The news as it is, and the news as it should be

Here was the story in today’s paper:

Religious fanatic held in Aeromexico hijacking

An Islamic religious fanatic briefly hijacked a jetliner from the beach resort of Cancun as it landed in Mexico City Wednesday, police said. All passengers and the crew were released unharmed.

The Koran-carrying hijacker used a juice can he said was a bomb to hold the 103 passengers and crew on the tarmac for more than an hour. Masked police stormed the aircraft with their guns drawn and escorted several handcuffed men away without firing a shot. Police later said there was only one hijacker.

Jose Flores, 44, told investigators he hijacked Aeromexico Flight 576 after a divine revelation, according to Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna. Flores said Wednesday’s date – 9-9-09 – is the date on which the 12th Imam is to return.

Flores, speaking to reporters after he was detained, said he took control of the aircraft with “a juice can with some little lights I attached.”

“The 12th Imam is coming soon,” he added, smiling.

As the plane was landing, Flores stood up and showed his contraption to a flight attendant, saying he and two others were hijacking the plane, Garcia Luna said. Flores later told police his three companions were “the Prophet Mohammed and Allah.”

Okay, I am totally lying. This is the real story:

Religious fanatic held in Aeromexico hijacking

A Bolivian religious fanatic briefly hijacked a jetliner from the beach resort of Cancun as it landed in Mexico City Wednesday, police said. All passengers and the crew were released unharmed.

The Bible-carrying hijacker used a juice can he said was a bomb to hold the 103 passengers and crew on the tarmac for more than an hour. Masked police stormed the aircraft with their guns drawn and escorted several handcuffed men away without firing a shot. Police later said there was only one hijacker.

Jose Flores, 44, told investigators he hijacked Aeromexico Flight 576 after a divine revelation, according to Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna. Flores said Wednesday’s date – 9-9-09 – is the satanic number 666 turned upside down.

Flores, speaking to reporters after he was detained, said he took control of the aircraft with “a juice can with some little lights I attached.”

“Christ is coming soon,” he added, smiling.

As the plane was landing, Flores stood up and showed his contraption to a flight attendant, saying he and three others were hijacking the plane, Garcia Luna said. Flores later told police his three companions were “the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.”

I just told the false story to put it as a counterpoint to the myriad news stories about Islamic terrorism, which, as conservative blogs have pointed out repeatedly, always bury the perpetrator’s religion in the 99th paragraph on the back page below the fold.

The one thing I’ll add here is that the reporters’ obsession with the hijacker’s Christianity could be said to fall into the category of “man bites dog” or “the dog that didn’t bark in the night.”  We’re so used now to Muslim participation in hijackings, bombings, and mass shootings, that it’s only news when someone else does it.