why i CAIR not (part 2) media and stereotypes

one reaction to my post said: "I would like to believe that no organization or person would take advantage of such a disaster. Yes, CAIR *could* have done the salat al ghayb at a later time and possibly have the media come then." not could, SHOULD! i call a mistake what it is. not deny it and not defend it. i don't think i have to elaborate about all the reasons why i say it SHOULD have been done during a jumah prayer. its so obvious it boggles my mind why it would not have been done at that time. by the way, even though CAIR sent press releases about jumah, no media showed up. most likely because they felt they had already covered the story. indeed it IS a mistake to create media events when real events can be promoted for the same purpose... i was also told that "with all of the negative stereo-types and views of Muslims in America as heartless people, it probably made most sense to do it at a time when more viewers would be watching."... education is the way to dispell stereo-types, not TV news... about stereo-types: they come from generalizations made about a group of people based upon the actions one witnesses in a few. i guess the best way to counter it is to get people to see us as individuals, know a little about Islam (its basic history, its basic teachings), then let them make up their own minds. the real forum for this endevour is not media but education, and muslims really BEING good. sound-bites and quick images often easily get lost in all the noise. the understanding i want people to have is that: - there are individuals who call themselves muslim that do "this"; - there are individuals who call themselves muslim that do "that"; - and there are individuals call themselves muslim that do "other"... Islam may be the inspiration for all of them, but it is so much greater!... so we shouldn't make generalizations about Islam, about ourselves... we shouldn't fall into the trap of the society of the spectacle. believing the world of propaganda and the image machine to be reality.