Of more serious concern is the willingness to believe that all Muslim youths are packs of vicious thugs.
In this case the Melbourne Turks have had the last laugh, but in Sydney the boot has been on other foot.
Brian: Gíday Stan
Stan: Yes Brian?
Brian: Mate Iím fumin'
Stan: Youíre fuminí?
Brian: Iím bloody fumin' mate. I listen to this crap thatís going on with these bloody Muslims. Well stuff it mate. This is our country. This is our country ...
— Caller "Brian" to Stan Zemanek, on Radio 2UE, 15 August 2005
Now why is Brian fuming?
We need to go back to early August. Abdul Hamid Elayoubi of the Lebanese Muslim Association was contacted then by a young freelance film producer, named Tim Noonan, who said he was doing some docos for Channel 7.
He said weíd been harshly treated by the media and he wanted to address thatÖHe seemed like a nice guy and I spoke to a few guys who said weíre interested but weíre also a bit worried.
— Mr Abdul Elayoubi, Lebanese Muslim Association to Media Watch
They were wary of Channel 7, but impressed by Tim and his promises.
Tim told us heíd be doing the editing himself and would give it to Channel 7 completed.
— Abdul Elayoubi
Mr Elayoubi was further reassured by this letter from Channel 7ís head of news and current affairs, Peter Meakin.
Tim is anxious to show Australians from non-Islamic backgrounds the viewpoint of young Muslims and the pressure they face in an often hostile society ... I can assure you that his material will not be used out of context and ... we will not misrepresent those involved in any report Tim prepares for this Network.
— Letter from Peter Meakin to Mr Abdul Hamid Elayoubi, Lebanese Muslim Association, 4 August 2005
Read the letter here in full
Mr Elayoubi lined up three young men: Khaled, Ahmed and Samir. Tim and the boys got on well.
This is Lakemba. This is one of the most famous streets in the world. This is the street that everybody fears and I donít even know why (laughter).
You can see Centre Point tower there. Put down that camera Tim or theyíll think youíre doing surveillance (laughter).
— Today Tonight, Channel 7, 15 August 2005
Tim didnít tell the boys until filming had started that the "doco" would run on Today Tonight.
Then Ahmed and his friends saw the promo.
Plus itís us against you. Muslim youth reject our Aussie way of life
Grab 1: We will never integrate
Grab 2: This is a whole life we donít wanna live
When Hyundai presents Today Tonight.
— Today Tonight promo, Seven News, 15 August 2005
Ahmed told Media Watch he rang Tim Noonan.
Tim said he hadnít seen it and asked "Whatís it like?".
I replied it gave the strong impression that we wonít integrate.
Tim said, "Letís just wait and see. Sometimes they beat up the promo."
— Ahmed Haouchar to Media Watch
The story when it came was introduced like this:
300,000 Muslims now live in Australia and many of them were born here but despite that a number of them reject outright the Australian way of life and say they will never accept it. And hereís David Richardson ...
— Today Tonight, Channel 7, 15 August 2005
Dave "Sluggo" Richardson. What happened to Tim?
The boys had never even met Sluggo, but here he was saying:
Ahmed, Samed and Khaled are born again Muslims ... people who have refound their faith.
— Channel 7, Today Tonight, 15 August 2005
At least Tim would have got their names right, itís Samir, not Samed.
But it wasnít that bad until it came to this:
I mean you have all this talk about integration. Why hasnít the Muslim community assimilated or why doesnít it integrate into the Australian community as quick as other communities. Well, at the end of the day OK, we will never integrate.
— Today Tonight, Channel 7, 15 August 2005
"We will never integrate" full stop. Or was it?
Ahmed says that he qualified that absolute statement, but he was cut off.
Letís have another look.
Ö at the end of the day OK, we will never integrate ...
— Channel 7, Today Tonight, 15 August 2005
It looks cut off, and Ahmed says it was taken out of context.
I was saying off camera to Tim - look we will never integrate like other cultures have done because itís against our religion to drink alcohol and go to bars and clubs. He said "Ok, let me get that on camera". I think what I said on camera was "We will never integrate to the extent that other communities have been able to and it also depends on what your definition of integration is."
— Ahmed Haouchar to Media Watch
But after his shortened comments went to air, the damage was done.
Hereís Stan Zemanek on Sydney radio 2UE:
Well did you see the story Today Tonight ran this evening on young Australian Muslims? It featured 3 young men named Ahmed, Samed and Khaled who live in Sydneyís suburb of Lakemba. ...and they said about integration "We will never integrate. We will never integrate." Now these are actually spokespeople for the Muslim community.
— Stan Zemanek, on Radio 2UE, 15 August 2005
So that's what got Brian fuming:
Iím, Iím serious, Iím bloody fuminí. From what youíve told me, from what Iím listening to tonight I just canít believe Iím in this country.
Stan: Well theyíre saying they will never integrate
— Caller "Brian" to Stan Zemanek, on Radio 2UE, 15 August 2005
The following night Today Tonight was milking it dry.
But first no one could predict the public outcry over a young Australian Muslimís comment on this program last night-that Muslims will never adopt the Australian way of life.
— Today Tonight, Channel 7, 16 August 2005
Then they trotted out the usual suspects to make a whole story based on an outcry they said they couldn't predict?
Stone: To hear a young man like that say we wonít integrate is I think an extremely worrying phenomenon.
Bolt: It is a worry. People that live in our community and reject us so utterly.
— Channel 7, Today Tonight, 16 August 2005
Ahmed has asked Tim who did all the interviews to release the full tapes, so that he can prove he doesnít utterly reject the Australian way of life.
Heís still waiting in hope.
Tim Noonan refused to answer our questions but sent us this statement:
I believe the edit was an accurate representation of what they told me and I absolutely deny that anything was taken out of context.
— Reply from Tim Noonan
Read the reply from Tim Noonan in full here
We asked Channel Seven for a transcript of the rest of Ahmedís answer on integration.
Sevenís Head of News and Current Affairs Peter Meakin sent this reply:
The full quote was "we will never integrate, the way other communities integrate purely because of the fact that you have to draw a line with what your idea of integration is and what our idea of integration and accepting the practices of other people are."
— Peter Meakin to Media Watch
Read the questions put to Channel 7's Peter Meakin, in full here
Read the response from Peter Meakin, in full here
Which is pretty much word for word what Ahmed told us heíd said.
Peter Meakin says the edit was fair, but we donít agree, because what went to air was a blunt "we will never integrate".
Can we remind Peter of what he wrote to the Lebanese Muslim Association:
In volatile times like these, any form of racial or religious vilification can have disastrous consequences and we are determined to treat all those involved in this project fairly.
— Peter Meakin to Abdul Elayoubi
If only they had.
Until next week, good night.
Australian media analysis program ''Media Watch'' has accused popular national "current affairs" style program Today Tonight of deliberately quoting a Muslim youth out of context, with the intention of presenting a negative stereotype of the Muslim community. The allegations were aired during Monday night's episode.

According to Mediawatch, Abdul Elayoubi of the Lebanese Muslim Association was approached by Tim Noonan, a freelance film producer wanting to produce a short documentary to air on the Seven Network. Mr Elayoubi was cautious because of a prior misrepresentation, however was assured that the program would "show Australians from non-Islamic backgrounds the viewpoint of young Muslims and the pressure they face in an often hostile society", according to a letter from Peter Meakin, the Seven Network's head of news and current affairs.  Elayoubi said "Tim told us he’d be doing the editing himself and would give it to Channel 7 completed," and was assured that quotes would not be taken out of context to further vilify Australian Muslims.

Three Muslim youths, Khaled, Ahmed and Samir, agreed to participate in the documentary.  Despite prior reassurances, Tim Noonan did not produce a completed documentary.  The film was subsequently narrated by David Richardson, who had not met the boys and who got Samir's name wrong throughout the piece.

The quote "we will never integrate, the way other communities integrate purely because of the fact that you have to draw a line with what your idea of integration is and what our idea of integration and accepting the practices of other people are," was reduced to "we will never integrate" during editing.  Ahmed stated that the full quote itself was made to camera after a discussion including talk of how the Islamic rule prohibiting consumption of alcohol was a barrier to full social integration.

The interviewer, Tim Noonan, dismissed the claims in a statement to Media Watch, saying "I believe the edit was an accurate representation of what they told me and I absolutely deny that anything was taken out of context."

The aired quote was picked up by other media bodies, most noticeably Sydney talk radio 2UE, where it was allegedly used to incite religious and racial intolerance.  The quote was then further publicised by ''Today Tonight'' in a follow-up piece the next evening.