iraq

New Al Qaeda Women's Magazine [Still Pretty In Pink]: August, 2004

"A new web magazine has been launched in order to promote Jihad (Islamic “holy war”) among Arab women. The magazine, published by an organization called "The Women's Media Bureau in the Arabian Peninsula" seeks to “show women how to reconcile the apparent contradiction of fighting jihad while maintaining family life,” according to a BBC expose. The publication, called Al-Khansa, is named after an early Islamic poetess who wrote eulogies for Muslims who died while fighting the “infidels” – and claims the former leader of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, Abd-al-Aziz al-Muqrin was one of its founders. Al-Muqrin was killed by Saudi security forces earlier this year. The web site also gives advice on raising children to carry on the Jihad, how to provide first aid for a family member injured in combat and descriptions of physical training women need to prepare themselves for fighting. It even includes advice as to how the "jihadettes" can keep their man happy. The main goal of the magazine seems to be teaching women married to Islamists how to support their husbands in their violent war against the non-Muslim world. One of its first articles reads: 'The blood of our husbands and the body parts of our children are our sacrificial offering.'"
[Northeast Intelligence Network for August 27, 2003]

Terror by Video: Robert Fisk: "How Chechnya Inspired the Iraqi Kidnappers": July 26, 2004

"The pictures are grainy, the voices sometimes unclear. But when Kim Sun-il shrieks 'Don't kill me' over and over again, his fear is palpable. As the heads of Iraq's kidnap victims are sawn off, Koranic recitations--usually by a well-known Saudi imam--are played on the soundtrack. At the beheading of an American, the murderer ritually wipes his bloody knife twice on the shirt of his victim, just as Saudi officials clean their blades after public executions in the kingdom. Terror by video is now a well-established part of the Iraq war. [...] the scenario has become grimly familiar. The potential victim kneels in front of three hooded men holding Kalashnikov rifles. Sometimes he pleads for his life. Sometimes he is silent, apparently unaware of whether he is to be murdered or spared. The viewer, however, will notice something quite terrible. When the hostage is to be beheaded, the gunmen behind him are wearing gloves. They do not intend to stain their hands with an infidel's blood. [...] All sides in Iraq have joined the video war. The first day of Saddam Hussein's trial was videotaped and handed to journalists by US military censors who initially tried to delete the soundtrack--something they succeeded in doing with the 11 Baathists whose arraignment followed shortly afterwards. [...] Videos, usually delivered to one of two Arabic-language television channels--al-Jazeera or al-Arabia--are rarely shown in full. But in an outrageous spin-off, websites--especially one that appears to be in California--are now posting the full and gory contents. One American website has posted the beheading of the American Nicholas Berg and the South Korean hostage in full and bloody detail. 'Kim Sun-il Beheading Video Short Version, Long Version' the website offers. The 'short version' shows a man severing the hostage's neck. The long version includes his screaming appeal for mercy--which lasts for at least two minutes and is followed by his slaughter. On the same screen and at the same time, there are advertisements for 'Porn' and 'Horse Girls.' [...] And where does the inspiration for all these ghoulish videos come from? More than six months ago, a video went on sale in the insurgents' capital of Fallujah, allegedly showing the throat-cutting of an American soldier. In fact, the tape showed a Russian soldier being led into a room by armed men in Chechnya. He is forced to lie down--apparently unaware of his fate--and at first tries to cope with the pain as a man takes a knife to his throat. His head is then cut off. It seems certain that this tape was intended as a training manual for Iraq's new executioners."
[Counterpunch]

Aljazeera Broadcasts Report with Video of Italian Journalist Hostage: August 24, 2004

Linked to here is full broadcast report from Aljazeera presenting the hostage video of Italian Journalist Enzo Baldoni. The video is from the DARPA TIDES Iraq Reconstruction Report. Baldoni had maintained a handsome weblogblog, Bloghdad, that regularly featured photographs.
[Clip is in Windows Media Player format]

Update: Sadly, hostage Enzo Baldoni was killed in Iraq on August 26, 2004. Aljazeera did not broadcast the video.

Scott Baldauf: "Militia's Other Weapon: Videos": August 25, 2004

"Abu Mujtaba is a member of the media department of Moqtada al-Sadr's Shiite militia. He uses a tiny digital Sony Handycam instead of a Kalashnikov and is one of a half-dozen guerrilla filmmakers who record their acts of war to encourage their followers, spread their beliefs, and portray what they see as the heroism of Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army. [...] 'This is part of our mission. We film in order to record whatever happens on the battlefield, because we have to get rid of the occupying forces,' says Mr. Mujtaba [...] 'The TV channels always show the Americans strong, saying 'Go, Go, Go!' They never show the American deaths. So these films by the Mahdi Army show how we kill the Americans, they are not invincible.' The Mahdi Army, of course, are only the latest militant movement to have taken up video as a political weapon. From the kidnapping videos of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to the suicide bomber videos on the West Bank and video-fatwas of Osama bin Laden, video has become a phenomenon for militant Islamic movements around the world. Distributed through dumpy roadside shops and even over the Internet, guerrilla videos have become a way of bypassing mainstream media and going directly to the masses. Video can be divisive, turning away as many supporters as they attract, but their effect is powerful nonetheless. [...] The Mahdi Army's films are sold on cheap CDs (for about 16 cents each) and have a shaky-handed roughness similar to many a late-night police-car-chase videos in the US. But the images and the messages they contain are violent - and for Mahdi Army supporters, addictive. [...] To shoot video, Rana says he often has to take more risks than he does as a fighter, in order to get close to what he is filming. The work is dangerous for his family, as well. [...] The Mahdi Army's videos appeal mainly to the young. In one glitzy shop in Sadr City, where guerrilla CDs are the only thing for sale, the clientele is entirely male, ranging in age from 10 to 40.The Mahdi Army's videos appeal mainly to the young. In one glitzy shop in Sadr City, where guerrilla CDs are the only thing for sale, the clientele is entirely male, ranging in age from 10 to 40."
[Christian Science Monitor]

Muhammad Fhad Al-Harithy: "War Sans Blood: TV Initiates Change": August 22, 2004

"A new and different world is being shaped in the Middle East. TV has set in motion the process of changing people. It played a considerable role in the conduct of the Iraq war. [...] War scenes with their obvious pain and suggestions are registered deep in both hearts and in the subconscious. The very latest reports and pictures from war now reach the public live and uncensored. [...] The style of reporting has greatly changed since the Gulf War II of 1991 in which press conferences held by a military spokesperson were the major news sources. [...] An important lesson the US learned from past experiences, particularly in Vietnam, was the strategic significance of meticulous planning in advance of all media operations. [...] Media plans for the recent Iraq war were made as early as December 2002 with the help of senior officials at the White House and the departments of Defense and State. The strategy emphasized the message to be delivered, the press meetings every two hours and the spokesperson to make the presentation. The timing of the press meetings was planned so that they coincided with the morning TV news bulletins. The planners were also very careful in choosing the words to be used in the statements to the press. The US and its allies were referred to as Allied forces, a name which conjured up visions of the Allied Forces in World War II, which defeated the Nazis. Most of the media used the term. The media planners also presented American soldiers as kindhearted and sympathetic to the people of Iraq, undertaking humanitarian activities such as distributing relief materials to women and children and carrying the wounded and sick to hospitals. [...]

The difference between the Western and the Arab media was mainly cultural rather than technical. The conduct of the Arab media, however, resulted in the mindset of an entire nation being distorted. [...] TV news reports reduced events to pictures, which played a lead role in determining the impact of an event. Pictures play a significant role in interpreting events and influencing the minds of viewers. [...] Rapidly developing technology has provided the common man with fast and cheap access to information. State censors are helpless against what is now a flood of information. The difference between the old and new media is not so much in the new machines for news distribution as in enabling people to get news whenever they want it. [...] The choice is with the viewers; they can view any channel whenever they want. Round-the-clock war coverage created a negative impression in people’s minds. Wherever they turned, it was pictures of war that they had to see and think about. Instead of helping them have a clear understanding about the real war, the pictures were taken out of context and made the viewers lose sight of the reality. The end result was that viewers learned nothing new about the battles being fought. [...]

I wonder why no bloodshed, no dead body and no injured soldiers are seen in wars launched by superpowers. Only charred and destroyed military installations, empty of human victims, are seen. I wonder why no bloodshed, no dead body and no injured soldiers are seen in wars launched by superpowers. Only charred and destroyed military installations, empty of human victims, are seen. [...] An American study carried out in collaboration with Columbia University analyzed the results of the experience of journalists being embedded with military units. Most reports produced by the journalists lacked photos of actual war. It was, according to the study, a war without blood. [...] Withholding pictures with painful content is an issue being debated. Efforts to keep war reports free of blood and killing while thousands are in fact killed is tantamount to encouraging war because it makes people believe that war has no cost in terms of human lives."
[Arab News: The Middle East's Leading English Language Daily]

Sudan Uncovers "Fake Rape" Video Ring: August 21, 2004

"Sudanese authorities have arrested seven people in Darfur for producing fake video footage of villagers being raped by soldiers, prosecutors said. [...] Sudan has maintained that the allegations of rape were used systematically as a political tool during the nearly 18-month-old conflict in Darfur. A 19 July report by London-based watchdog Amnesty International alleges widespread rape in Darfur, but made no mention of rebel involvement or atrocities committed by them, said the official. Reports followed soon thereafter citing rebels camouflaged as Janjawid, committing atrocities against Darfurians in an attempt to discredit Sudan internationally."
[Aljazeera]

Report Assesses Iraqi Internet Censorship: August 13, 2004

"Access to the Internet in Iran is presently subject to official censorship, although the precise scope and scale of the filtering is unclear. For many years, Iranian authorities allowed unencumbered access to the Internet, offering a departure from its own practices towards traditional media, such as newspapers, television, and radio, which are subject to government control. In early 2003, however, news and other reports indicated that Internet censorship would be introduced in Iran, with some reports indicating up to 15,000 websites to be filtered. Shortly afterwards, Iranian users of the Internet began reporting blocked websites, including non-pornographic and increasingly popular blogging sites. It was also reported that access to Google's cache function was filtered in late 2003, although that appeared to be a temporary measure. Recent news coverage indicated a tightening of content controls had occurred leading up to the February 2004 parliamentary elections. One report claimed that 100 billion websites had been censored by Iran in the past year. [...]

A number of limited conclusions can be drawn from this preliminary probe. First, Iran is indeed engaged in extensive Internet content filtering beyond just pornography, including many political, religious, social, and blogging websites. Most of these censored websites are Iran-specific; very little non-pornographic, "global" content is filtered from Iranian users. A better understanding of why Iranian authorities have decided this content must be subject to censorship will have to await contextual research that follows upon our initial technical interrogation probes outlined here. [...] Finally, the case presented here provides an instructive lesson concerning the type of limited conclusions that can and should be drawn about both the extent and character of Internet censorship in any country. Determining the exact number of websites filtered in a particular country is a difficult exercise, particularly when such practices are not transparent, as is the case with Iran. Content filtering can be the result of ad hoc local procedures put in place by one or more ISPs acting independently, or a more centralized directive delivered from the state authorities. Even if it is the latter, it is important to remember that compliance with such directives is not always complete. In addition, websites that are filtered one day might not be filtered the next, as policies and/or content may change, suggesting that reports of total numbers of websites blocked in any report need to be treated with the caution."
[Internet Content Filtering in Iran: Verification of Reported Banned Websites]
[Open Net Initiative]
[Via Boing Boing]

Annia Ciezadlo: "From Street Bards To Saddam, Everyone's A Poet In Iraq": August 17, 2004

"In Iraq, there is a saying that beside every palm tree, you will find a poet. [...] In this country, poetry is like national therapy, a cure for ills in the body politic. [...] The palm tree proverb, for example, was coined by urban intellectuals during the Baath regime to describe a time when poetry served two masters: Often used to praise Saddam Hussein, it was also one of the few safe ways to criticize the government. [...] You won't find these verses in any anthologies or literary magazines. These anonymous poets star on a compact disc, a low-quality digital video of a tribal gathering that you can buy in Sadr City's Mraidi market for a couple of dollars. Intoning their poems in low, dramatic voices, the poets are singing a traditional form of Iraqi oral poetry called darmee, with a complex and untranslatable rhyme scheme and a rollicking, irresistible rhythm. [...] The image - of blood rinsing away national shame - lives on to this day in a poem called 'A Page of Miracles' that is dedicated 'To Fallujah: the City of endurance and Jihad.' Dated May 10, 2004, for the day American troops left Fallujah, the poem honors the Fallujan fighters. 'The precious blood of your people has washed away / The disgrace of their submission to the enemy, of those who accepted humiliation and lick the boots of those who invaded our country,' writes poet Muhammad Said al-Jumeily. 'The blood which watered our fields / Will remind us forever that we should take revenge.' In stirring language, Mr. Jumeily likens Fallujah to a banner, a sword, a moon, a light, and a castle: 'You are a castle, in which young men became old / When they fought the marines.' Naming specific neighborhoods in Fallujah, he celebrates their ouster of American troops: 'Ask people in al-Sinaa about the American herds which / Lick their wounds after being defeated. / Remember al-Nazzal and remember how the American armor melted / And how it proved to the world that the mythical glory of America is false after their defeat.'"
[Christian Science Monitor]

David Usborne: "Al-jazzera 'No More Biased Than Other TV Channels": August 8, 2004

"Its status among its 40 million Arab-language viewers will only be enhanced by the Baghdad ban. [...] Such has been the concern about the impact of al-Jazeera on Arabic opinion that last year the US government put in place its own Arab-language satellite news network. Called al-Hurra (the Free One) it beams a 24-hour news service to the Middle East from a studio in Virginia, with a budget provided by Congress. Unquestionably, al-Jazeera strives to show events in Iraq from an Arab point of view. Its broadcasts and websites emphasise the suffering brought upon the civilians of Iraq by the war there, often with pictures of wounded children and mothers standing before bombed-out homes. But many analysts of journalism argue that al-Jazeera should not be silenced but allowed to blossom. It has sprung, after all, from a tradition of Arab journalism straitjacketed by autocratic regimes determined to use the airwaves for their own purposes. Al-Jazeera is the region's first mass-audience vehicle for uncensored - if sometimes sensational - journalism. Its defenders argue that if it is biased towards an Arab perspective, then so what? Aren't the American networks guilty of overlaying their coverage of Iraq with barely disguised patriotism and pride for US soldiers? Al-Jazeera 'no more than other news organisations, has a slant', Kenton Keith, a former US ambassador to Qatar, acknowledged recently. 'Its slant happens to be one most Americans are not comfortable with ... but the fact is that [it] has revolutionised media in the Middle East. For the long-range importance of press freedom in the Middle East and the advantages that will ultimately have for the West, you have to be a supporter of al-Jazeera, even if you have to hold your nose sometimes.' Nor has al-Jazeera been entirely deaf to its critics. If it does not attempt to deny that it has a political slant, it does recognise the need to defend itself against suggestions that it ignores or distorts the facts. Thus last month, it announced it had created a new code of ethics to keep its journalists within certain boundaries of honesty."
[The Independent}

Iraqi Government Shuts Down Al-Jazeera for "Inciting Hatred" and "Encouraging Kidnappings": August 8, 2004

"The Iraqi government closed the Iraqi offices of the Arab television station Al-Jazeera for 30 days, accusing it yesterday of inciting violence. [...] Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said the government had convened an independent commission a month ago to monitor Al-Jazeera's daily coverage 'to see what kind of violence they are advocating, inciting hatred and problems and racial tension.'' Based on the commission's finding, the National Security Committee ordered the closing, Allawi said. The network would be allowed to reopen if it addressed the government's concerns, he told a news conference. [...] Last month, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunciations Commission approved the network for viewing by Canadians, although under stringent rules designed to keep abusive commentary off the air. [...] Iaqi Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib said this week that Arabic satellite networks were encouraging kidnappings by showing images of hostages threatened with execution. He said the shutdown of Al-Jazeera was intended to give the station 'a chance to readjust their policy against Iraq. 'They have been showing a lot of crimes and criminals on TV, and they transfer a bad picture about Iraq and about Iraqis and encourage criminals to increase their activities,' he said. 'We want to protect our people.'' Ballout denied the charge. 'We are not a political organization that is for or against anybody. We display what happens on the ground as objectively as possible and in a balanced way,' he said. Senior U.S. officials have also criticized Al-Jazeera's coverage of the Iraq war, calling the network an outlet for Al Qaeda. Al-Jazeera denied the allegations."
[Toronto Star]

"There Are No Journalists In the Arab World": July 29, 2004

Arab media authority Dr. Mamoun Fandy wrote a critique of the Arab press in the London Arabic-language daily 'Al-Sharq Al0Aqsat' that has been translated into English and posted by the Middle East Media Research Institute:

"Thousands of stories should be written on the lives of Iraqis - but where are the journalists?! Is it the lack of professional journalists that [makes] these journalistic stories remain unknown?' [...]
'The first [problem] is that our culture is not like the Catholic culture that emphasizes confession, particularly when the individual has sinned. Likewise, an individual confessing a crime against himself or others [is considered] unacceptable among us. We raise our sons [with the belief] that it is not manly to confess, to cry, or to acknowledge that repression and oppression have broken an individual's determination and perhaps damaged his masculinity. Our newspapers will focus only on heroic deeds and overcoming difficulties. This is praiseworthy. But there are many personal defeats, retreats, and torments, and we must let those who have experienced them talk about them. This requires change in the newspaper culture, or in the so-called newsroom culture. The first [problem] is that our culture is not like the Catholic culture that emphasizes confession, particularly when the individual has sinned. Likewise, an individual confessing a crime against himself or others [is considered] unacceptable among us. We raise our sons [with the belief] that it is not manly to confess, to cry, or to acknowledge that repression and oppression have broken an individual's determination and perhaps damaged his masculinity. Our newspapers will focus only on heroic deeds and overcoming difficulties. This is praiseworthy. But there are many personal defeats, retreats, and torments, and we must let those who have experienced them talk about them. This requires change in the newspaper culture, or in the so-called newsroom culture.[...] Arab officials do not respect the press as a means for conveying information, [...] But even our officials behave differently [than officials in the West]. Instead of rebutting the author of an article by [writing another] article, he picks up the telephone and talks to the newspaper's owner to [have him] silence the author."
[Middle East Media Research Institute]

Borzou Daragahi: "From Soap Operas To Bottle-blonde Newscasters to Music Videos": July 27, 2004

"Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime Iraqis have been bombarded with satellite television channels. Qatar-based Al-Jazeera, Dubai-based Al-Arabia, Abu Dhabi TV and others serve up a 24-hour diet of Baghdad car bombings, Palestinian-Israeli clashes and regional political turmoil. [...] But all this has left an important Iraqi need neglected: entertainment. With soap operas, reality television shows, music videos, Al-Sharqiya, launched with an initial budget of $30 million, has eagerly sought to fulfill the Iraqi need for mindless brain candy. [...] The station's offerings reflect the realities of contemporary Iraqi life. Shows in the works include 'Chaif Kheir,' or 'Blessed Wedding,' in which Al-Sharqiya funds a young couple otherwise too poor to get married. In exchange, the couple allows the show to tape their wedding, honeymoon and domestic life. In another show, which could be called 'Iraq's Most Melancholy Home Videos,' hosts will show footage of Iraqis living abroad to folks in their old Iraqi neighborhoods, where they'll reminisce about the good old days. Al-Sharqiya newscasters are more often than not young, beautiful Iraqi bottle-blonds wearing flashy low-cut blouses. More prevalent than footage of violence in the Middle East on Al-Sharqiya are music videos from young, tacky, Egyptian, Lebanese and exile Iraqi pop stars. The men sing. The women wear skimpy miniskirts and dance in the background."
[Daily Star | Lebanon]
[Arabia.com]

"We Have Presents For You!": Reality TV In Iraq: July 17,2004

"The idea is simple: Take Iraqi families whose houses were destroyed. Rebuild their houses, filling them with new goods, all donated by viewers who respond to the message flashed at the end of the show.[...] 'Labor and Materials' is Iraq's answer to 'Extreme Home Makeover' and the country's first reality TV show. In 15-minute episodes, broken windows are made whole again. Blasted walls slowly rise again. Fancy furniture and luxurious carpets appear without warning in the living rooms of poor families. Over six weeks, houses blasted by US bombs regenerate in a home-improvement show for a war-torn country. 'The main point isn't to rebuild the house, but to show the change in the psychology of the family during the rebuilding,' says Ali Hanoon, the show's director. The rebuilding has a psychological effect on the families - their memories, their lives, are in these walls."
[Christian Science Monitor]

"Secret" Encryption Found in Frames of bin Laden August 2003 Speech: July 20, 2003

"In an in-depth analysis of a recently re-released videotape of Osama bin Laden’s August 2003 speech, Northeast Intelligence Network analysts found apparent alpha-numeric codes embedded in several frames of over 55,800 frames of the video tape analyzed. The code is not visible through normal viewing of the footage, and the viewer must know where in the lengthy footage to look for the coding sequence. The above frame illustrates a coding string found on one of the frames hidden in the footage. The video is significant itself as previously released bin Laden footage preceded the Madrid bombing attacks on 11 March 2004. Analysts have forwarded the footage, along with each isolated frame containing the coding, to law enforcement officials."
[Northeast Intelligence Network]

"Steganography is the art and science of hiding messages. Steganography is often combined with cryptography so that even if the message is discovered it cannot be read. The word steganography is derived from the Greek words "steganos" and "graphein", which mean "covered" and "writing." Steganography, therefore, is covered writing. Historical stenganography involved techniques such as disappearing ink or microdots. Modern steganography involves hiding data in computer files. It is fairly easy to hide a secret message in a graphic file without obviously altering the visible appearance of that file."
[Linux Security]
[Niels Provos and Peter Honeyman: "Detecting Steganographic Content on the Internet"—PDF]

Excerpts From Arab and Iranian TV Broadcasts, March - April, 2004 [Middle East Media Research Institute]

A 9-minute compilation from Arab and Iranian TV broadcasts made by the Middle East Research Institute.
[Link to video—RealPlayer]

Aljazeera Code of Ethics—Full Text: July 12, 2004

The ten points of Aljazeera's Code of Ethics: [Aljazeera.net]

Faisal Bodi: "Decapitation: Execrable, But Effective" [Al Jazeera]: July 3, 2004

"Until the shooting death in June of US soldier Keith Maupin, the insurgents had made a point of beheading their captives and disseminating the grisly scenes over the internet. Most people would recoil at the mere thought, but experts say that is precisely the aim. In war, ascendancy in the horror stakes can be a major battlefield gain. 'It gives people an enormous feeling of their own power that they can threaten this fate to their opponents,' believes Professor Ian Robins, a London-based traumatic stress psychologist who specialises in treating war prisoners. While it serves as a morale booster for the perpetrators, it has the converse effect on their opponents. [...] The captive himself becomes a weapon for his captors, a tool for the transmission of horror to the rest of the enemy, effective in proportion to the level of his fear. [...] The act also gives insurgents another advantage. In an age where wars are fought as much on TV as on the battlefield, they no longer need actual victories. The battle, says Meyerson, can be 'won with a single dramatic visual impact'. [...] By turning his family into celebrity anti-war campaigners the beheading of Berg became a political gain for his killers. 'The acts are a sure way of making governments look incompetent by showing they are powerless to stop them despite the fact that they might pour billions of dollars into the campaign,' said Professor Robins. Nothing succeeds like success and so long as the acts continue to put pressure on enemy governments there is little incentive for the perpetrators to stop, according to Robins. 'Behaviour is maintained or increased by its consequences. This [beheadings] gets an enormous amount of attention and scrutiny and therefore it is highly likely it will continue.'"
[Al Jazeera]

Samia Nakhoul: "Al Jazeera Unveils Ethics Code to Answer Critics": July 13, 2004

"Arabic satellite television channel al Jazeera, accused by Washington of graphic and anti-American conflict coverage, unveiled a code of ethics Tuesday it said would ensure balanced and sensitive reporting. The Qatar-based channel defended its right to report 'the ugly face of war' but said the new guidelines would take account of Western and Arab sensitivities when considering whether to broadcast gory images of violence. [...] Its journalists defended their broadcasting record, saying they had a duty to portray the horrors of conflict. 'Some people say we are taking the nightmares into people's houses and we are putting too much blood on the screens,' said news editor Ahmed al-Sheikh. 'If we don't report the ugly face of the war, would that mean we abided by the criteria? ... Would we be embellishing the face of the war?' Sheikh said the channel also had to consider competition from Web sites which would fill any gap it left in coverage. Jazeera's code promises to adhere to honesty, fairness and balance, to 'distinguish between news material, opinion and analysis (and) avoid the snares of speculation and propaganda.'"
[Washington Post]
[Also covered by the BBC]

Mamoun Fandy: "Where's the Arab Media's Sense of Outrage?": July 4, 2004

Mamoun Fandy is a columnist for two daily newspapers, Asharq al-Awsat in London and al-Ahram in Cairo. He is a senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace. This commentary discusses trends in reporting by Arab media.

"As I scanned Arab satellite channels and Arabic newspapers, I found a lot of reporting on the brutal attacks, but very little condemnation and a widespread willingness to run the stomach-turning video and photos again and again. [...] I have watched perhaps a dozen Arab channels and read countless newspapers in recent weeks. I found that few Arab commentators and journalists noted either that major shift or its significance. [...] I am aware of only a handful of columnists, most notably the Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed al-Rubai, who condemned the killings unequivocally. Some reporters and analysts intimated to me that they were afraid to denounce the beheadings; others provided distorted coverage that blurred the line between terrorism and Iraqi resistance to the U.S. occupation. [...] Al-Jazeera is the same network that calls every Arab suicide bomber a shaheed, or martyr. And yet its anchors take care to refer to Abdul Aziz al-Maqrin, who claimed to have beheaded Johnson, as the 'man who Saudi Arabia and Washington call a terrorist.' [...] I went directly to Abdul Rahman Rashed, the head of al-Arabiya, and asked him why most Arab commentators remain silent about these horrific acts of violence and why his channel and al-Jazeera give so much airtime to the terrorists. Rashed blames both contemporary Arab culture and the culture of Arab newsrooms. [...] I also talked with fellow Arab writers and journalists to seek further answers, and it became obvious that many were outraged over how the beheading stories had been handled and why so many Arab journalists are afraid to express their anger publicly or put it in writing. [...] Islamic radicals have killed writers in Algeria, Egypt and elsewhere whose work challenged the logic of martyrdom and 'random jihad,' or killing foreigners in the name of Islam. But the lack of condemnation of the beheadings, despite their barbarism, is a direct result of a broad and dangerous trend in Arab media and in Arab culture broadly. The Arab world today swims in a sea of linguistic violence that justifies terrorism and makes it acceptable, especially to the young. [...] In each country, I was struck that al Qaeda and its ideas are no longer perceived as extreme. Indeed, al Qaeda has become mainstream and being part of the movement is 'cool' in the eyes of young people. Why? Arab culture is being corrupted by the media that glorify violence, but also by schoolbooks that present only one role model for Arab children: the Jihadists and those who excelled at battling non-Muslims. [...] This trend must be reversed -- and the responsibility for doing so lies not just with the media. Unless Arabs themselves muster the courage to speak out against these heinous acts and those who perpetrate them, very little success can be made in the war on terrorism. [...] The American media should also stop replaying images of violence from al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya, because when the Arab media air these gruesome images, they animate the logic of terror. They export fear to America. If the Americans did not import these pictures, the Arab media would stop manufacturing them. That could be a first step toward defeating the terrorists who kill not just for Allah and jihad, but for airtime."
[Washington Post]
[Reprinted by Houston Chronicle]

Claire Cozens: "Al-Jazeera Tones Down 'Violent' Images": April 30, 2004

"Staff at al-Jazeera have been ordered to tone down 'excessive violence' in their coverage of Iraq, sparking fears that the Arab satellite channel's senior editors are softening in their determination to resist pressure from the US government. Al-Jazeera's unflinching approach to covering the violence in the Middle East has put it at loggerheads with the Bush administration, and this week the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, made an official complaint to the Qatar government about the channel. Mr Powell protested that what he claimed was the channel's anti-American bias was 'clouding' relations between the two countries. [...] 'It is clear that scenes of extreme violence are filling our news bulletins. Many people are upset, not least Mr Ahmed Sheikh, the editor-in-chief,' read the memo, dated April 11 'It is clear that scenes of extreme violence are filling our news bulletins. Many people are upset, not least Mr Ahmed Sheikh, the editor-in-chief,' read the memo, dated April 11. 'Violence that is true to life is regarded as desensitising viewers, although some might argue that its use may serve a moral or a social point. Therefore, consideration should be given to the suitability of scenes of violence in the news.' [...] 'It is plain that the disquiet inside al-Jazeera relates in part to the pressure from management to tone down coverage seen as anti-American. The fact that this memo was leaked indicates the huge pressure under which al Jazeera is operating and is a symptom of the attempts by the US to destroy independent reporting on Iraq.''It is plain that the disquiet inside al-Jazeera relates in part to the pressure from management to tone down coverage seen as anti-American. The fact that this memo was leaked indicates the huge pressure under which al Jazeera is operating and is a symptom of the attempts by the US to destroy independent reporting on Iraq.'"
[Guardian]