Journalists to dispel misconception about Islam

[sonz]

25 journalists from 17 Arab countries are gathering on Tuesday in Malaysia for a media workshop that will tackle the active role journalists can play in dispelling Western misconception about Islam.

"Journalists can exchange articles and the mass media can invite guest writers and commentators," Fahad Ebrahim, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), assistant editor, told Bernama.

Media organisations in the Muslim world can arrange workshops and forums which would create some sort of positive interaction with Western journalists and thus clarify widespread misconception about the noble Islamic religion and present its true image, added.

The team of Arab journalists will attend the five-day workshop-cum-familiarisation in Malaysia at the Corus Hotel, jointly organised by the Malaysian News Agency (Bernama) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The workshop will also study ways to bridge the information gap between the Islamic and Western world.

Also participants are expected to agree on a common approach in covering events in the Middle East and issues concerning Islam.

"The media of the Islamic countries should reach deep into the Western world to show the true image of the Islamic world," said Bandar Zhayan Al-Shallahi, another participant.

Also Egyptian Hayam Hammam of the Middle East News Agency (MENA) stressed that journalists can play an active role in bridging the information gap by organising awareness campaigns for their readers.

"Journalists can also convince their readers that the Internet can be their best way to talk to each other, promoting dialogue and denouncing violence," she said in her email to Bernama.

"I consider Malaysia as the best model of an Islamic country because it focuses on the core of Islam and not on the controversial superficial issues," she said.

[north_malaysian]

How many non Muslims want to hear Muslim view medias?:rollseyes

[HeiGou]

How many non Muslims want to hear Muslim view medias?:rollseyes

Plenty. As long as the media is competent and truthful and valuable and above all entertaining, why wouldn't a non-Muslim want to hear it? Non-Western media have carved out significant markets - Bollywood films for instance, Hong Kong films as well, Japanese cartoons. I expect that the problem is simply that these journalists do not know how to entertain or inform (having been brought up in repressive one-party states by and large) and are only interested in denouncing the West which is, obviously, not going to win them a non-Muslim market.

[north_malaysian]

I expect that the problem is simply that these journalists do not know how to entertain or inform (having been brought up in repressive one-party states by and large) and are only interested in denouncing the West which is, obviously, not going to win them a non-Muslim market.

Are there any Non-Muslim media interested in NOT DENOUNCING Islam, which going to win the Muslim market?:rollseyes

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[HeiGou]

Are there any Non-Muslim media interested in NOT DENOUNCING Islam, which going to win the Muslim market?:rollseyes

Well actually yes. The BBC has a vast audience in the Middle East and elsewhere in the Islamic world. They are not interested in denouncing Islam and even when they were more highly biased against Palestinians, they still had a large audience in the Arab world. Listeners are not as unsophisticated as you think. They can take what they like and leave the rest if they want.

But the sort of anti-American, Anti-Semitic, anti-Women rants you often hear from Third World news sources are not going to win an audience anywhere - not even in their home countries I expect.

[north_malaysian]

Well actually yes. The BBC has a vast audience in the Middle East and elsewhere in the Islamic world. They are not interested in denouncing Islam and even when they were more highly biased against Palestinians, they still had a large audience in the Arab world. Listeners are not as unsophisticated as you think. They can take what they like and leave the rest if they want.

But the sort of anti-American, Anti-Semitic, anti-Women rants you often hear from Third World news sources are not going to win an audience anywhere - not even in their home countries I expect.

It's hard to say how independent or less biased a media is.

Like Al jazeera - the westerners says it promotes terrorism, anti-semitic.
But in Muslim world people accused Al Jazeera of being pro-USA, pro-Zionist.
I think when both parties hate the same channel, does it succeeded in being unbiased? Hmmmmm.....

I enjoy watching Al Jazeera actually, the only Muslim media that having Jews talking on their programmes. I cant wait for the English version.

[HeiGou]

I enjoy watching Al Jazeera actually, the only Muslim media that having Jews talking on their programmes. I cant wait for the English version.

Actually I like al-Jazeera too and think it is a bad mistake of George Bush just to criticise it all the time. It is important, I think, for free media to exist in the Middle East.

[north_malaysian]

Actually I like al-Jazeera too and think it is a bad mistake of George Bush just to criticise it all the time. It is important, I think, for free media to exist in the Middle East.

Lots of Non Muslims working for Al Jazeera (English version) like Veronica Pedrosa etc. I hope the unbiased'ness will be better.

[wilberhum]

I visit Al Jazeera (English version) web site daily. I like to there approach to the news. Look at the other side of the coin. But I was truly disappointed when I heard that the content of the English version is not the same as the Arabic version.
Are there any Arabic/English speakers out there that can confirm or deney this?
Wilber

[north_malaysian]

In Malaysia, the Arabic version is translated in Malay.

But we havent see yet the English version Al Jazeera News Channel.

[wilberhum]

North, Thanks for the info. But what I was referring to was there web site.

[north_malaysian]

Never visit Al Jazeera website - both arabic and english.