Newsweek's #MuslimRage cover faces Twitter mockery

Los Angeles: If Newsweek was looking for a conversation-starter with its latest issue, it certainly got it. The magazine’s cover essay, Muslim Rage: How I Survived It, How We Can End It, has spawned a huge response on Twitter. The essay by Somali-Dutch activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali addresses the issue of free speech in light of deadly riots in the Middle East over an anti-Islamic film. But most of the tweets using Newsweek’s hashtag, #MuslimRage, have mocked the subject, rather than adopt the article’s serious tone. [caption id=“attachment_459648” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Newsweek’s cover. Image from Twitter.[/caption] Many of those who poked fun at the article’s headline were Muslim. “MuslimRage” was the sixth most-talked about topic —or “trending topic”— on Twitter among US-based users on Monday. It was also a top trender in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. The Twitter conversation peaked on Monday morning and by late afternoon there were 75,000 tweets using #MuslimRage hashtag, Twitter said, citing data from social media tracking firm Topsy. One of the most popular posts came from “Hend”, a user whose profile photo features a woman in a Muslim head covering: “I’m having such a good hair day. No one even knows. #MuslimRage”. Another reads: “Lost your kid Jihad at the airport. Can’t yell for him. #MuslimRage”. Yet another tweet laments: “Head & Shoulders still hasn’t made a beard conditioner. #MuslimRage” Here are some other funny tweets: https://twitter.com/afshanstan/status/247937557944471553 https://twitter.com/CahAyyu/status/247936826734686208 https://twitter.com/gaaradams/status/247934109408718848 Newsweek took the jabs in stride. “Newsweek covers and hashtags bring attention and spark debate around topics of major global importance,” said Andrew Kirk, director of Public Relations for Newsweek & The Daily Beast. “The Internet is an open forum for people to continue their own discussion.” You can also check out this post from Gawker which mocks Newsweek’s idea of angry Muslims with rather interesting pictures of #MuslimRage. With inputs from AP