Rima Karaki seemed to know what she was up against when she interviewed — or attempted to interview — London-based Islamist Hani Al-Siba’i on Memri TV, a talk show based in Lebanon on Monday.
Karaki started growing impatient with her guest’s long-winded answer and felt like he was trying to milk the segment so he wouldn’t have to answer all of her questions.
That’s when things went from boredom to tense quickly. Hani was visibly irritated that Karaki tried to cut in while he was taking the show off-topic. Karaki returned that irritation with a hand across her face, then tucked under her chin, all in an effort to keep her cool.
From there, the Islamist devolved into what critics like Bill Maher would claim “misogynistic.”
“Listen, don’t cut me off. I will answer as I please,” Hani said. “I will not answer the way you like, because I’m here to serve the idea in which I believe.”
“In this studio, I run the show,” Karaki hits back.
“Shut up, so I can talk. I am talking so that people can understand…”
This is where Karaki questions him on how a “respected sheik like yourself can tell a TV show host to shut up?”
“It’s beneath me to be interviewed by you,” Hani retorted. “You are a woman.”
From here, Hani didn’t get the chance to finish what he was going to say. Karaki had had enough, and shut off his mic in a moment that would probably make the Mahers of the world rejoice.
See for yourself below.
http://youtu.be/bOlpK6Yj5a4
For a little background on what Rima Karaki was up against, Asharq Al-Awsat reports that he was convicted in absentia in the Returnees from Albania case. Egyptian prosecutors were able to prove him as one of 14 shura members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which was believed to have been behind a string of bombings and assassinations.
He fled to the United Kingdom when the court ruled that he would be sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. To date, efforts at deportation have not been successful.
Do you think that Rima Karaki handled herself well in the above interview?
