US: Western media link killer to Muslims

American news organizations report in error that Virginia Tech killer had links to Islam

Dawn
Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Washington --- The US media did find an excuse to link the Virginia Tech killer to the Islamic history, claiming that he had words 'Ismail Ax' written on one of his arms.

It was the Fox News which first reported that Cho Seung Hui, the 23-year old South Korean student who killed 33 people at Virginia Tech University on Monday, had 'Ismail Ax' tattooed in red ink on the inside of one of his arms. But the news report received international attention only after the Chicago Tribune reported details, which were picked up by news organisations around the world.

Even newspapers like The Times of London and The Telegraph, usually careful in what they report, highlighted the supposed inscription on Cho's body along with the speculation -- also initiated by the US media -- that he may have been a Muslim.Soon newspapers in such far off places as Australia and New Zealand were also reporting the theory along with opinions from so-called experts on Islam.

At Chicago Tribune, the report about "Ismail Ax" set off the busiest hour in the site's history, with 524,000 page views during the early Tuesday afternoon.

As millions of surfers took to the Web to search for the possible meaning of "Ismail Ax," the blogosphere filled with wild theories about Cho's alleged Islamic link.

Technorati.com, a Web site that tracks the blogosphere, reported that thousands of bloggers offered their opinions and millions read the commentaries.

Some pointed out that in Islamic lore Ismail is a reference to the "son of sacrifice."

Date Posted: 4/18/2007