News networks willfully ignored Hussein’s secularism to fit him into the Muslim-terror role.

Evidence

For ABC, NBC, CBS, and the upstart CNN (the only major American network that provided twenty-four-hour news coverage), the fact that Hussein was an ardent secularist and alleged pan-Arab nationalist, again, was of no importance. He was dark, Arab, and from a region tethered to the maligned faith of Islam, so he fit the role. News outlets consistently emphasized the Iraqi dictator’s identity as Muslim, shaping the narrative in line with the “clash of civilizations” binary. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 255

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 255
• XREF: connects to: Muslim-perpetrated attacks receive dramatically disproportionate news coverage — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 217

Broader Connections

• Muslim-perpetrated attacks receive dramatically disproportionate news coverage #exemplifies (0.70) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 217