Matthew Sheffield weighs in on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch parroting CAIR propaganda: Bashing LGF, St. Louis Paper Shills for Islamic Group.

When it comes to Islam, the approach of too many media outlets seems to be not to question authority. Whether this attitude stems from fear (as in the case of Lawrence O’Donnell), ignorance, or plain old-fashioned political correctness doesn’t really matter because the end result is the same: when extremist Islamic groups like the Council on Islamic Relations say jump, far too many news organizations say “how high.”

And here’s an interesting fact about Post-Dispatch reporter Tim Townsend, dug up by LGF lizard ‘Render’. Apparently, Mr. Townsend is a friend of CAIR-St. Louis Board Member Khaled Hamid: Middled: Muslim St. Louis.

Less than a week after the June 30th bombing at Glasgow International Airport, reportedly perpetrated by medical professionals, Khaled participated in a panel discussion featuring local physicians in order to address the concerns of non-Muslim communities. Journalists from The New York Times, Public Radio International, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other local media outlets covered the event.

“One of the people there, a reporter, kept saying, ‘Muslims are not speaking up. Why aren’t you talking? Where are the moderates?’ and this is something echoed everywhere,” Khaled said.

The Muslim visibility campaign continued with a demonstration at the Daar-Ul Islam mosque a few weeks later, clarifying the stance of the Muslim community and its religious leadership on issues of terrorism. Though the press had been notified, the only journalist in attendance was Tim Townsend of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who Khaled described as a friend.

UPDATE at 2/20/08 2:03:21 pm:

By the way, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch forum topic about the Islamic prayer tower is just chock full of anti-Muslim comments: Forums - Current Affairs - Topic - Islamic Prayer Tower Rises in South St. Louis City.