Al Jazeera's Presence on PBS Alarms Some

Al Jazeera television is known for airing Islamic extremist videos and even hosted an on-air birthday celebration for convicted Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar who murdered four Israelis in 1979.

"It is a professional institution but it is a militant institution that wants to convey an ideological Jihadi message," said Walid Phares, a terrorism analyst for FOX News.

Critics charge that the Jihadist message now is making its way to public broadcasting in America.

PBS' new program, WorldFocus, airs international reports from Al Jazeera's English channel -- one of many foreign broadcasters, like England's ITN and Israel's Channel 10, included in the newscast.

But according to some in Congress, there is little difference between Al Jazeera's networks that broadcast in Arabic or English and, they say, PBS, which is partially funded by taxpayer dollars, is recklessly promoting Al Jazeera by airing the segments.

"My concern is that the American people should be pretty darn upset about the fact that their tax dollars are going to fund this," said Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C. "I mean, they're already upset about what their tax dollars are going to fund, and now they're funding propaganda."

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WorldFocus declined an interview on its use of Al Jazeera reports but sent a statement.

"Though many people who have not seen Al Jazeera English think of it as a propaganda machine for Islamic extremist causes, much of what it produces is not ideological," the statement read. "We also believe Al Jazeera English does sometimes offer us and our viewers a unique perspective from various parts of the world where it has access that others don't."

Click here to read the full statement.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting said the New York station where the program is produced, WNET, received over $20 million dollars of taxpayer money this year and last for its operations. But WorldFocus told FOX News it doesn't pay Al Jazeera for its reports, adding that the PBS show is paid for through private funds.