WaPo Faces Backlash Over Vile, Sympathetic Obituary for ISIS Leader Al-Baghdadi
Following the announcement of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death, the Washington Post published an article in their obituary section, detailing his life and how he died. What’s disgusting is the obituary reads like we should be celebrating his life, as if he brought good to the world.
From the obituary (emphasis mine):
When Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took the reins of the Islamic State of Iraq in 2010, few had heard of the organization or its new leader, an austere religious scholar with wire-frame glasses and no known aptitude for fighting and killing.
But just four years later, Mr. Baghdadi had helped transform his failing movement into one of the most notorious and successful terrorist groups of modern times. Under his guidance it would burst into the public consciousness as the Islamic State, an organization that would seize control of entire cities in Iraq and Syria and become a byword for shocking brutality.
…
The man at the helm of the Islamic State was a shadowy presence, appearing in public only a handful of times and rarely allowing his own voice to be heard, even as the caliphate was beaten back and finally destroyed. During his tenure, the Islamic State would come to mirror its leader: a messianic figure drawn to the harshest interpretations of Islamic texts and seized with the conviction that all dissenters should be put to death.
WaPo's actual obit for a terrorist monster:
"austere religious scholar w/ wire-frame glasses"
"Mr. Baghdadi maintained a canny pragmatism"
"Acquaintances would remember him as a shy, nearsighted youth who liked soccer but preferred to spend his free time at the local mosque" pic.twitter.com/XFFBnUsHEO
— Elizabeth Harrington (@LizRNC) October 27, 2019
They had it right the first time.
The Washington Post changed the headline on its Al-Baghdadi obituary from “Islamic State’s terrorist-in-Chief” to “austere religious scholar at helm of Islamic State.” pic.twitter.com/cs243EVz7W
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 27, 2019
The Washington Post has now changed its description of ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi from “Terrorist in Chief” to “Austere Religious Scholar” to “Extremist Leader” pic.twitter.com/h899LvZVLX
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) October 27, 2019
Regarding our al-Baghdadi obituary, the headline should never have read that way and we changed it quickly.
— Kristine Coratti Kelly (@kriscoratti) October 27, 2019
Which time? Because last I counted there were three headlines.
— Beth Baumann (@eb454) October 27, 2019
(Read more from “WaPo Faces Backlash Over Vile, Sympathetic Obituary for ISIS Leader Al-Baghdadi” HERE)
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