Giving a platform to extremists and supporters of terrorism raises many questions. Last night, Channel 4 Television reopened the debate by broadcasting an Islamic extremist openly supporting terror attacks in Britain. The terrorist praised the 7/7 bombings in London and even called for British Muslims to “arm themselves.”
According to the Daily Express, programme-makers defended their decision to run the interview on the grounds that “the interview with the man, named as “Abu Muhammed”, was part of “a balanced examination of the roots of Islamic extremism in the UK.””
The Daily Telegraph’s editorial strongly criticised Channel 4:
That an Islamic fundamentalist should utter something so logically and morally indefensible is scarcely surprising. That a major broadcasting organisation should present it as a contribution to meaningful debate would be shocking…
The director of last night’s opus, Phil Rees, describes this interview – which (living up to its advance publicity) would seem to qualify as specific incitement to violence – as a much-needed antidote to the one-sidedness of media debate about Islam. Does he really believe that a near-unanimous opposition to mass murder is a form of narrow-minded prejudice?
Since it is unlikely that Mr Rees or Channel 4 would extend an invitation to, say, a BNP activist who preached violence against immigrants, there are presumably other forms of moral unanimity that they accept.
While valid points are made by those who take umbrage at C4’s interview, we wonder why the same concerns have not been raised when the media has published Hamas leaders, such as Khalid Mish’al’s Guardian op-ed in February 2007. As covered by HonestReporting.com, a number of US newspapers have also recently given a platform to outlawed terror organisations, provoking much protest and debate.
Like the extremist interviewed on C4, Hamas also advocates terrorism, suicide bombings and the targeting of innocent civilians. Its charter openly calls for the killing of Jews, the destruction of Israel and is filled with unadulterated anti-Semitism. Hamas’s opinion pieces in UK and US newspapers are potentially more dangerous than Abu Muhammed’s interview on C4. Abu Muhammed leaves no doubt in the mind of the viewer as to his openly expressed extremist ideology and calls for violence. Hamas, on the other hand, attempts, through sophisticated language and propaganda, to convince readers of its supposed “moderation”.
Hamas may have combined the use of the ballot box and the bullet. But why is there not the same moral outrage reserved for this terrorist organisation appearances in print as has been expressed over Abu Muhammed’s appearance on C4?
HonestReporting UK would like to hear your views on this subject. Please join in the debate and talkback on our Backspin blog.
SIX MONTH ANALYSIS – BBC: THE SUBTLE BIAS
If you have not already done so, see HonestReporting’s exclusive six month analysis of the BBC News website. Our researchers monitored 286 articles and pictures from January 2007 until June 2007. What we saw was a clear pattern of showcasing the Palestinian perspective, at the expense of Israeli voices. Among the findings:
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Headline selection for stories in relation to violent incidents is inconsistent. 15% of stories about Palestinian violence named the aggressors while 60% of articles about Israeli operations accused Israel directly.
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Greater attention is paid to Palestinian voices and opinions than Israeli ones. 19 out of 23 articles and picture series capturing the “man on the street” perspective were from the Palestinian viewpoint.
Read the full report here.
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