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Al-Jazeera anchor slates Arab and Western media
(AKI) - Anchorman for the Arabic TV network Al -Jazeera , Faysal Qassem, has harshly criticised the "sheep-like" Arab press, a charge he also extends to Western media since al-Qaeda's '9/11' attacks on US cities. "Arab people behave like sheep and the Arab press imitates parrots," Qassem told Adnkronos International (AKI). "In the Arab world, the media is constrained and it parrots what the government wants. My mission is to free Arabs from dictatorships and from the legacy of our awful traditions."The 45-year-old Syrian-born journalist was in the Italian capital Rome to attend a seminar on the Arabic media's perceptions of the West. Qassem hosts the Al ittijah al-Muaakis (Opposite Directions) talkshow on Al-Jazeera, where guests with opposing views do battle, provoked by aggressive questioning from Qassem. His last programme was devoted to the continuing bloodshed in Kenya and inaction by the Arab world in the face of electoral corruption. It referred to the weeks of political and ethnic violence which have left hundreds dead in Kenya and driven many thousands from their homes after the opposition claimed the December presidential poll was rigged. Polygamy is another topic featured on the show and has earned Qassem death threats as well as religious edicts (fatwas) against him for 'blasphemy'. "There is no objectivity in the Arab media, above all with regard to the West, from which it is alienated owing to the Arab-Israeli conflict." "Arab information is too politicised to be objective," he stressed. "The press in Syria gives a positive image of Italy because relations between Rome and Damascus are excellent, while it speaks negatively of France owing to their differences of opinion over Lebanon." Qassem had harsh criticism for Western media and governments as well as their Arab counterparts. Especially since the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US, the Western media has aligned itself too much with its governments, he argued. He described Western news organisations' coverage of the war in Iraq as "derogatory and devoid of objectivity". He reserved particular criticism for "embedded" reporters who he said covered the war "from tanks and helicopters, only giving the version of events that US and British officials dictated." Qassem flatly rejected criticisms of Al-Jazeera. "It is not factious and is very objective, even in its coverage of such charged topics for Arab audiences as the Arab-Israeli conflict," he said. "We give the Israeli perspective due coverage, even if this angers some of our viewers," he noted. Six Arab countries have withdrawn their ambassadors from Qatar, where Al-Jazeera is based, citing Qassem's show as the reason for their decision. Qassem said Al-Jazeera is the only Arab news organisation that has attempted to explain to its audiences that Europe is not a rigid and single entity, but is heterogenous. "In just the same way that the Arab world cannot be seen as monolithic," he said. Posted by: Fred 2008-02-05 |
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