Press Room

AAI in the News

Mosque-Combat Ad Blamed on 'Clerical Error'

By Peter Ortiz
DiversityInc.com
Posted on Wednesday October 5, 2005

“It Descends From the Heavens,” the magazine advertisement reads. “Ironically It Unleashes Hell.”

Most people could not imagine juxtaposing those statements next to an image of a high-tech helicopter with U.S. soldiers rappelling down onto the top of a church or synagogue. Yet this very ad ran in the Sept. 24 publication of the National Journal depicting instead a mosque in the midst of a smoky combat scene.

Leaders of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) immediately called on the ad’s sponsors, Boeing Co. and Bell Helicopter, as well as the magazine, to pull the advertisement for the CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.

“I would say the thing that concerns me the most is the ad actually made it to print,” said Corey Saylor, CAIR government affairs coordinator. “Very simply, if you take the same ad and have them descending on a church or synagogue, there would be complete and utter outrage, yet no one thought the same with a mosque. In a sense, it implies the current war on extremism is a war on Islam.”

Saylor was quick, however, to credit Boeing, Bell Helicopter and National Journal for being responsive, expressing regret and apologizing for running the ad. The question that Saylor now wants to address is how it could happen and what could be done to prevent any other occurrences.

Boeing noticed the ad after it ran in two other publications, Armed Forces Journal International and Air Force Magazine. Paul Guse, a Boeing spokesperson, said future ad placements were canceled. (Click here to see the ad.)

“We clearly find this offensive in nature and is not an ad we would want the Boeing name attached to,” Guse said.

National Journal Executive Vice President Elizabeth Baker Keffer said in a statement: “The advertisement for Boeing/Bell’s V-22 Osprey that ran in the September 24 issue of National Journal was run as a result of a clerical error on our part. We had specific direction from the agency representing Boeing/Bell to not run the ad. We have apologized to Boeing, their partner Bell and their advertising agency for this mistake.”

Katherine Birrow, spokesperson for National Journal, would only say that she could not comment on the internal processes of how the clerical error could occur and that they did accept responsibility for running the ad.

Even with the notice given to the agency, Boeing has an internal process where “all advertising is reviewed and that was not followed in this instance,” Guse said. He promised a review of the process to see how this could have slipped the company’s attention. TM Advertising, a Dallas-based company, was the firm responsible for the ad, Guse said.

“Unfortunately, you see this stuff frequently enough and realize a lot of education still needs to occur,” Saylor said, pointing out the frequency is more of a general trend and not particularly specific to corporate America.

Christine Nazer, spokesperson for the Arab American Institute, also condemned the ad.

“I welcome the fact that they apologized, but I’m amazed an ad like this would get the green light to begin with,” Nazer said. “I would say it is really dangerous and only going to widen the divide between the United States and Arab nations. I think it will do damage to our image abroad.”

The ad also contained the following paragraph at the bottom: “Before you hear it, you see it. By the time you see it, it’s too late. The CV-22 delivers Special Forces to intersection points never thought possible. It flies faster. It flies farther. It flies quieter. Consider it a gift from above. Capabilities extended. Options multiplied. Missions accomplished.” The ad also displayed the words, “Muhammad Mosque,” written in Arabic on the mosque itself.

“It gives the extremists recruiting material because they point to this and say it is a crusade,” Saylor said.

Calls to Bell Helicopter and TM Advertising Monday were not returned.

Just as most Americans would not blame Catholics for an IRA terrorist act, the same standard should hold true for Muslims. But getting that message across takes education and leaders willing to strongly distinguish that extremist actions’ do not equate with Islam.

“Our research shows that people who know Muslims or who are educated in the faith tend to have a more positive view of it,” Saylor said.