He at once became one of America's best known preachers; interviewed by Cable News Network, his name and an outline of his beliefs reported on network news broadcasts, in newspapers, and in the news weeklies. The coverage was almost unrelievedly negative, and it is undoubtedly true that his adherents would consider the picture given of him and his beliefs in the media to be a gross caricature. But as the traditional show business saying has it, it doesn't matter what they say about you so long as they spell your name correctly. That is, if the goals of a person or group include gaining maximum publicity, even hostile publicity is preferable to none at all.
Thanks to press coverage of Shaikh Rahman, which is due in turn to his alleged links to actual and planned terrorist bombings, his Islamic based objections to American policies and attitudes have received the widest publicity. Those who might potentially be sympathetic to his goals may well be able to identify, even through the hostile tone of the coverage, the outlines of his beliefs. They have been assured that these beliefs are shared by individuals willing to act forcefully upon them. The majority of Americans, presumably not sympathetic to these goals (at any rate as the goals of "Islamic fundamentalism" are explained in the American press), have received a further message: that there is some danger in opposing so-called Islamic fundamentalism, or even in simply living among those identified as enemies by alleged Islamic fundamentalists. Statistically, the danger is insignificant. But emotionally the danger is present, whenever one enters the parking garage of a high rise building or drives into a highway tunnel.
In short, if in fact Shaikh Rahman was the "spiritual leader" of the Trade Centers and the subsequent alleged plotters, then these terrorist actions, planned or executed, have served him as an immensely effective megaphone. Terrorism has made the Uni...