Dr. Mohammed el-Nawawy

By JIM GENARO

Despite being maligned for perceived biases by many, both in the West and in the Arabic world, the Al Jazeera network is practicing a form of ìcontextual objectivity,î according to Dr. Mohammed el-Nawawy.

Nawawy, the Knight-Crane Chair of the communication department at Queens University, addressed about 200 people at UNC Ashevilleís Owen Conference Center last Monday night.

His lecture, titled ìIs Objective Journalism Possible? The Case of Al Jazeera Satellite Channel,î was presented by the World Affairs Council of WNC as part of its Fall 2007 World Affairs Program.

Nawawy defined contextual objectivity as being ìcommitted to presenting all points of view,î yet keeping in mind the sensibilities and perspectives of oneís viewers.

In the Arabic world, he added, ìobjectivity is not the issue ó credibility is what is important and Al Jazeera has it.î

For instance, Nawawy said, the Arabic network ìalmost always avoids the word ëterrorismíî and refers to ìthe so-called ëWar on Terror.íî

Such terms are not inherently biased, he said, but rather are meant to avoid inflammatory language that presents an American point of view that many of the netowrkís viewers would find offensive.

However, he added, ìthe fact that Al Jazeera is non-American does not mean it is anti-American.î

He said that Al Jazeera was put in a difficult position after the attacks of 9/11 when President Bush pronounced, ìYouíre either with us or youíre against us.î

As a network with a predominantly Muslim audience, ìAl Jazeera found it difficult to join the ëusí side,î Nawawy said.

However, he noted that the network also is highly criticized by Al Qaeda and other Muslim extremists as being pro-American.

On Al Qaeda Web sites, for instance, Al Jazeera is generally referred to, derisively, as ìThe Tickî ó an animal that, in Arabic society, is commonly ìportrayed as dirty and impure,î Nawawy said.

Such Web sites also have blasted Al Jazeera for not playing the full content of videos made by Osama bin Laden and for sympathizing with the victims of terror attacks, he added.

Meanwhile, many in the West have accused the network of being anti-American and anti-Israeli.
Some of those perceptions are based in cultural misunderstandings, Nawawy said.

For instance, Al Jazeera uses the Arabic term for ìmartyrsî to describe Palestinian suicide bombers who kill Israelis.

However, this term should be understood in the wider context of Muslim culture and the ìoverwhelming Arab supportî for the Palestinian cause, he said.

Such support ìmakes it practically impossible for any Arab network to present an unbiased version of the conflict,î he said.

The term ìmartyrî is used because suicide is prohibited in Islam, except in cases of martyrdom. To refer to Palestinians who kill themselves while killing Israelis as ìsuicide bombersî would inherently imply a bias that most Muslims would find highly offensive, he explained.

However, he added, the word ìmartyrî is not used in Iraq, about which Muslim public opinion is much more divided. There, Al Jazeera refers to ìsuicidal attacksî or ìunidentified armed men.î

Nawawy noted that American networks also use highly charged terms that carry biases, such as ìIslamic militants,î ìjihadists,î ìfundamentalistsî or ìIslamic fascists.î

In the Muslim world, Al Jazeera is well respected for its objectivity, he said. For instance, it was one of the only Arab networks to interview Israeli officials during the recent war between Israel and Lebanon.

One of the reasons American officials view Al Jazeera as anti-American is because of its focus on ìvictimsí reporting,î Nawawy said. The network often interviews victims of Middle Eastern conflicts and shows images of wounded and dead civilians. While it depicts victims of all sides, in conflicts with the U.S. and Israel ó which have far superior military capacities ó the overwhelming majority of civillian casualties tend to be Arabs, he said.

Furthermore, Nawawy argued, it is very difficult for reporters to be objective while reporting from areas where there are heavy civilian casualties. He spoke of one Al Jazeera reporter who broke into tears while reporting on efforts to pull Lebanese children out from rubble under a building that had been bombed by Israel. He said the incident was ìreminiscent of American reporters during 9/11î who broke down emotionally.

Utlimately, Nawawy said, ìif Al Jazeera has a bias, it would be a commercial one.î Like its Western counterparts, the network has to appeal to its advertisers.

However, he added, most of the criticism of Al Jazeera in the West ìcomes from people who donít speak Arabic and have never watched it.î

By contrast, in the Arabic world, Al Jazeera is viewed ìas a symbol of democracy and free speech,î Nawawy noted.

The fact that it is viewed by some as pro-American and others as anti-American ìis a sign that Al Jazeera is doing something right,î he concluded.

Nawawy then answered questions from audience members.

ìHow do you expect that the American public will ever give credibility to Al Jazeera after broadcasting the beheading of an American citizen?î a woman asked.

Nawawy responded that contrary to what some in the U.S. have said, the network ìstopped short of showing actual beheadings.î Al Jazeera, he added is ìvery professionalî and would not play such footage, given the likelihood that children would be watching it.

A man asked whether Al Jazeera gives specific numbers of casualties in Iraq.

Nawawy replied that no one knows the exact numbers of people who have been killed in Iraq, so Al Jazeera generally gives the ìexaggerated numbers,î both high and low, that are claimed by people on both sides, as well as any official tallies presented in third-party reports.

ìIs Al Jazeera having an influence on other networks in the Middle East?î a woman asked.

ìAt first, it was sort of an alternative medium,î Nawawy answered. However, it has become ìsuccessful to the point that it has made other networks want to emulate Al Jazeera.î

A man asked about the extent to which the network has faced censorship in countries with oppressive regimes.

Nawawy answered that Al Jazeera routinely shows a map of the world and highlights places where its reporters have been banned.

ìItís like a badge of honor for them when they get banned from an area, because it shows how powerful they are and how fragile some of the regimes in those countries are.î

A woman asked whether Al Jazeeraís model is being taught in journalism schools.

Nawawy answered that it is. ìThere is no question that Al Jazeera is a phenomenon that deserves studying,î he added.