Contributed by: filbert Friday, August 12 2005 @ 05:46 AM CST
“Somebody was trying to make a big story,” said Yigal Carmon, head of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI.org). MEMRI monitors and translates newspaper and magazine articles, editorials, public statements, and web publishing from the Islamic world. Its product (memri.org), has become an invaluable resource for Westerners seeking to understand — not just speculate about — Muslim thought. This is what Arabs really say to each other.
Carmon also dismissed one unidentified source in the story, Uri Mahnaimi, with a snort and a memorable wisecrack which he asked me not to quote. “Not credible,” he said. Two websites had in fact been taken down, along with two more which are back up now, Carmon said.