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A FEMALE TV host on a Lebanese channel shut down an interview with an Islamist scholar after he told her to “shut up” and then said being interviewed by a woman is beneath him.
Rima Karaki, a journalist for the Lebanese station Al-Jadeed, was questioning Muslim scholar Hani Al Saba’i about the recent wave of Christians from Western countries travelling to the Middle East to join ISIS.
When he started elaborating on the topic a bit too much by tracing it back through history, Karaki chimed in, telling him they only had limited time and he should focus on what is happening today.
That did not go down well.
After a tense exchange between the two in which the journalist told him she “runs the show” in the studio, Al Seba’i shouted at her to “shut up” so he could talk.
She then asked how anyone is supposed to respect a sheik who tells a TV host to shut up, and he became even more furious, telling her it is beneath him to be interviewed by her.
Before he could even finish his sentence, she has his mic cut off, telling him there is either mutual respect or the conversation is over.
Watch the exchange in full below…
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Our reporters here could learn a lot about professional integrity from this one.
Where is @Lindabar to stand up for this man’s “religious convictions” and his “right” to not have to deal with a woman ?
So true on so many levels…….It should be pointed out how brave she is to stand her ground like that against a______ ( fill in the blank yourselves,they would never print mine!!)
He’s a moron but this is not newsworthy
I never realised there was a “wave of CHRISTIANS ” were heading to join IS!
Conn, would you also praise this reporter who has a very similar argument with Christopher Hitchens? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5vHYrSwz9oY
It’s just two people arguing. Nothing more
Well this guy thinks they be heading that way……( pun intended)
My point, Silver, is that it is every journalist’s job to make sure the questions they ask are:
1. Relevant
2. Answered
This is journalism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LTWmOcFyJ8
This is not
http://www.thejournal.ie/enda-kenny-burning-questions-1974614-Mar2015/
Fair play to her!
Ill admit to having a crush!
Brave woman. Unfortunately she may now be targeted by followers of this theodylite…
I agree with you but the cave dweller guys are the Troglodites. Can I say that without getting red thumbs?
So the ‘followers’ of a London based scholar are going to go to Lebanon to target a TV interviewer? Sure they are John.
BTW Why do you describe him as a theodylite? An instrument for measuring in the horizontal and vertical planes perhaps?
My bad Ten Major… I meant troglodyte of course. Brain wasn’t fully switched on, but it was switched on enough to realise that followers of this cleric are not restricted to England and can access him easily on the Internet. Thank you for needing to prove your obviously superior intellect by needlessly sneering at people…
The TV station is owned by six people,three of them are ex-Israeli Intelligence officers. The idea that an exiled Egyptian supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood for all his crankiness has supporters that have the capability or desire to take on a propaganda outfit like MEMRI TV is a bit far fetched. And that is being polite.
No, that is being arrogant…
She was 100% right. What does he hold his scholarship in… Ignorance or just plain bigotry !!.
The sooner these dinosaurs and their ilk die off the better.
No room in the world for idiots like this.
You should know, Clinton!
They aren’t dying off though, they’re recruiting
What’s the problem? This lady, and she was a lady, seems to of the same culture, and I can only assume she’s also a Muslim, she attempted to treat that bloke with dignity and respect. If anything she demonstrated a lot more patience than most people here would have been capable of.
He, on the other hand, didn’t want to speak to a woman or have anyone tell him what the constraints of his little tirade could be. And this man is supposed to a respected Muslim scholar, in London? Respected by whom?
If this was any other so-called respected scholar having a hissy fit during an interview because he felt it was beneath him to be questioned by a woman, how would he be treated? He’d be ostrasied by his community, a full and heartfelt apology would follow followed by several years in the wilderness living in shame. I’m going to go out on a limb here and bet that’s not going to happen in this case, in fact I’d go so far as saying this scholar may well become a bit of a rock star in his community following this, there will be no sniff of an apology and his star will rise as a result.
Not that long ago – many Bishops and Parish Priests expected the same deference in this country.
Many politicians still do… they just don’t literally say it live on air
and they get it here… http://www.thejournal.ie/enda-kenny-burning-questions-1974614-Mar2015/
@ConnRogers…..brilliant!
Yawn!
He is a pig. FULL STOP
Indeed he is.
But what exactly is she? That is the question.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/aug/12/worlddispatch.brianwhitaker
21 red thumbs for posting a link that shows that MEMRITV are not what they seem. Very interesting, the word hasbara comes to mind.
What a petulant man-child.
Fair play to her.
wonder how many wives this ‘man’ has
What a horrible man. As my dear grandmother used say to someone who is being rude to her ….. “What else would you expect from a pig only a grunt”
a disgusting person Sinead no doubt about it ..your grandmother seem like a sensible women !
Did he call her names? I didn’t hear that part. I thought she came across very aggressive. He didn’t say to be interviewed by a woman was beneath him. He said it was beneath him to be interviewed by a woman who? Didn’t finish his sentence. Bit of perspective here. She spoke very aggressively to be honest.
Interviewers are supposed to be firm, direct and sometimes aggressive – to elicit the facts quickly. Watch Paxman or Humphreys…..
He blew a casket when she cut him off which she had to do if she was running out of time.
I was thinking the very same thing. He didn’t say that she was beneath him because she was a woman, rather a “woman who-”……….and we’re left to wonder.
But still, nothing beats a good old ‘brave heroine shuts down chauvinist pig’ story, no matter the facts or context.
She had limited time, which she explained, so it is common practice for reporters in these situation to have to cut in to get more concise answers. Secondly, being a woman is a Muslim country, she has to deal with constantly being dismissed as a second class citizen and this mans reaction and disrespect shows the kind of attitudes she has to put up with.
Exactly what I thought Fuve, don’t think he was saying what is being implied at all, can’t be sure because he didn’t get to finish his sentence, but the ‘who’ word was key.
He was trying to give a reply. His reply. She did not like his reply because it was too long and he was going into history. She wanted direct answers to the direct question. But that would have not answered anything really. Total collision. He seemed agreeable at first. But she would not listen to his answers. That threw him as it would throw anybody. Real answer is get rid of these stupid televisión programs that only skate over the Surface of issues. So real problema is the tv station. LikeTRE and BBC so called “modern” journalism…they do not want to examine Islam. Or in general anything.
Bevin you clearly know very little about Lebanon. It’s a multi-cultural, tolerant society that suffers because of the conflicts involving their larger neighbours
Yes Iknow it is Lebanon but this lady needs to know that in Egypt if Mr Morsi had had his merry way then in Egypt there would be NO tv station where a woman would even be interviewing a man at all. That is reality. Morsi was heading straight for full blown Sharia Law. I am a big fan of el Sisi and see him as the modern Ataturk. The thing is as I see it the Irish political clases and all of the left are supporting this Sharia Law phenomenon. They are all into DIALOGUE with Sharia. of course the Muslim leaders tone it down. So Saleh will say he wants Sharia, wants to ban free speech but says that the Charley Hebto killers went a bit far…that kind of meaning. Same as the Feb 8 Trafalgar Square Islamist protest opposed the killings but has a big banner saying “Dont mess with the Prophet”! Under Morsi he would have had a mob outside the studio and she would have been lynched. And it could also happen in Lebanon too. Plus beware of deadly hate laws in Ireland. This woman could still yet be fleeing for her life and even head in Lebanon. Hope not but this is a dangerous part of the world.
I know plenty about the Lebanon, far more then you presume, but I appreciate your concern, Silver Planet. You’re a guiding light of knowledge, as always.
If you have so much knowledge, why not display some?
No matter how “tolerant” you believe Lebanon to be, Silver planet, the fact is, woman there do not enjoy total freedom. They still struggle with equal rights and are of a lower rank in Lebanese society. A moderate Muslim state is still vastly less tolerant of women’s rights than the rest of the world.
I like how you use non-specific phrases like “total freedom” rather than cite anything concrete. It’s like how you said she was “constantly being dismissed as a second class citizen”. Sounds awful, but doesn’t really mean much without examples. You make blanket statements about “Muslim countries” but show no knowledge of Lebanon in particular – just assumptions
He’s an Egyptian Sunni. Lebanon is majority Shia (with a multitude of officially recognised religions) and Sunnis are kinda unpopular just now with the influx of Syrian refugees and fear of ISIS. He is in no position of power and she has nothing to fear from speaking to him however she wants – which she did
Oh and since he’s Egyptian, the word “skuti” isn’t nearly as rude as “shut up”. I’m sure you know that though, since you know exactly what “she has to put up with”
You made several blanket statements, for example how you believe Lebanon to be a totally tolerant society when I know for a fact it is not. You also made assumptions about the legitimacy of my knowledge, when you know nothing about me or my own personal ties with the county.
You are about 2 days to late with this story.
I read it three days ago ina time warp does that matter, nope…
Can’t see women gaining equality anytime soon in the middle East. That woman is a great example to other women who may gain the confidence to become more equal.
“Become more equal” is hardly the right term, they already are equal, they don’t have to become a journalist to be equal. You don’t have to earn equality it should be a given.
@ally. But they are not treated as equal that’s what I meant. That’s a given!
Guy in a funny hat who reads fairytale books tells educated journalist it is beneath him to talk to her,who’s the fool?
I think the subtitles are wrong. Reminds me of the time Hitler was giving out about the water charges. I think this guy is at the same thing.
Christians joining ISIS? Are you sure?
I actually think he’s right. She was cutting him off and if you listen to it he doesn’t say it’s beneath him to get interviewed by a woman. The sentence gets cuts off as he starts it so we can’t have the context of what he was going to say.
I agree Jon. Although he was rambling, I think this media have wilfully turned his comment to suggest he had a general problem with women whilst I think his problem was with her rudeness.
Yes she was rude in my opinión and you are right but underneath all of this it is not really and truly about that. Islam and Sharia and Mohammed have a problem with women, also with Young girls who can be married at 9 because that was when mohammed consummated the marriage with Aisha, so that age remains sacrosanct for all time and was why they hated Rushdie so much. Islam has a very big problem with women and so it is almost comical how silent these leftist women in Ireland are on all of these things and cannot even oppose the Charlie murders. How silent these Sinn Fein women “fighters” are on Islam!
Agreed but the valid points you make are very diluted by trying to put words into the mouth of this man that aren’t there. It’s almost as if the writer doesn’t believe people will read the article or watch the video. When will Irish media realise how counter productive it is to misrepresent somebody just because it comes across as a populist statement? I call Michelle or her editors to change this misleading headline and stop doing damage to a serious problem because of shoddy journalism. Or do you really subscribe to ‘Why the the truth get in the way of a good story!’?
Ah yes, respect and equality for women, isn’t that a fundamental tenet?
I really don’t know anything about Lebanon or the Middle East in general, but I am a native English speaker and this headline…
“TV host shuts down guest who says being interviewed by a woman is beneath him”
…means something COMPLETELY different to this subtitle…
“It’s beneath me to be interviewed by you. You are a woman who…”
Although we can’t be sure what he was about to say when he was cut off, the relative pronoun “who” implies that he was not saying it was beneath him simply because she’s a woman.
If only the piece had been better edited it might have made a more persuasive case, as in this journalistic masterclass from the Simpsons:
She showed remarkable constraint, I’d have told him to p*** off back under his stone, the ignorant, arrogant little s****.
Can’t wait for the day more Muslim women stand up to these neanderthals who should be confined to a remote cave with a big rock covering the exit so they can’t escape and spread poisonous religious hatred to those guilible enough to believe such twaddle.
Well done to this brave young woman
According to the quote he says “to be interviewed by a woman who…”, not “to be interviewed by a woman [full stop]“. What is the rest of the sentence?
I’m all for slamming the guy if he did indeed say something sexist, but could we at least be told what he actually said in full, and then make up our minds on the facts, rather than be riled up by a cut-off sound bite.
Well some facts here from this crazily confusing set up in this TV station. She is a Muslim all dressed up as such. She should know that if she is raped then it will be her who is whipped hundreds of lashings for her. That is the deal with women in Islam. Plus in Sharia Law her Word is only worth fraction of Word of a man. So she KNEW. The TV station KNEW that. Yet they still play along with Sharia. But hey you dont have to go to Egypt to see this kind of carry on. The Catholic Church especially the Bishops are full of this making excuses for Islam. And plenty of fascist pro Islam Sharia “Lefts” do that as well.
Just look at the way the Irish anti war movement could not take any position of OPPOSING the Charlie Hebto murders and you get the picture as to why the left is not opposing the building of megamosques in Ireland and why the left will support the jailing of genuine socialists who oppose Sharia in Ireland under the heading of hate laws. And it will be Adams and Sinn Fein who are jailing us. People better speak up!
Obnoxious as you may think the interviewee to be, if you listen to the end it is clear he did not say that it was beneath him to be interviewed by women. He said it was beneath him to be interviewed by this particular presenter. Red thumb all you like but listen to the last ten seconds if you wish to witness what actually happened.
She lives in Lebanon, felix. Not Saudi Arabia
Islam showing how womens lib will prosper under its guidance.
I’m sure this is America’s fault
Yes but since this is Lebanon they really really do believe that this is all the fault of Israel and that Mossad has been coaching this woman and have fooled her into embarrassing these Muslim men!
More likely that Israel would be quietly supporting this arrogant intellectual seeing as they attacked and killed a unit in Syria who were trying to dislodge Al Nusra (Syria’s Al Qaeda) from positions near the Golan in late January. Apart from that support for fundamentalists, Israel has done nothing to combat the spread of ISIS or Al Qaeda on its door.
@Ten The whole world wants someone to do something about ISIS. Should Israel oblige and while doing so was attacked by Iran using proxy Hezebollah and a realigned(wit Iran) Hamas would the whole world support Israel? We all know the answer to that.
Israel will combat ISIS when ISIS feels it can attack Israel and get away with it. Israel is,quite necessarily, holding its fire for now i think.
Publicity stunt to get onto the journal.ie
In fairness the man was only answering the question that was put to him.
Scholar…….hmmm.
The interviewer was aggressive and rude and the headline “TV host shuts down guest who says being interviewed by a woman is beneath him” is completely & utterly misleading.
The interviewee was a ponderous bore who was nagged beyond endurance by a squawking wagon who would have tested the patience of a hybrid Gandhi, Mother Theresa and Mr. Spock.
Crappy article crappy headline ridiculous waste of time journal.ie
Get back in your box Hani!!
In fairness to the Islamic scholar he said it’s beneath me to be interviewed by a woman who……
Bit harsh to put the emphasis on the woman bit instead of whatever he was going to say was the issue he had with her. He’s wrong but it’s a difference.
Brilliant display of a strong female standing upto someone in her society who is seen as superior to her just because of what is between his legs.
Is that chap in the article screenshots?
a) their answer to John McCrirrick.
b) actually fuppin John McCrirrick.
Finally..a muslim cleric whose not afraid to say what he really thinks
He looks like Gerry Adams in a funny hat
This article in the Guardian will tell you everything you need to know about this ‘innocent’ TV station.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/aug/12/worlddispatch.brianwhitaker
This link will tell you what you need to know about the interviewee.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hani_al-Sibai
Make up your own minds as to how was baiting who or how balanced is the headline.
have your say