War of words

Morning News reports of a charity's ties to terrorism spur Muslim protests

A A A Comments By Mark Donald Thursday, May 18 2000

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"If the Morning News wanted to show its sensitivity, they failed miserably," says Janney, who was part of the Muslim delegation. "They insulted our integrity."

In retaliation, MAD leaders promise to escalate their campaign. They are considering an advertising boycott, a class-action suit, and "a few more surprises," Janney says.

Mark Graham

Demonstrators gather outside the Morning News last week, claiming the paper is biased against Islam.

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Bailon regrets the hard feelings the meeting has engendered but realizes the problem isn't likely to resolve itself quickly. "We will continue to cover the Muslim community as we always have, as a multifaceted, important part of our community." But when it comes to the HLF, the Morning News hasn't flinched. On Saturday, McGonigle wrote yet another HLF piece, reporting that the family of the victim of a Hamas drive-by shooting has sued the Dallas charity in a Chicago federal court for $200 million.

In the meantime, it's back to the frontlines for MAD, where the number of protests have increased since the aborted May 3 meeting.

"We came here today," yelled Janney into his bullhorn before ending the Friday demonstration, "because Gilbert Bailon doesn't keep his promises...And make no mistake about it. We will be back. This is our lives at stake. We will be back."

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