Deborah Howell, the Washington Post‘s ombudsman, continues defending the paper’s decision to give a soapbox to Hamas’ Ahmed Yousef and Hezbollah’s Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah:
Mail is still coming in about an op-ed by Ahmed Yousef, a senior adviser to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. And some readers didn’t like a piece by Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, a Hezbollah supporter, that was included in OnFaith, a washingtonpost.com feature that also runs Saturdays on the Religion pages. Gail Freedman of Minneapolis put it this way: “Once again, your news organization has given a soapbox to terror.”
The purpose of commentary — whether by journalists or not — is not only to let writers press a point of view but also to stimulate independent thought in readers. The best opinion columns are supported by reporting, facts and cogent arguments and give honest credence to opposing arguments. They are written by men and women with credentials. To bring up a sore point, Givhan has such credentials. While not journalists, so did the Muslim writers.
What “facts” and “cogent arguments” did Yousef and Fadlallah raise? And what exactly are their “credentials?”
