-end of line- on the death of the unknown soldier and Mohammed Saleem

The tragedy in London yesterday brought to mind another incident in the mid nineteen eighties, where two soldiers, or police officers, on undercover work in Ireland, were taken from their car, dragged down the road and shot in point blank range in a field.
The incident shown on BBC at the time created a sense of anger at home, and did little to aide in the peace process in Ireland.
I can still recall my father's anger at the images shown, and I felt then -as I did yesterday when I first saw those images of the bloody roadside in Woolwich- the same sense of fear and concern that many feel right now.
But it is also interesting to note that through this sense of national fear anger and outrage at the death of a man: who only today has been officially identified as a British soldier, has not been felt for the death of Mohammed Saleem: a 75 year old individual of the Islamic faith, who only made the headlines of some of the major broadsheet papers on Monday:
"Mohammed Saleem, a man who walked with the aid of a stick, was stabbed four times in the back so viciously that the wounds penetrated his chest. He was not robbed and his family said there was no reason they knew why anyone would want to hurt him.Friends and family said he was well known and popular in the local community, which has been stunned by his death.
His nephew, Javid Iqbar, 53, described how he found Mr Saleem lying in a pool of blood.He said: "My auntie called me just after 10.30pm, and straight away I knew something must have been wrong." Mr Saleem, a retired baker with five daughters, two sons and 22 grandchildren, had lived at his home in Little Green Lane, Small Heath, Birmingham, with his wife, Said Begum, 69, for 40 years.He was on his way there from the nearby Green Lane Masjid mosque when he was attacked from behind." (Daily Telegraph 20/05/2013)
This is not said, in any way to remove the sense of moral outrage of the death of the presently unknown soldier, but to point out something about the way our news establishment has broadcast this recent and troubling event.
News needs to be balanced, with a removal of all forms of the hyperbolic, and for many years, despite the hiatus caused by the 'Troubles' it was broadcast with a greater sense of journalistic integrity. But recently the balance has shifted again and its frankly unsettling. Once again, as in the times of the troubles,we are not being given what could equate to news; we are being given drama, orchestrated to impart a feeling, rather then to inform, educate and impart information for the general public. By doing so, this journalism cannot really be accurately defined as news, as it carries within it perhaps an unwitting slant of emotional opinion, a slant, an edge that defines itself, more accurately as propaganda.
Propaganda was used very well in the relaying of the incident yesterday: Several members of the public referred to the man attacked as being chopped up like a "piece of meat" .This was repeated by several sources. Also the tone of the many of the broadcast's both from the BBC, SKY were sensationalized, and "facts" were pointed out, even before the facts were accurately known: that the men who committed the attack were "of Muslim origin" Moreover, the Tory member of parliament for the area of Woolwich seemed to confirm that the white man who was murdered, and who was described at the scene as wearing a "hope for Hero's" T shirt was in fact a soldier on leave, before the body was even officially identified.
Yet where was Mr Saleem and his family in all this?
The murder of a person,of whatever gender, race, nationality or religious conviction is a tragedy; and should be given the same sense of moral concern. The only thing that separates these two incidents is the fact that one was committed during the day, and in view of the general public, while the other was committed at night, when no one was apparently watching. One has gathered enough outrage to bring the people to the streets of London, and fill people with fear and and concern about feeling unsafe in their homes, yet the other, simply goes unnoticed. Mr Saleem is just another old man, walking to his place of worship, unknown outside of his community, loved by his family and friends, yet he was stabbed right through the body and left to die on a street. Where is the sense of moral outrage for him?
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