By , ,
Published May 18, 2015
The nation's first "terror-free" gas station has said 'no thanks' to the nation's first Arab news network.
The Terror-Free Oil Initiative, a Coral Springs, Fla.-based fuel group, has shunned the coverage of Al Jazeera English, according to its spokesman Joe Kaufman.
"We would like to get our message out to the Arab world, but when I discussed it with the director, we had decided that we were not going to go through with this," Kaufman said. "We felt it was a conflict; we felt it was against our cause."
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Al Jazeera, an Arab-language 24-hour news channel, has come under fire for its airing of videos from known terrorists, but it has garnered a huge following in the Arab world. It launched its English-language sister network in November 2006.
Kaufman said it was the second time his fuel group, which operates one gas station — in Omaha, Neb., has said "no" to a company because of its ties to the Middle East.
Earlier this month, the Terror-Free Oil Initiative said it turned down a financial offer from Citigroup (C), citing connection with Saudi financier Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
In 2001, then-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani returned a $10 million donation from Bin Talal for the rebuilding of the city following the Sept. 11 attacks.
The Terror-Free Oil Initiative opened its first gas station on Feb. 1 in west Omaha. The group purports to sell gas that originates from countries that do not support terrorism and from oil companies that don't do business in the Middle East.
A distributor for Sinclair Oil Corp. in Salt Lake City is the initial supplier for the station, Kaufman said. The group has plans to open more stations in the coming months.
"We've received hundreds of e-mails from citizens across north America saying they want their Terror-Free gas station in their neighborhood," he said. "So we're speaking to a lot of investors about opening these up around the country."
Late Tuesday, Al Jazeera English emailed FOXNews.com the following statement:
"Whats terrifying about the decision by 'Terror-Free Oil' is that such ignorance and prejudice still exists in America. Al Jazeera English and our sister channel represent the first and strongest elements of a truly free press born in the Middle East, and are the cornerstones of democracy that all of us wish to take root in the region.
"Noted journalists like Sir David Frost and Dave Marash call Al Jazeera English home and have given the English speaking world its first real, non second-hand look at the channel and at news from parts of the world no other channel would imagine covering. Our aim is understanding between peoples. If mindless bigotry is being used to sell a few extra quarts of oil, clearly we have our work cut out for us."
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https://www.foxnews.com/story/terror-free-gas-station-shuns-al-jazeera-coverage