comments made on Fox News about Muslims. More to come," was the tweet message sent out by NPR colleague and media commentator David Folkenflik announcing Williams fate.

Folkenflik's full Tweet sequence is given below. Read from the bottom up:

# Williams also warned Fox host Bill O’Reilly agst blaming all Muslims for “extremists,” saying Christians shouldn’t be blamed for Tim McVeigh 14 minutes ago via web

Here’s a link to Williams’ most contentious remarks in which he said he was “nervous” seeing Muslim airline passengers http://huff.to/b06b9B 16 minutes ago via web

The decision by NPR follows strong criticism for remarks on Fox suggesting he feared passengers in Muslim garb when boarding aircraft. 19 minutes ago via web

NPR statement on terminating Wms contract says his remarks abt muslims on Fox News “undermined his credibility as a news analyst w NPR” 21 minutes ago via web

NPR: “Juan has been a valuable contributor…. However his remarks on the O’Reilly Factor … were inconsistent w/our editorial standards” 22 minutes ago via web