The Crossroads podcast this week was devoted to discussion of covering shootings. And in the time since the horrible shooting in Washington, D.C., took place, we now have reports of another horrific mass shooting in Kenya. There is some amazing journalism being done as this massacre unfolds. I'd recommend reading this New York Times interview of Tyler Hicks, a photographer who ran into the mall as thousands fled. The pictures that accompany the piece will make you gasp and cry, so be forewarned. But I think there is an argument to be made that we should see these images and have the appropriate reaction to them. At this point in the process, Somali militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility. The New York Times slideshow says that gunmen entered the mall in a coordinated assault and told Muslims to leave. They then killed, according to reports, some 39 people and are holding an unknown number of people hostage. There are reports that 300 people have been injured, ranging in age from 2-years-old to 78-years-old. I want to say this is absolute madness, and I think you know what I mean, but it's important for us to know that this is actually a terrorist attack. It has a political aim. It wasn't a lone gunmen. These things mean a lot about how we respond to a crisis. And religion is a major part of that story, obviously.
So what about the Washington, D.C., shooter who killed 12 people working at the Navy Yard? When we say that story is absolute madness, it has similarities and differences from the Kenyan massacre. The gunman in the D.C. shooting, who is deceased, was said to suffer mental illness, such as hearing voices. He is reported to have had paranoid thinking. Does it matter to the families and loved ones of the 12 people whose lives he snuffed out that day? Perhaps not, but when we're communicating information to target audiences, we have a different discussion about an American madmen than we do about Somali militants.
Host Todd Wilken asked about media reports identifying the shooter as having ties to Buddhism. I defended those journalistic reports as being key to beginning to understand who the shooter was. We talked about the pushback some had over those reports. The key is that reporters don't blame an affiliation to a religion without facts to back it up. Wilken noted that the story seemed to be moving toward issues of mental health. The question is what role religion plays in that story and how well reporters will be able to tease that thread.
Back to the Kenyan situation, we have another example of religion being identified with the shooters. In this case it's militant Islam. How should that be treated in this story? I'm going to go ahead and argue that it's important while a situation is ongoing for reporters to lock down the "who, what, where and how" before they get to the "why." The "who," in this case, is a religion story. The "why" is, too. But we have some time to get that latter issue right. Basic facts are most important in the midst of the crisis.
It is for this reason that Reuters didn't really dive deep about Islamic terrorism in this breaking story, but did mention religion in the headline and lede. In "Stand-off at Kenyan mall after Islamists kill 39 in 'terrorist' attack," we learn:
Kenyan security forces were locked in a stand-off on Sunday with gunmen who killed at least 39 people at an upmarket shopping mall in the Kenyan capital, and it was still unclear how many hostages the al Qaeda-linked militants were holding.
The Somali Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for Saturday's assault on Nairobi's Westgate mall, which is frequented by Westerners as well as Kenyans.
There is no mention of the escorting of Muslims out of the mall, although it is mentioned in this CNN story (which, apart from referring to expatriates as ex-patriots) is quite detailed and good. The Reuters piece ends:
Al Shabaab appeared to taunt the security forces, saying on its official Twitter handle @HSM_Press that there would be no negotiations whatsoever with Kenyan officials over the standoff.
"10 hours have passed and the Mujahideen are still strong inside #Westgate Mall and still holding their ground. All praise is due to Allah!", the group said.
Lord, have mercy.