09/10/2013
Alaa Aldin Alkhatib
Al-Jazeera channel is the best example of undergoing coalition between Western policy and political Islamist movement.
Double faces
The Syrian topic was number one news on Aljazeera and other news channels beginning from March 2011. Aljazeera Arabic used to use certain word and expressions those give immediate picture to the audience, like “The revolution”, “The revolutionaries”, “Free Syrian Army”, “The Syrian regime”, and “The forces of Syrian reg
ime”. It seldom mentioned the religion sects “Sunni”, “Alawies”, “Shiite”, and “Christian” in its own reports, but its guest and analysers were chosen to talk a lot about those religion sects from conservative Sunni point of view. In the English version of Aljazeera we see the following words and expressions those who meet the ones mentioned before “The rebellion”, “the r
ebels”, “The Syrian government”, “The Syrian army”, in the same time it often used to mention the religion sects in its own news reports
.
Qusayr battle coverage
In the spring of 2013 there was a big hard military battle in Qusayr city (West middle of Syria) between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Syrian regime forces supported by few hundreds of fighters from the Lebanese party Hezbollah. Aljazeera.net English says { Al Jazeera’s Rula Amin, reporting from Beirut, said: “It seems the government is able to control most of Qusayr … it has been a rebel stronghold for about one year.”} (1) Then it adds {Our correspondent in Beirut said: “Both sides have sought help from other countries.”Hezbollah is heavily involved in the fighting, and there are hundreds of foreign fighters in Qusayr. The confrontation has taken a rather regional and sectarian tone. This is about Sunnis fighting Alawites and Shia, not just Syrian rebels fighting government forces.”} (1). Then it adds to explain why Qusayr is very important { By the government’s calculations, Qusayr lies along a strategic land corridor linking Damascus with the Mediterranean coast, the heartland of Assad’s Alawite sect.} (1)
Let’s see how Aljazeera.net Arabic (and TV Arabic) presents the same news in the same time. If we checked the whole archive of Aljazeera.net Arabic during this period we will find a lot of covering news about Qusayr (we don’t talk about the opinion section), but there is no word says “rebels” or “Syrian government”, they are called “Free Syrian Army” and “Syrian regime” (2). Secondly and more important: in the Arabic news there is no mentioning to “Sunnis fighting Alawites and Shia” or to the “foreign fighters” within the FSA. Aljazeera Arabic published a report explaining the importance of Qusayr(3), it says that “Qusayr is important because it is close to the Lebanese borders and the link between Damascus and the Syrian coast”(2), this Arabic report don’t mention at all the idea reported in English. 
In English Aljazeera wants to show a “bloody crazy fight between government and rebels on a basis of religion sects and among Syrian and non Syrians”. While in Arabic it cajoles the Syrian audiences and shows itself as a supporter to their revolution.
What has been happening in Syria last three years is a world war between Syrian regime, Russia, China, and Iran against West Islamist coalition, and the Syrian people were the “scapegoat”.
Egypt covering news
Let’s move to Egypt and see how Aljazeera “mislead” the Arabic audience and “fake the news”. After the big change in Egypt when millions were protesting against and pro the president Mohamed Morsy on 30’th of June, Al jazeera took the side of MB and Morsy. On the 3rd of July 2013 it published a report about the events in Egypt as a summary of Human Watch Right (HRW) reports. Aljazeera Arabic report title is “According to Human Rights Watch (HRW): Horrible sexual assault in Egypt. And targeting the Islamists” (6). The first lines say: {“HRW says there is “horrible levels” of sexual violence against women in Altahrir square in the center of Cairo, where the Egyptian opposition supporters are. In the same time more aggressions against persons who look like Islamist and support the president Mohamed Morsy”} (6).
The first paragraph tells some number about the sexual assaults against women around Altahrir square, and it says according to the Egyptian group “Op Anti-Sexual Harassment/Assault” that there were 17 reports about sexual assault against girls with 7 years old and grandmothers.
The second paragraph titled with “Targeting Islamist”, Aljazeera reports according to the HRW report that the Egyptian authorities and police didn’t do enough to protect lives of people. And it writes {HRW says according to witnesses: {two groups of protesters beating isolated MB supporters. No police were in the vicinity, they said…. and HRW says “A video published by the Egyptian news website Youm 7 shows a man, stripped to his underwear, lying bloodied on the ground “} (6). The Arabic report is finished here and you as a reader may imagine which picture you had “This is a HRW report, so it is true, it looks that Anti Morsy people are sexually sick and aggressive”.
What do the original reports from HRW say? Was Aljazeera honest and professional in summarizing the reports?
HRW published two long reports. First is titled “Egypt: Epidemic of Sexual Violence” (7). The report condemns this phenomenon in Egypt which increased in the last decade a lot. And it reports many documented accidents, many happened after 30th of July and around Tahrir square. But it says {“The rampant sexual attacks during the Tahrir Square protests highlight the failure of the government and all political parties to face up to the violence that women in Egypt experience on a daily basis in public spaces,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.} and {Since November 2011, police have stayed away from Tahrir Square during bigger protests, to avoid clashes with protesters.} So it is not as Aljazeera lighten that it is around where protesters against Morsy are gathering. In addition Aljazeera ignore these paragraph form HRW report { Official discourse around sexual harassment in Egypt is a key part of the problem, Human Rights Watch said: {In February 2012, members of the Shura Council, Egypt’s legislative body, blamed women for the mob assaults in Tahrir, with one member, General Adel Afifi, saying that, “Women contribute 100 percent in their rape because they put themselves in such circumstances.”} Please notice that Shura Council majority is for MB and their allies, and Morsi was the president in February 2012.
In the official face book of the Egyptian group “Op Anti-Sexual Harassment/Assault” (7). The group explicitly condemns the “miss use” by the MB for group reports in their political games and ask the media channels to be honest in using their reports”.
The second report from HRW(8) was titled “Egypt: Security Forces Need to Act to Prevent Bloodshed”. It is long report, but we may see the summary in the introduction which was ignored by Aljazeera { Egypt’s political crisis underlines the need for accountability and for the authorities to take all reasonable steps to protect the right to life. In the midst of massive and mostly peaceful anti-government protests and pro-government rallies across the country on June 30, 2013, clashes left at least 24 dead and hundreds injured, mostly anti-Morsy protesters. The police and other security forces failed to deploy sufficient forces in key locations despite anticipation of widespread violence.}. In the HRW report we read many documented details about killing anti-Morsy protesters by firing from the MB buildings. In the end of the report, HWR reports the aggression against some people who looked Islamist.
The question is, when I summarize a report talking about “killing” in 70% and “beating” in 20%, which one is more important to mention? Aljazeera chose to cut what fits to its side out of the context of the HRW report, its report tells the audience that the anti-Morsy protesters are just “sexually violent sick people” and “aggressive groups against the peaceful pro-Morsi protesters”.
In Arab world, people use an example from Quran to condemn lying by cutting the context. In Quran the verses 43 of Surat An-Nisā’ says “O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated”, so when someone tells half of the truth people say “don’t say ‘O you who have believed, do not approach prayer’ continue the sentence.”
In Egypt is a people spring calling for freedom and democracy, both sides MB and military officers are trying to kill this “people dream” under the fight among the big international emperors.
You are free to support or criticize any idea or political groups even as a media channel, but to talk in two faces and fake the news to support your idea is not accepted by all humans and laws.
Alaa Aldin Alkhatib
References:
1) http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/05/2013519124646578835.html
2) http://www.aljazeera.net/news/pages/451fb15f-e0b8-40d1-9ccd-5108d0963137
3) http://www.aljazeera.net/news/pages/715c1e38-50f6-4459-bc5d-be473bd3a136
http://www.aljazeera.net/news/pages/105946e5-85e6-4082-b66a-b83d683aac9c
4) http://www.aljazeera.net/news/pages/48fd3235-91df-4cdd-b41d-f096f5de1efb
5) http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/07/2013798847609199.html
6) http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/09/world/meast/lebanon-blast/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23239299
7) http://www.aljazeera.net/humanrights/pages/0fa14732-ac0d-4880-8ff8-e1d5a42bd472
8) http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/07/03/egypt-epidemic-sexual-violence
9) https://www.facebook.com/opantish
11) http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/07/02/egypt-security-forces-need-act-prevent-bloodshed
