Following the terrorist attack in New York City on Tuesday that left eight people dead and 12 injured, some pockets of conservative media lit up after CNN’s Jake Tapper commented on the phrase “Allahu akbar” that was shouted by suspect Sayfullo Saipov during his murderous rampage.
On his show, Tapper said, “The Arabic chant ‘Allahu akbar,’ ‘God is great.’ Sometimes said under the most beautiful of circumstances and too often we hear of it being said in moments like this.”
Initially, the Daily Caller took that quote and ran with it, suggesting that Tapper was sympathizing with the terrorist by reporting that he just said the phrase was “beautiful.” Other outlets such as Fox News, InfoWars, and Breitbart relayed the story on their sites online.
However, after Tapper called out the Daily Caller and others misreporting his comments, Fox News’ Sean Hannity picked up the story and continued to smear Tapper over a lie.
Fox News is lying. I said it can be said at beautiful moments (wedding, birth) and too often at times like this (horrific terrorist attack). https://t.co/rQx3r0za6I
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 1, 2017
This could’ve all been avoided if conservatives in media knew what the phrase “Allahu akbar” means and how it’s used by a billion and a half Muslims (as well as the millions of Arab Christians who use it, too). Here’s a video explanation of how it’s used and why conservatives should ditch the fear-mongering and embrace our Muslim neighbors.
