Nigeria: May 27, 2004

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The last holdout state governor in northern Nigeria has agreed to allow polio immunization to proceed. Last year, Islamic clerics demanded that polio immunization cease because of rumors that the vaccine would make female children sterile. This was seen as a plot by infidel Westerners to destroy Islam. As a result, hundreds of children in Nigeria and neighboring countries have been killed or paralyzed by polio. This kind of paranoid rumor is a direct result of the sensationalistic and anti-Western style of the Islamic mass media. For those who doubt the damage that the sensationalistic, distorted and hateful style of Islamic journalism does no harm, take a look at the polio victims in northern Nigeria.