 Doha: Muslim scholars are calling for new TV channels and newspapers in the West to counteract the anti-Islam slant.
| Going to bring the propaganda war to us, are they? |
| I thought they already had on the Sundance cable channel. |
Clerics and intellectuals from across the Muslim world who gathered in Doha said "the aggression of the United States and Zionists" towards Islamic countries and their religion must be challenged through strategic media policies. "We must challenge aggressors practically and technically, we must reply to the media with the media. We must open TV channels, newspapers and magazines in the heart of the West to talk about Islam and present it in the correct way. "Scholarly gatherings are not enough," said Lebanese mufti Mohammad Ali Al Guzu. He was addressing participants at the first Global Anti-Aggression Campaign organised by the Arab Centre for Studies and Research. The event is designed to map out a strategy to counterbalance the influence of the Western media on the Islamic world as well as how to present Islam as a religion of peace.
| Al-Jizzles and al-Arabiya seem to be the counterbalance. As for presenting Islam as a religion of peace, you could start by not killing and maiming people. |
While speeches were dominated with such words as enemy, colonialism and aggression, scholars struggled to keep the conference on track in its objectivity.
| Does that sentence make any sense? Bueller? |
Participants called for the Islamic nation to unite and create a global strategy to face their "occupation", while also identifying aggressors with the United States and Israel. Abbas Al Madani, Algerian Liberation Front leader, said the Islamic nation and its people were targeted by aggressors.
| "Everywhere I look there's aggressors! I got four of 'em under my bed right now!" |
He said the Islamic world was facing deterioration and underdevelopment while being deprived of its freedom, sovereignty and right to exist.
| Deterioration and underdevelopment is the natural state of the Islamic world. That's because it's Islamic. Oil money is the factor that — temporarily — alleviates the condition. If the oil goes, there goes the development, maybe not immediately, because of all the money that's invested in other things now, but on a long-term slide. The solution is to kick out the holy men, not to let them run things. |
He accused Islamic scholars of failing to raise this issue. Taisier Al Tamimi, chief mufti of Palestine, said the aggression against Islam was being ignored by the world. He accused intellectuals worldwide of remaining silent. Al Tamimi said the media and Friday sermons should be used to influence the masses about the extent of "Western and Zionist aggression in the Muslim world". Campaigns to fight the aggression must be conducted on different fronts, such as education. "There are attempts to change our curriculums, to cancel our history and religion. Islam does not need to be defended, but scholars have to learn how to convey to the West a positive message of our religion," he said.
| ... without actually doing anything positive, of course. |
Al Guzu said the fight against aggression must be conducted on the information and media level. He said "the massive brainstorming conducted in the West by Christian movements and Zionists through the media" must be challenged by the Islamic nation with the same instruments. Ali Sadr Al Din Al Baianuni, the Syrian Muslim Brother's representative, said threats to Arab countries were caused by the presence of dictatorial regimes in the Arab world. |