Muslim civil rights groups are demanding that a Los Angeles-area radio show apologize for making light of a Hajj Stampede in Mecca that claimed the lives of hundreds of worshippers.

Bill Handel, a host on KFI-AM 640, aired a segment entitled, the "Annual Stampede Report." According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR):

Handel imitated the people screaming and then joked that the Muslims at the pilgrimage should use a helicopter to monitor pilgrimage traffic, as is done in Los Angeles with the freeways.

The group quoted Handel as saying: "This is Mahmoud Nolan. Hajj in the Sky. There is an accident. ... Ali lost his sandal on the on-ramp to the Martin Luther King Jr. freeway."

A CAIR spokesperson said in a statement:

"The deaths of hundreds of people engaged in religious observances is no laughing matter.... KFI needs to distance itself from Mr. Handel's unbelievable insensitivity by issuing a formal apology and a reprimand."

Interestingly, KFI-AM is owned by Clear Channel Communications, the same corporation that booted Howard Stern off the air in some markets for his allegedly indecent material.