A 1997 documentary produced by the ABC news program Nightline, written by Michael Wolfe and presented by host Ted Koppel, shown in class. The show contains substantial inaccuracies, including the claim that that there were 5 million Muslims in the U.S. at the time the film was broadcast - an exaggeration of 500% (both the Pew Research Center and the American Religious Identity Survey placed the Muslim population of the U.S., which has increased every year since 1990, at approximately 1 million in the year 2000). Koppel also stated that there were more Muslims than Jews in the U.S., also a clear fallacy, as in 2000 (the nearest year that can be approximated via reputable organization) there were 5.2 million Jews in the U.S. versus approximately 1 million Muslims.
The Hajj also makes insulting comparisons between Islam and other religions, for example claiming that "priests and rabbis" stand between worshiper and God. It also downplays the role that religion plays in American life, describing prayers in the U.S. as something which occurs only occasionally and in private, ignoring the fact that most religions hold daily worship services and that adherents to many religions, not only Islam, pray multiple times a day.
A 1997 documentary produced by the ABC news program Nightline, written by Michael Wolfe and presented by host Ted Koppel, shown in class. The show contains substantial inaccuracies, including the claim that that there were 5 million Muslims in the U.S. at the time the film was broadcast - an exaggeration of 500% (both the Pew Research Center and the American Religious Identity Survey placed the Muslim population of the U.S., which has increased every year since 1990, at approximately 1 million in the year 2000). Koppel also stated that there were more Muslims than Jews in the U.S., also a clear fallacy, as in 2000 (the nearest year that can be approximated via reputable organization) there were 5.2 million Jews in the U.S. versus approximately 1 million Muslims.
The Hajj also makes insulting comparisons between Islam and other religions, for example claiming that "priests and rabbis" stand between worshiper and God. It also downplays the role that religion plays in American life, describing prayers in the U.S. as something which occurs only occasionally and in private, ignoring the fact that most religions hold daily worship services and that adherents to many religions, not only Islam, pray multiple times a day.
A 1997 documentary produced by the ABC news program Nightline, written by Michael Wolfe and presented by host Ted Koppel, shown in class. The show contains substantial inaccuracies, including the claim that that there were 5 million Muslims in the U.S. at the time the film was broadcast - an exaggeration of 500% (both the Pew Research Center and the American Religious Identity Survey placed the Muslim population of the U.S., which has increased every year since 1990, at approximately 1 million in the year 2000). Koppel also stated that there were more Muslims than Jews in the U.S., also a clear fallacy, as in 2000 (the nearest year that can be approximated via reputable organization) there were 5.2 million Jews in the U.S. versus approximately 1 million Muslims.
The Hajj also makes insulting comparisons between Islam and other religions, for example claiming that "priests and rabbis" stand between worshiper and God. It also downplays the role that religion plays in American life, describing prayers in the U.S. as something which occurs only occasionally and in private, ignoring the fact that most religions hold daily worship services and that adherents to many religions, not only Islam, pray multiple times a day.