Christian Radio personailty

LOCAL RADIO SKIT SPARKS MUSLIM CONTROVERSY - TOPMichael Muskal, Los Angeles Times, 1/31/06http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-013006kfi_lat,0,5871647.storyA local radio personality and a group that says it is fighting to empower American Muslims have squared off over a provocative skit that featured a make-believe traffic reporter covering the hajj, where hundreds of pilgrims were crushed to death.Bill Handel, the morning radio personality for KFI-AM (640), set off the furor when he broadcast the skit about a traffic reporter in a helicopter hovering over the hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, that attracts about 3 million faithful each year. On Jan. 12, 363 pilgrims were killed in an accident that Saudi authorities blamed on the dynamics of the crowd.Last week, the Southern California office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Handel and the station to apologize for the skit, which the group said poked fun at Muslims. It also asked the station to reprimand Handel."We start at 5 o'clock in the morning offending people," Handel said in an audio statement on the station's website and given over the air. "That's what this show is about. We make fun of everybody. There is no group that is off limits to us."Handel said he would apologize to the group but imposed three conditions: The group must condemn all acts of terror; agree that Israel is a sovereign nation and has a right to defend its borders; and that CAIR has no ties to terror organizations or individuals.The answer to those demands are "yes, yes and no," said Sabiha Khan, communications director for the CAIR chapter."KFI and Hendel continue to fail to take responsibility for Bill Handel's offensive comments that he made, mocking the tragic deaths of innocent pilgrims during religious rituals," she said today in a television interview."I'm glad he is starting to acknowledge that an apology needs to be made, but it is unfortunate that he has to put conditions on doing the right thing," said Khan, who added that she had heard Hendel's broadcast. (MORE)SEE ALSO:RADIO HOST SETS APOLOGY TERMS - TOPAssociated Press, 1/31/06http://dailynews.com/news/ci_3459187A Los Angeles radio personality said Monday that he would apologize for an on-air skit that made fun of the deaths of hundreds of Muslims, but only if an Islamic civil-rights group denounces terrorism and acknowledges Israel's right to exist.The Council of American Islamic Relations demanded the apology last week after KFI-AM (640) host Bill Handel made fun of the deaths of at least 363 Muslims during a stampede at an annual pilgrimage in Mecca.According to CAIR, Handel imitated the people screaming and then joked that the Muslims should use a helicopter to monitor pilgrimage traffic, as is done with Los Angeles' freeway traffic.On his program Monday, Handel said he would apologize, but only if CAIR agreed to denounce "all bombing or attacks where intended victims are innocent citizens," to acknowledge Israeli sovereignty and to verify that the group has never had connections with any terrorist group or sponsor.If those conditions are met, "I'll be more than happy to apologize for offending people; I'll apologize all day long," Handel said in a live 12-minute response to CAIR's complaint. He said the station had received hundreds of letters from all over the world demanding an apology."CAIR's record is clear. We've had numerous statements denouncing terrorism and all the things he was talking about," said CAIR spokeswoman Sabiha Khan.She called Handel's conditions a smoke screen for his refusal to take responsibility for his remarks.---