Islam, World News

A Nuclear Islam And The Failure Of Investigative Journalism

While it may be totally redundant to say investigative journalism is all but dead, I will say it again: Investigative Journalism is all but dead. But whose fault is it?

As proof of my assertion I offer this small story.

For months, even years, the major media outlets have published and aired stories, warning us of the dangers that would exist if Iran was successful in constructing a working nuclear reactor.

Everyone knows Iran is one of the world’s most vocal enemies of Israel and the United States, and it would be unthinkable for them to have a nuclear reactor; right?

Once Iran’s nuclear reactor is up and running they would conceivably have the ability to design and build a nuclear weapon.

Iran with a functioning nuclear reactor capable of producing the nuclear material required to build a nuclear weapon would represent a clear and present danger to every non-Islamic nation, especially Israel, the sworn enemy of Islam, and the United States whom radical Islam refers to as the “Great Satan.”

I will not dispute any of this as being fact or being newsworthy, for certainly the prospect of an radical Islamic faction in possession of nuclear material, much less a functioning nuclear weapon is chilling, but while the major media focuses on Iran and their pursuit of nuclear power, they have completely ignored, as Paul Harvey would say; ‘the rest of the story.’

For example:

Iran currently has a uranium reserve within its own borders.

 Jordan and Kazakhstan, 2 of Iran’s closest neighbors possess over 12% of the world’s supply of Uranium.

So raw materials are readily available to fuel the reactor.

Iran has possessed nuclear technology since the 1950’s, but Iran’s nuclear ambitions were shelved in the late 70’s After the 1979 revolution, a clandestine nuclear weapons research program was disbanded by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1902–1989), who considered such weapons forbidden under Muslim ethics and jurisprudence. Only to be resurrected in the 90’s.

The Iranian working nuclear reactor the media declared as unacceptable went online in 2011.

Here is another little tidbit the major media has failed to report regarding nuclear energy and Islam:

Saudi Arabia is planning to build 16 nuclear reactors by 2030.

Anyone hear about that revelation in any major media outlet? Does anyone see a problem with that? While the media focus is on one Islamic country building a single nuclear reactor, it has ignored another Islamic country planning to build 16 of those same nuclear reactors.

Do they have a different form of Islam in Saudi Arabia? Does the Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia differ from the one that represents a threat to Israel and the United States in Iran?

Weren’t most of the 9/11 hijackers from Saudi Arabia?

The point of this article is not to pick a fight with Saudi Arabia, nor is it meant to justify the actions of Iran. It is to point out the failure of the major media to engage in investigative reporting that yields factual news and not just another form of reality television – which is what the news media has become.

There is a Center for Investigative Reporting, a Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Investigative Reporting Workshops, Symposiums, The Journalism Foundation, and Global Journalism Conferences – who knew?

Are there investigative reporters out there doing their job? Certainly, but where are their stories? Where are the results of their investigations? The results of their work are out there, but you have to do a little digging to find it. Investigative Journalism - Twitface

This is just one story, in a sea of stories; major media has failed to report on. We should ask who decides what is and is not newsworthy, and perhaps more importantly – why.

More to come.

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