Opinions | Columnists
Onward march of Al Jazeera English
In the Sixties, Jamal Abdul Nasser, the popular pan-Arabist Egyptian leader who had the largest following in the Arab world, was disappointed upon realising that the main provider of news within the region, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arab Gulf, was gathered and transmitted by foreign-owned news agencies, British and French.
- By George S. Hishmeh, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 00:00 November 23, 2006
- Image Credit: Illustration: Nino Jose Heredia/Gulf News
In the Sixties, Jamal Abdul Nasser, the popular pan-Arabist Egyptian leader who had the largest following in the Arab world, was disappointed upon realising that the main provider of news within the region, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arab Gulf, was gathered and transmitted by foreign-owned news agencies, British and French.
Consequently, he planned to launch an Arab news agency that will cover the Arab world and transmit the news in Arabic unlike the non-Arab news agencies. His first obstacle was in the title of the projected news service. Reuters, the British news agency, had its own Arab News Agency (ANA) which was a translation of its English-language service. So Nasser interceded and Reuters renamed its Arabic bulletin as the Regional News Service (RNS).
Disappointingly however, and for one reason or another, Nasser never followed through and Egypt's own news agency, then a fledgling organisation, never changed its name until this very day.
Three decades later, it was the far-sighted ruler of Qatar, Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, who decided on another tack. In 1996, he founded Al Jazeera, the Arabic satellite televison station with world-wide reach that has been ruling the air waves in the region and shaking friend and foe in the Arab world and elsewhere, especially Washington.
On Al Jazeera's 10 anniversary this month, the ruler of Qatar helped to launch Al Jazeera English (AJE), a 24-hour news and current affairs channel headquartered in Doha, Qatar, the first English-language channel to be emanating from the Arab world. AJE will have a rotating management at broadcasting bureaus in Kuala Lumpur, Doha, London and Washington and can reach 80 million homes worldwide, including Israel.
But what is regrettable so far is that AJE, the first global high-definition television network , is not readily available in the US (although it will be widely accessible in Britain, Germany and Italy) thanks to standoffishness of American cable providers.
Yet one can see it live on the internet or by subscribing to GlobeCast satellite network. The declared reason of these providers is that space is not available - BBC America had to wait for some time, it was pointed out - or more likely they are not sure what sort of opposition the station will generate.
The hostility to Al Jazeera here has been largely attributed to the continuous diatribes by the discredited former US secretary of defence, Donald H. Rumsfeld, against the pace-setter Arabic station.
Denounced
Rumsfeld, who lost his position exactly one week before AJE went on the air on November 15, had denounced the Arabic station for being "vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable", a controversial view that the New York Times television critic, Alessandra Stanley, said "may be one reason that major cable and satellite providers in the United States declined to offer the English version". She saw this as "shame[ful]" since Americans can see "almost anything on television these days".
What Americans of all walks of life will be missing, thanks to the shortsightedness of American officialdom, is the new perspective that the English-language station promises to offer, emanating from other world spots that are hardly seen on American TV. One example has been the interview that AJE's Sir David Frost conducted with British Prime Minister Tony Blair who admitted for the first time that the Iraq war has been a disaster.
The Arabic station, in Western eyes, gained notoriety unfairly after showing exclusive footage of Osama Bin Laden and footage of dead US troops in Iraq and prisoners of war. But it should be remembered that the station has admirably introduced new thinking in the region by its coverage of taboo subjects and hosting eye-opening debates among various Arab and international opinion writers.
Its daring has resulted in it being banned at one point or another by some 18 countries in the region.
"Why shouldn't other countries, in an era of globalisation, do their best to make sure that their culture, language and way of life are more familiar?" asked a professor of communications at the University of Westminster.
Karen Armstrong, one of the best-known and most popular writers on religion today, told me before she addressed last Monday an audience hosted by Mosaic, an organisation that promotes understanding between the peoples of the Arab World and the United States, at the National Press Club in Washington, "We all need the counter-narrative view."
True, we all in the US need to see Al Jazeera English and should not allow others to decide for us in keeping with the principles of freedom and democracy that is being advocated in the Middle East.
George Hishmeh is a Washington-based columnist. He can be contacted at ghishmeh@gulfnews.com
Share this article
Popular in Opinions
-
Speak Your Mind
Focus: Halloween
Paranormal holds an insatiable appeal for our imagination, but do you believe in them
Opinion Editor's choice
-
Peace process depends on US
Obama must enunciate a clear plan to end Palestinian suffering and stem Israeli ambitions
-
Recycling should be part of our routine
By simply sorting your waste, you are doing your bit to ensure a green future
-
Healthy lifestyles prevent disease
Dubai Healthcare City is holding a festival to encourage people to look after themselves
