The Islamic World in Western Media
February 10, 2006The Annemarie Schimmel Lecture series brings together scholars and media experts to discuss topics concerning Islam, the Arab world and dialogue with the West. Given the current debate surrounding the publication of the Mohammed cartoons, the issue of how we perceive the "other" and how we interact with those outside our set system of beliefs is particularly important.
DW-WORLD.DE tickered the podium discussion focusing on the role of the western media and its depiction of the Islamic world.
The discussion took place on Friday, Feb. 9, 2006 in the Deutsche Welle conference hall in Bonn, Germany.
Marcel Pott, Middle East correspondent for German public broadcaster ARD opens the discussion. He addresses the question of the western media's presentation of the Islamic world and in particular the power of images to alter our understanding of one another.
Participating in the discussion: Bettina Marx, correspondent for German public broadcaster ARD in Tel Aviv
Peter Philipp, chief correspondent for the Deutsche Welle
Dr. Naser Shrouf, journalist for DW-WORLD.DE/Arabic
Aktham Suliman, Germany correspondent for Al Jazeera
George Khoury, senior Deutsche Welle editor for Africa and Middle East, will moderate the podium discussion.
08:48 UTC The Image of the Other Misunderstanding and stereotypes emerge when the West and the East rely on preconceived notions rather than establishing dialogue, says Krapf. This has particularly been the case since Sept. 11, 2001 and the terror attacks in Europe. The West has now begun to realize how important it is to consider the Islamic world as a neighbor and not a distant foe. Dialogue is more important than ever, Krapf stresses.
08:50 UTC Dialogue with the Islamic World The podium discussion should be seen in the context of a dialogue in which both sides recognize their differences and appreciate the other for those differences and learn how to interact with one another, says Krapf.
08:56 UTC The Role of the Church
Pastor Eckart Wüster from the Protestant Church in Bonn speaks on behalf of both the Protestants and the Catholics, in the name of all Christians. As Christians it is our responsibility to speak out stronger against violence and stand up for the common values and respect for human life we share with our Muslim neighbors.
Tolerance is our duty as true Christians. "I am not afraid of Islam," Wüster says. There are some Christians who worry our religion could be overrun by Muslims. "I do not fear this. What I fear is fundamentalism and a lack of respect for others. This is the message the podium needs to send."
The Protestant and Catholic Church are co-organizers of the discussion.
09:04 UTC Podium participants take the stage George Khoury greets the guests. When the discussion round was planned, we could never have anticipated the current situation in the world, he says. The publication of the Mohammed cartoons and the reactions in the Islamic world show us that the issues we will discuss are fundamental ones.
09:12 UTC Marcel Pott The dispute over the cartoons have shown that there are clichees and stereotypes on both sides. And the media plays an important role in conveying these perceptions, but also in breaking them down.
09:16 UTC Deep rooted misunderstanding There seems to be a deep rooted misunderstanding in the Islamic world as to why the West would caricaturize one of their most fundamental symbols. We in the West point to the freedom of the press, to the Enlightenment and to our constitution. But when we want to use satire in the media to direct attention to Islamist terror organizations, it is not enough to show an Arab, a man with a beard, to illustrate him. We must do more. We grasp at clichees. Why? The condescending view from the West and the inability to view the other culture at the same eye level and to respect other religions, is the focus of what we should discuss here today.
09:19 UTC Pott: reporting on the Islamic world Every journalist has his own socio-cultural background. Just as in the cold war, the Soviets were depicted as the bad guys, and the news events were often presented in a simplistic black and white view, we are now seeing a similar situation in the reporting on the Arab world and Islam. Following 9/11, we are seeing a similar simplistic reporting on the Arab world.
09:21 UTC Pott: Who Preaches Violence? All too often there is a generalized presentation of the Arab world and a lack of differentation. We see much too often the Islamists, the fundamentalists, as representative for an entire religion and culture. But we must remember, the only Muslims who endorse violence as a means to an end are the jihadists. And we need to make sure our audience realizes this is not the majority of Muslims. That is our obligation as journalists.
09:24 UTC Question for Arab journalists For Sulliman from Al Jazeera: Is the western journalist viewed as an arrogant, condescending teacher on the freedoms of the West and the benefits of democracy? Can journalists free themselves of their own stereotypes? How does the Arab journalist view western colleagues?
09:28 UTC Sulliman: No General Guideline for Journalism There is no such thing as world journalism. Of course the way journalists report is to an extent determined by their own political and social backgrounds. They are influenced by their own systems and this comes through in their reporting. It's not really possible to say western journalists are more condescending or "preaching" than others. Of course they are going to view the Islamic world through their own lense, that's only natural.
09:30 UTC Sulliman: Working in the Western Media Speaking of his own experiences, Sulliman says it is easier to work for western media. One can be more direct, more critical in formulating the news. But Sulliman says, he doesn't want to say the one system or one way of reporting is better or preferable to the other.
09:33 UTC Sulliman: Freedom of Press in Islamic World The freedom of the press is of course a concept we journalists understand and acknowledge in the Middle East. But no one is busy trying to analyse it, to dwell on it like we see in Europe in the days following the cartoon dispute.
09:36 UTC Khoury: Is the media responsible for escalating the crisis? The great complot and violent protests against the cartoons was not organized by the man on the street, but from above. In Europe, the church is nearly daily criticized. We have seen images of Jesus Christ portrayed as a homosexual. But no one is taking to the streets in violence. Have the cartoons and the protests been instrumentalized by political forces, has the media manipulated the news to direct attention in a particular direction, Khoury asks.
09:39 UTC Marx: Sending Contradictory Messages So often in the Middle East, the media conveys differnt messages. Palestinians received contradictory messages from the West. An example is the recent election. The West preached democracy and free elections. When the Palestinians followed their advice and held peaceful ballots, they democratically voted for the party the West did not want. Instead of praising them for practicing democracy, the West responded with criticism and disappointment. In the Palestinian territories, the people could not understand this.
09:40 UTC Marx: Images of the Negative in the Media In reporting in Israel and the Palestinian territories, we are constantly confronted with the two negative images. The image of the West in the eyes of the Arab world and the image of the Arab world in the eyes of the West. It's very difficult to get away from these preconceptions, Marx says.
09:45 UTC Philipp: How Subjectivity Enters the Media
How do the two presentations from the media play a role in perpetuating the negative images? In the West we have an obligation to present an objective and realistic portrayal of the Middle East. Especially when we spend so much time looking at this region it is very important we are honest. Unfortunately that is not always the case. On the other side, the Arab side and their media is often state-owned and the government dictates what needs to be reported. Given these circumstances, it is nearly impossible for them to be objective.
Philipp makes a comparison between the actual temperature on the thermometer and the chill factor -- the perceived temperature. In the case of the Middle East, it is all too often the "felt temperature," the subjective temperature that is reported.
09:52 UTC Philipp: Perceptions of Arrogance
Philipp returns to the question of whether or not western media is condescending in reporting on the Middle East. He argues that there is a widespread perception that the West is unanimously pro-Israel. The fact that Europeans could see the situation in Palestina more differentiated is almost unheard of in the Middle East. More often it's a case similar to what George Bush propagates: either you're with us or you're not. So we see there's a lack of differentiated reporting on both sides, he says.
Another case is Iran. We in the West, especially in Germany, we cannot accept the anti-Semitic comments, but that does not mean we endorse Israel. It does not mean we are arrogant and refuse to listen to the Arab world. It means we will not accept simplistic interpretations of the situation (in the case of Israel vs. the Islamic world), no matter which side they come from. And this needs to be communicated to the Arab world.
Referring back to Philipp's criticism of the West's subjective -- "felt" -- reporting on the Middle East, Khoury asks Shrouf if as a Palestinian the western world objectively presents the threat from the Middle East. Is the threat the West perceives justified, is there this fear and how does it come across in the Middle East?
Shrouf: As an Arab and Muslim, I have no problem with the cartoon, but rather with the associations it conjures up. This is the prophet and a portrayal of him as a terrorist shows that the West draws a connection between Islam and terrorism, that Islam endorses terror. That is not the case.
10:04 UTC Pott: An Identity Crisis?
In the Arab world there is a tendency to spread conspiracy theories. That's because the region suffers from a collective identity crisis which has been simmering throughout the 20th century. It is a fear and a defensive position over and against the values of the West. This is not new. It goes back to Napoleon and the first conflicts between Europe and the Orient.
What took place in Europe, from the industrial and social revolutions, never happened in the Arab world. It was suddenly thrown into the 21st century without experiencing the same difficult developments, without having the opportunity to learn and grow on its own.
10:15 UTC Marx: Differing Discussion Cultures
The difference in the culture of discourse in the two regions becomes clear when we try to talk to people and report on sensitive issues such as terrorism and its relation to Islam. The only response we as journalists hear is: we are not terrorists.
There is no sense of wanting to explore the issue deeper. It is a defensive attitude -- perhaps out of necessity, given the image the West has of Muslims. But we have to ask ourselves, who is ultimately responsible for these prefabricated answers to questions both sides address not necessarily out of genuine interest, but because it is part of the preconceived dialouge.
10:23 UTC Sulliman: The Role of the West in Promoting Change
What can the West do? We look towards the West because it has the power to institute change. Only the West can establish the conditions to bring peace to the region. But before that can happen, before the Arab world listens to the West, the dialogue must be improved. There must be more genuine exchange. Both sides have to be prepared to acknowledge their mistakes, their weaknesses. The West must take a close look at what is going wrong with their policies -- in Iraq, for example.
10:29 UTC Shrouf: Islam as Solution Shrouf argues that there is a home-grown solution to the conflict it is Islam. The region has tried nationalism, socialism, pan-Arabism, but now it has latched onto Islam, the religion as the unifying factor. For a good majority of the politicians in the region, Islam is the solution to all the problems between the various nations and between the various groups of people in the region.
10:34 UTC Shrouf: The West is Not the Scapegoat The West cannot be blamed for the crisis in the region. There is the tendency to view the Arab world as a homogenous region. That is not the case. The Arab world is not the same everywhere. That is the image the West conveys of us, and that is often the way we try to present ourselves, but it is not true.
10:36 UTC Philipp: Self Reflection vs. Criticism from Outside When we talk about the cartoons, it's important that we remember that quite often we make fun of ourselves. Satire and jokes are common behind closed doors or in a closed community. It is part of our process of self reflection. When the Christians want to make fun of their own particular beliefs, that is okay. But when -- as in the case of Denmark -- the majority makes fun of a minority, it is not okay. In a democracy, the majority is obliged to protect the minority.
10:49 UTC Philipp: Self Criticism Lacking in Arab World There is a lack of self criticism in the Arab world. Of course there is satire, and of course one laughs about one's own failures. But satire and parodies are hardly presented in the mass media. They are rarely used as a means of drawing attention to inaccuracies.
10:51 UTC Philipp on Abu Ghraib While every rational human is against the torture in Abu Ghraib, we have to keep in mind that it was the American media that uncovered the terrible situation. It was American journalists who put their life at stake to report on the horrible conditions. Where in the Arab world are such violations of human rights investigated and presented to the masses?
10:55 UTC Pott: The Guilt of the West The West must understand that the perception of the conflict between the West and the Arab world is determined to a large degree by the question of Palestine. There is a dominating sense in the Arab world that it is being forced to pay for the guilt of the West. One constantly hears. “We didn’t kill the Jews, why should we have to accept Israel.” There is also a sense that the Western world looks away from Israel’s human rights violations and only focuses on the problems in the Arab world. We need to make clear this is not the case.
10:56 UTC Questions from the Public The panel opened up to questions and comments from the audience. Some 150 people were gathered to hear the discussion.
10:58 UTC The Arab World is not the Islamic World A member of the audience draws attention to the fact that in the West, it is most often the Arab world that is the focus of attention and not the Islamic world, which includes countries such as Pakistan and Malaysia.
11:01 UTC Criticism of Germany's Middle East Politics A few listeners address Germany’s policy in Israel. One criticizes Germany for adopting a strong pro-Israeli stance. Germany needs to stand up and be open with its policies, to admit what its position is and why.
11:03 UTC Philipp: Constraints of Journalism
In talking about the constraints of the media, Philipp says much of what journalists could do and would like to do are hindered due to circumstances beyond their control. In TV and radio a piece longer than five minutes is becoming a luxury. As a result, the majority of listeners only receive the absolute minimum on information.
Journalists also tend to only be sent to those hot spots where a crisis breaks out. Constant reporting from a variety of locations with in-depth analysis has become much too infrequent due to the financial costs.
11:07 UTC Parody in the Islamic World The assumption in the West that Muslims would not know or understand political cartoons and satire is incorrect, says a representative of the German-Maghreb Society.
11:10 UTC Philipp: Analysis of Media Asked why the panel consists only of journalists and whether or not it would be better to include input from Islam scholars and academic studies, Philipp acknowledges that the media often has difficulty with self-reflection. The media reports on itself as it sees best suited, he says. At the same time he argues a study of the way media reports on the Middle East and the types of stereotypes it presents will only reflect what the author of the study wants it to reflect.
11:12 UTC What Role do Journalists Play in the Discussion? Can journalists reflect on their job and talk objectively of their strengths and weaknesses? Peter Philipp defends journalists arguing that they are often those people who come in direct contact with the everyday lives of people in the Muslim world and therefore are apt at examining all the issues.
11:14 UTC Geopolitical Importance of Middle East Bettina Marx explains that the Middle East plays a strong role in the West's media coverage because of the important geopolitical role the region plays. One only needs to think of natural resources such as oil and how dependent the West is. The West is legitimately concerned with the developments in the Middle East. Very often though, it is these interests that shine through in the reporting on the region.
11:16 UTC Danger of Stereotypes The focus on the negative image of the other is dangerous. We have to go beyond these stereotypes, in both regions otherwise the dialogue will never be able to take place, Naser Shrouf says.
11:19 UTC Khoury: Closing Remarks In the course of the discussion, we have heard that words, terminology and images are understood and interpreted differently in the West and in the Islamic world. We need to discuss these differences in order to understand the other side. We need to be open to the different interpretations and sensibilities if we hope to bring the two regions closer together.