Does America Have the Right Arsenal for the War of Ideas?

Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs James K. Glassman recently addressed America's preparedness in the War of Ideas during an interview debate on BBC's HARDtalk with Stephen Sackur on the seventh anniversary of September 11th. Mr. Glassman acknowledged that the War on Terror cannot be won by "bombs and bullets alone", and reiterated that defining the War of Ideas was pivotal in combating Islamic extremism as public diplomacy is above all "a power of persuasion and not propaganda."

"There has been a change in US policies...where we have emphasized that the non-military part of our efforts is equally if not more important to our military efforts," explained Glassman. He added that the US seeks to provide support to people who actively promote democracy and freedom while taking into account the issue of stability.

However, the emphasis of America's public diplomacy, as articulated by Under Secretary Glassman, is to divert recruitments away from extremists as "ideological engagement comes down to a contest of vision."

The British newspaper The Independent reports that Glassman's recent statements define the public diplomacy mission for the 21st century. While encouraging and promoting common interests, public diplomacy seeks to build counter-movements by empowering those opposed to violent extremist movements. Such movements aim to bring people together with similar interests, including women opposed to violent extremism, believers in democratic Islam, entrepreneurship, and technology.

"In the end, the American mission in this new age of public diplomacy is to tell the world of a good and compassionate nation and, at the same time, to engage in the most important ideological contest of our age," says Glassman.

However, Matt Armstrong states on the Mountain Runner blog that the Under Secretary's view represents a militarization of public diplomacy. Armstrong points out that during the interview Glassman disagreed that the Bush Administration's policies were a failure when it came to the Middle East despite the fact that the general perception remained that the War on Terror was a war on Islam.

It is accepted even in Washington that the Bush administration's bungled policies in the Middle East have left it with a terrible image. Glassman pointed out the contrast between previous public diplomacy efforts and today's challenges.

Roula Khalaf of the Financial Times notes that the purpose of public diplomacy is not so much to improve the US's image as to undermine that of Al-Qaeda.

"Our challenge today is to ensure that negative sentiments and day-to-day grievances towards the US and its allies do not manifest themselves in the form of violent extremism," said Glassman, in a speech at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.

While positive trends such as a decline in support of Al-Qaeda are emerging in the Arab and Muslim worlds, the news site argues that Al-Qaeda's decline is not "necessarily a reflection of a de-radicalization in Arab society." Arabs are now supporting other heroes equally defiant of the US.

The recent poll designed by University of Maryland professor Shibley Telhami, along with Zogby International, demonstrated that the majority of the Arab world perceive the US to be a greater threat than Iran, thereby undermining Washington's efforts to isolate Tehran from the region (see PR 9: Arab Opinion of US Still Down, Al-Qaeda Thriving.)The findings highlight the fact that the next administration will have to project a better image of the US for the policies to become more efficient.

Citing the example of Arab liberals, Khalaf comments, "Too many groups or states today have been put on the defensive because of their association with Washington." Once perceived as the Bush administration's best hope for the region, they have failed to establish themselves as credible alternatives to Islamist groups. Their association with the US has revealed to be more prejudicial than beneficial, he deplores.

George Washington University professor Mark Lynch agrees with Khalaf in his blog Abu Advaark that US public diplomacy should not be in place solely "to create a hostile environment for extremists." Lynch points out that counter-terrorism efforts need to be combined with an efficient strategic communication to reenergize public diplomacy.

"The stunning imbalance of resources between 'traditional' public diplomacy and the State Department on the one hand, and strategic communications around the Pentagon on the other poses a real challenge," he argues. Despite having argued about this deficiency between both institutions, both Robert Gates and James Glassman have failed to appropriately address the issue.

At a September 15th talk at GWU's Homeland Security Policy Institute Mr. Glassman stressed the role that entities such as the Muslim Brotherhood play in the Arab world. Although the Muslim Brotherhood can contribute to wane off support for Al-Qaeda, they "also challenge the emergence of the kinds of pro-Western, secular 'moderates' that the US wants to see."

Mr. Glassman also discussed the role of new communication in diverting people from extremism, arguing that the youth should channel its attention toward more entertainment and TV programs. "Arab political commentators such as Fahmy Howeydi and Abd al-Bari Atwan have long complained that popular music video clips and reality TV shows were designed to distract Arabs from political issues," responds Abu Advaark.

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An online video game entitled "Muslim Massacre," provoked an uproar among Muslims in the Arab World and elsewhere where the game was described as promoting "modern religious genocide," according to the LA Times. The US War on Terror as long been perceived across the Arab world as a war on Islam and this latest slur reinforces this perception.

The game, created by the blogger Sigvatr, allows users to control the main character: an "American hero on a mission to rid the Middle East of Muslims." Armed with a machine gun and explosives, he hunts down Osama bin Laden, the Prophet Mohammad and finally Allah.

So far, the website hosting the game has been blocked by several countries in the Middle East and the game has generated wide controversy regarding the way Muslims are portrayed in the West.

Amid warnings of a backlash to the game and further animosity between the West and the Middle East, the Egyptian Daily News calls for calm. "Let's not magnify this because after all it is just a computer game that will temporarily exist until another one comes along," said Hamdy Hassan, expert on the social effects of videogames and vice president of Misr International University.

The creator of the game, a 22-year-old American living in Australia, reportedly apologized, according to the American Muslim. Sigvatr claims his intentions were actually to mock American foreign policy and the commonly held belief that Muslims are hostile people to be held with suspicion. "I would like to make it clear that I have never shared such a belief and my intention was to mock those who actually do believe these things," he reiterates.

However, to Sheila Musaji this apology does little to dull the harm caused by the game due to the nature of the Internet. "His creation is out there, copied, downloaded, posted on other sites, and continuing to do damage," adds Musaji. The fact that so many other people downloaded and played the game says something about the level of animosity towards Muslims in the West, she deplores.

Protests were staged against the video game; in London the Ramadan Islamic Society urged the British government to ban the website hosting the game, according to Al-Arabiya.

The response to the game in the West is seen as evidence of a double standard for media representations of Muslims, claimed Mohamed Shafiq, Chair of the Ramadan Islamic Society. "If it were a game showing Muslims similarly slaughtering Americans or Israelis, it would have caused a worldwide uproar," he says.

This double standard justifies media attacks on Islam and Muslims under the banner of freedom of expression, according to an opinion piece by Ghassan Michel Rubiez for the Media Monitors Network.

Rubiez claims that public figures in the West can attack Muslims without the backlashes that occur when racial slurs are used against other communities. "The right to hatefully target certain groups but not others is accepted in the free world. Should not there be a uniform standard in public sanctioning of hate speech?" he asks.

"The greater the social distance from mainline society to a specific minority group, the more the media is free to harass it," Rubiez argues. Insensitivity to and negative portrayals of Muslims grow as political relations worsen between the Muslim World and the West. Coverage of Islam manifests in careless, phobic and obsessive reporting, fueling irrational fears and affecting the portrayal and perception of Muslims, further comments Rubiez.

Similarly, Ray Hanania for Arabisto.com says focusing primarily on Islamic extremism ignores the existence extremism in other religions and justifies extremism directed against Muslims. Fighting against extremism is admirable but, "It's transparently fake when the fight only focuses on the extremism of one religious group to cover and defend the extremism of another."

The depiction of Muslims such as in the "Muslim Massacre" video game should be seen as having serious implications, according to Musaji. "When the members of any minority group are demonized, and when it becomes not only possible, but ordinary to fear and despise them, we are heading down a very dark road," she concludes.

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Support for jihad is waning in the Arab world and most notably in Saudi Arabia, reports Time Magazine. Employing numerous secretive and often controversial policies, the Saudi government has managed to weaken support for Al-Qaeda through the use of controversial methods. "Riyadhis speak in whispers about midnight raids, arrests, torture and summary executions," comments the news magazine.

In public, the Saudi government prefers to highlight King Abdullah's efforts to engage in counter-propaganda through reasoning with extremist preachers and TV presenters. Most probably, the decline of Al-Qaeda across the Arab world is mainly due to the indiscriminate killings that have turned the population against the terrorist organization. The Times explains, "Opinion polls in the region show that Al-Qaeda's brand of jihad has lost much of its appeal, especially after suicide bombers began to target Muslims."

Top US counterterrorism officials concur that Al-Qaeda is becoming unpopular and may even be "imploding", according to the Huffington Post.

Extremist violence claimed more than 9,500 civilian victims in Muslim countries in 2007, explains the news site. Ted Gistaro, the national intelligence officer for transnational threats, explained that Al-Qaeda's air time and videos mostly has been devoted to legitimizing their actions to Muslims.

Groups such Hamas and Hezbollah have now become primary concerns, "which combine social services, local governance and national politics with extremist attacks," declares Under Secretary James K. Glassman. Yet, Al-Qaeda remains the most potent threat to the US. "[Hamas and Hezbollah] are models that have a lot more popular appeal than Al-Qaeda," he added.

However, McCauley's World cautiously warns that US agencies should not herald Al-Qaeda's defeat too soon given the organization's presence in Pakistan. The blog site notes that a national intelligence assessment released last year said Al-Qaeda had regenerated its leadership and ability to conduct attacks in the ungoverned tribal region of western Pakistan.

The news site comments that Afghanistan continues to be a safe haven for Al-Qaeda. Furthermore, the terrorist organization still "attracts new fighters to fight US forces in Afghanistan, and radical internet sites that provide religious justification for attacks and violent anti-Western rhetoric are spreading," adds the news blog.

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The Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs James K. Glassman recently hosted a teleconference roundtable for bloggers according to the State Department blog. This was an opportunity for Secretary Glassman to highlight several new public diplomacy initiatives that have been the centerpiece of the so-called "War of Ideas" (See also PR19: "Let's Get Real on the War of Ideas").

Secretary Glassman opened the roundtable with the observation that "modern diplomacy doesn't work well if it's simply preaching at people," and said that the US now is working in "an age where we're not trying to control our environment."

The discussion with the slate of prominent bloggers touched on two main areas: the Democracy Video Project and the Digital Outreach Team. Additional emphasis was given to the recent interaction with Iranian officials over the blogosphere.

The Democracy Video project, a State Department competition inviting people around the world to create three-minute videos that complete the phrase "Democracy is..." was the first order of business, according to the Kim Andrew Elliott Blog. Recently announced at the United Nations, this project aims to involve the private sector in "getting the ball rolling" on the issue of democracy, according to Secretary Glassman.

"A program like the Democracy Video Project promotes the ideals of freedom in many, many different ways," commented Glassman. When asked how the US would react if a submitted video contradicted US policy, Glassman acknowledged that it was a risky strategy for the US but reminded the bloggers that there is a strict prohibition on terrorist or extremist content.

The Digital Outreach Team was the second initiative highlighted during the teleconference. The State Department employs eight professional Internet bloggers whose job it is to "log on to blogs and 'push back' against what Glassman says is misinformation about the United States," reports Wired.com.

Currently blogging in Arabic, Urdu, and Farsi, the team of eight or nine enter digital conversations to participate in the dialogue and direct other bloggers to more accurate sources of information.

Special emphasis was given to the Digital Outreach Team's recent activity on the personal blog of Ali Akbar Javanfekr's, President Ahmadinejad of Iran's media advisor. "First of all we were very surprised that an Iranian official would engage in this kind of back and forth," remarked Glassman. All in all a series of ten postings were exchanged between Mr. Javanfekr and the Digital Outreach team.

That exchange was "only one example of the kind of public diplomacy engagement [the US] is having with Iran. Now it's mostly at the level of the Iranian public," noted Glassman.

A representative of VOA's Persian News Network asked about the recent launch of Parsloop, a forum for Iranians around the world to exchange opinions and experiences, reports VOA newblog. Secretary Glassman affirmed that the US supports, encourages, and participates in Parsloop, but reminded the conference participants that it is not "strictly speaking" a US government website.

Other Iran-focused public diplomacy initiatives include inviting the Iranian national basketball team to play in Salt Lake City and hosting a series of Iranian artists at an exhibition in Daytona Beach, Florida. In defense of these initiatives Secretary Glassman noted, "Public diplomacy can do things that official diplomacy cannot."

Following the teleconference, Matt Armstrong of the Mountain Runner blog and one of the participants of the discussion observed, "From op-eds to intense interviews, this Under Secretary is not afraid of the media or public engagement. With any luck, future Secretaries will have the same realization that the Department of State must also be the Department of Non-State and put energy and resources into public engagement."

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A Moroccan court released Internet blogger Mohamed Erraji while he appeals a two-year prison sentence for criticizing the king of Morocco in an online blog, according to the Associated Press. Erraji was fined and sentenced for "lacking respect toward the person of the king and the royal family." The AP reports that Erraji had criticized the state-funded programs of King Mohammed VI for being poorly-run.

Reporters Without Borders reaffirmed its position that the blogger was not guilty of insulting the king and expressed hope that Erraji will face a fair trial. While Morocco enjoys some political freedom, there are some issues that remain sensitive - the king's personal life, the institution of the monarchy, and the role of Islam are chief among them, according to the AP.

The arrest of Mohamed Erraji is just the latest event in the constant battle between Arab bloggers and repressive regimes. Not only are Arab governments more attuned to activity on the blogosphere, bloggers too are realizing their impact both in their home countries and in the region at large.

Bloggers from across the region are participating in conferences and round-table discussions on censorship and the value of blogging as a form of social and political activism, according to PBS. Most recently, 30 male and female bloggers from across the region met in Beirut to talk about their experiences and to advocate for greater press freedoms (See also PR IV.19: "Blogging Still Vibrant in Arab World Despite Crackdowns").

One main theme of the conference was the development of solidarity among bloggers throughout the Arab world. Ideas for promoting solidarity ranged from offering support to imprisoned bloggers and pushing the boundaries of free speech to support their compatriots, reports PBS.

Another prominent theme was the rejection by bloggers of the journalist label. Conference participants emphasized that it should not matter what they choose to say on the web and that the rules of normal media ethics and regulations should not apply. A female blogger from Egypt pointed out that blogging is better characterized as political activism than as journalism.

These sentiments were echoed in an earlier panel discussion entitled "Blogging Where Free Speech Isn't Free," according to worldchanging.com. Panel participant Rob Faris pointed out that there has been a "convergence between controls on offline and online media." Faris explained, "Countries that control their press are very likely to want to control what people access on the net."

Like the conference in Beirut, the panel discussion emphasized supranational blogger solidarity. Ehtan Zuckerman closed the panel with a call for "solidarity and a willingness to agitate for speech for all threatened bloggers, not just the ones we agree with." He added, "We've got to be prepared to support Muslim Brotherhood bloggers in Egypt as well as dissidents."

Middle Eastern regimes are certainly paying attention to the activity of this new generation of emboldened bloggers. "Hosni Mubarak in Egypt has maintained the press control the country's endless state gave him. Muammar al Qaddafi in Libya uses the media to prop up his personality cult and even Morocco's forward-thinking young king allowed a blogger to be jailed recently for allegedly insulting him," observes Radio Netherlands.

Governments have begun to impose license and registration requirements for online authors and have threatened liability for ISP addresses that allow certain content, according to worldchanging.com. After Egyptian activists effectively used the social networking site Facebook to launch a protest against the government and rising food prices, legislation has been proposed that would give President Mubarak full control over the country's media - including the internet, reports PBS.

Fearing a similar fate, Syria has blocked Facebook altogether. Nevertheless, thousands of Syrians have found savvy ways to access the site through proxies or other means, reveals Netherlands Radio. Tunisia has also banned the site.

Arab regimes are not solely fixated on bloggers demanding greater press freedom and political openness; they also face challenges from jihadists trying to recruit people for extremist movements. Authorities in Saudi Arabia have been monitoring radical websites for a while and recently have arrested five men for using the Internet to recruit for Al-Qaeda, according to the BBC. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also funds an internet campaign to infiltrate extremist websites and employs moderate clerics to discredit Al-Qaeda's ideology.

Despite the growth of the blogging movement in the Middle East and the evident fear that it is creating in Arab regimes, "you still need moderators who take the movement off the Internet and into the streets," says Alexandra Sandels of the media watchdog Menassat. "One must not fall into the trap of 'couch activism,'" she adds.

As the holy Muslim month of Ramadan soon comes to a conclusion with the Eid Al-Fitr celebration approaching, Arab Muslims once again are faced with the issue of how best to celebrate the holy month. Pierre Tristam of About.com notes, "Over 96% of the 6000 Muslims surveyed in the Arab World were partaking in the Ramadan fast and while 67% find it too commercial, 43% still spend significant amounts of Ramadan watching various television programs."

While the Quran teaches that Ramadan is to be a month of prayer, fasting, and togetherness, modern technology has in many ways convoluted and commercialized Ramadan in a way that Muslims feel is disrespectful.

There are an estimated 140 TV series being broadcast throughout the Arab World produced specifically for the month of Ramadan, points out Gulf News. The news site highlights the ongoing debate in the Arab World over the slew of TV dramas specifically produced for Ramadan, which allegedly have little to do with the spiritual aspect of the religious celebration.

Critics of this commercialization of Ramadan have voiced their concerns, stating that Ramadan is an occasion to pray, recite the Quran and seek God's forgiveness, and not a time to smoke Hooka and enjoy elaborate meals. However, come claim that Ramadan, which falls once a year, "is also an occasion to socialize with families and friends."

Campaigns over the internet, such as one on Facebook, have heightened the debate over prioritizing religious duties rather than TV watching during Ramadan.

Noura Al-Khereji for Arab News emphatically opposes the commercialization of Ramadan evident in the various soap operas on Arab satellite TV networks. She expresses her dissatisfaction with the current situation by noting, "During olden times, Muslims were competing for the satisfaction of Allah...Now producers and businessmen are competing on arts including songs and production of films and soap operas." Khereji goes so far as to claim that if she had the ability, she would shut all TV stations down for Ramadan.

Various actors, actresses, and technicians from around the Arab world come together to work on the dramas, writes Mohammed Salah for Dar Al Hayat. However, why these actors and actresses in the television industry can work together on a common project, "yet political leaders in the Arab world clearly cannot," remains a question. Salah further claims that each Arab leader has his own private agenda and that the dream of Arab unity is "out of reach".

Salah explains, "The Arabs were successful, in Ramadan television series, in coexisting in drama, that at which they continuously fail in politics." The blur between reality and fiction, real-life and television remains the expression of the political dead ends that have plagued the Arab world. While Salah notes that the Arabs' dreams are just songs and series, he concludes, "Their reality seems to be but a nightmare."

On a more somber note, economic hardship has not spared the West Bank and Gaza for the month of Ramadan, reports Al-Ahram. This has become an annual occurrence for Palestinians given the harsh economic realities of Israeli occupation and an all out civil war between Fatah and Hamas. "With their incomes so low," comments the newspaper, "many families are holding onto their savings and using them only to purchase their most basic needs, such as flour, sugar and cooking oil. The non-essentials, they feel, can wait for better times".

While many hoped that the month of Ramadan would prompt some reconciliation between both parties, all expectations were met with disappointment and further arrests carried out by the parties against their opponents.

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An international conference on media communications held recently in Timbuktu ended with a grim outlook and a passionate plea for action concerning TV viewing habits in the Arab World, reports Gulf News. For three days, experts discussed the unprecedented increase in drama series on Arab TV.

The panel of 23 experts from the Arab world reached the conclusion that "drama consumption in the Arab World is reaching highly toxic levels, affecting established behavioral codes and shaking up entire patterns of social and human relationships." Experts identified the main source of the problem as being the "APOWD syndrome: Arab Psychotic Obsession with Drama."

The experts commented on the debates that are occurring at street level about events in a soap operas and the alarming number of marriages ending in divorce when furious husbands disliked their wives' attention to certain drama series.

Educators also commented and complained about life schedules being cadenced to the rhythm of airing times of certain drama series, and "how appointments, whether business, social or medical, were dictated by TV schedules."

Alarmed by this trend, scholars expressed their concern about the gullibility and capacity to differentiate reality from fiction in the Arab world. But some scholars explained the phenomenon by the fact that these TV programs provide an escape to a harsh reality people face on a daily basis in the region. "The only explanation I can offer is that the Arab social reality is grimmer than anything we have seen - hence the tendency to escape to a rosy, fictitious world that the screen provides," reports one German scholar.

However, with the month of Ramadan, TV series abound and the slew of TV dramas invades the small screens, comments the LA Times. "For 30 Ramadan nights, the ritual for millions of Muslims is food, prayer and remote," explains the news site.

The boom of satellite television has engendered an unprecedented multiplicity of channels broadcasting programs of all sorts. Advertisers are demanding more commercial time to woo an expanding middle class that is largely apolitical and materialistic, adds the LA Times.

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The most senior judge in Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Salih Ibn al-Luhaydan, declared that it is permissible to kill the owners of satellite television channels that broadcast immoral programs, reports BBC News.

The cleric spoke in response to a question put to him on the Light in the Path radio program about indecent television programs broadcast during the month of Ramadan. During Ramadan Arab satellite television stations broadcast lavish productions, such as soap operas and mini-series, some with religious and historical themes.

"Those calling for corrupt beliefs, certainly it's permissible to kill them...Those calling for sedation, those who are able to prevent it but don't, it is permissible to kill them," says Luhaydan to the International Herald Tribune.

The International Herald Tribune explains that Saudi Arabia's judiciary system, which is made up of Islamic clerics whose decrees, or fatwas, on everyday issues is widely respected. However, fatwas do not have the weight of law, adds the IHT. Court rulings are made according to Islamic law, though interpretations vary.

Even so, Luhaydan's elevated position in the country means that his words cannot be easily dismissed, comments Ayman Safadi in an opinion piece for The National. His pronouncements on religious and social issues are taken as absolute truth by his followers. "When Luhaydan speaks, thousands listen," he remarks.

Such fatwas are a dilemma for the Saudi royal family, according to the BBC. Saudi rulers need the support of clerics to claim they rule in the name of Islam, but countering militant Islam is difficult when a top judge calls for the execution of broadcasters.

Luhaydan's words nonetheless shocked many in Saudi Arabia. This was partly because most satellite channels in Saudi Arabia are owned by members of the royal family. The channel Rotana, known for broadcasting films and music videos often seen as indecent by clerics, is owned by prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, reports The Guardian.

In academic and media circles many were critical of the cleric for advocating violence. "You cannot just license the killing of people in this way," Azzam Tamimi, director of the Islamic Institute of Political Thought, tells Al-Jazeera.

Leading Saudi scholar Sheikh Abdul Mohsin Al-Obeikan rejected the fatwa claiming it would promote terrorism by giving extremists "a justification for their acts," adds Gulf Times. Obeikan warns that the fatwa would have negative repercussions for Islam's image. Enemies of Saudi Arabia and Islam could use the fatwa to brand Islam as a terrorist religion, he warned.

Outspoken in his derision of the fatwa, Safadi comments that statements such as Luhaydan's are damaging in a country like Saudi Arabia, whose leadership has recently launched an effort to promote moderate and tolerant Islam.

Safadi contends that the government should take an active role to curb extremism through legislation banning individuals like Luhaydan from using public office to make their pronouncements and rehabilitating official fatwa councils and religious offices.

In order to reduce the influence of extremist groups the government must give up some of its control over religious institutions, Safadi argued. "Ultimately, it boils down to reform," he said.

The controversy has forced Luhaydan to tone down his message, reported ABC News. Luhaydan said his words were misinterpreted and that owners of television networks could only be executed through a judicial ruling, and only if lesser punishments failed.

However, this is not the first time that a fatwa issued by a Saudi cleric has caused controversy. In the same week as Luhaydan's statement another cleric announced that purveyors of horoscopes should be put to death, reported the Daily Times.

Earlier in the year the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh issued a fatwa against the Turkish soap opera Noor, calling any channel broadcasting the series "an enemy of God and his Prophet."

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) voiced its concern over what they perceive as a rise in fatwas calling for the murders of journalists, thus endangering the lives of media professionals working in precarious political contexts. RSF urged the highest Islamic authorities to condemn such fatwas.

However, fatwas are not inherently negative, the RSF pointed out. A fatwa issued by the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committee lead to the release of BBC journalist Alan Johnston in the Gaza Strip.

More than anything, Luhaydan's threat highlights the tension between religious conservatives and reformers in Saudi Arabia, according to Jeremy Fleishman for the Los Angeles Times. Luhaydan's fatwa is the latest attempt to "chasten the airways in a global, internet age in which piety is challenged by the alluring hum of satellite dishes," Fleishman said.

The Saudi population now enjoys increased access to the outside world through satellite television and travel. However, Caryle Murphy for The National has argued that increased access to the outside world has actually blunted the affect of decrees such as Luhaydan's. Saudis are increasingly taking clerical pronouncements with "two pinches of salt."

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The Egyptian government has recently drafted a new broadcasting law that will restrict the freedom of audio-visual media and sanction dissident content, reports Reporters Without Borders. This bill awaits the parliament's approval in November 2008.

The proposed legislation calls for the creation of a National Agency for Regulation of Audio and Visual Broadcast, with the power to remove a news organization's license, adds the news agency.

The bill is generating concerns among broadcast journalists who are already facing numerous difficulties and indiscriminate arrests in the country. The law would imply that reporters can be prosecuted for "attacking social peace, national unity, public order and society's values," according to Middle East Times. If convicted, journalists could receive prison sentences spanning from one month to three years.

According to Marc Lynch, an expert on Arab media and public opinion, the Egyptian regime declared war on the press and independent bloggers for pushing forward the democracy agenda, making them a threat to the Egyptian regime. He remarks, "The Egyptian media believes it is its duty to shape the political discourse, given the growing gap between the rich and poor, the crumbling infrastructure, the incompetence of state institutions, and the soaring prices of food and fuel."

"There is a lack of transparency present in the public sphere about press freedom; we are in a state of chaos and disorientation," Ibrahim Mansour, executive director of Addustour newspaper told the Middle East Times.

This week in a press release, Arabic Network for Human Rights Information condemned the government's decision to prohibit reporting on the recent kidnapping of eight Egyptians and 11 foreign tourists. "It is unjust to deprive the Egyptian journalists of their right to publish in specific cases, while international news outlets continue to broadcast these stories," comments the news site.

The decision to ban publishing reports on the kidnapping is the third of its kind in a two-month period, continues the Arab Network. The first decision was issued by the Egyptian Prosecutor General to ban reporting on the murder of Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim on August 11th, 2008. The second ban was issued to prevent the circulation of news about the September 9th indictment of an Egyptian businessman on charges of bribery.

Critics say that the bans represent further restriction on the freedom of the press in Egypt and a violation of citizens' right to knowledge and access to information.

"Just look at how the government is controlling everything, including which newspapers are allowed to publish and which ones are not," Gamal Eid, head of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, told the Middle East Times.

Egypt continues to closely monitor the content of the stations that use Nilesat, the Egyptian owned communications satellite. According to Reporters Without Borders, the privately-owned TV station Al-Hiwar, was dropped by Nilesat on April without any explanation given.

But the same policy applies to foreign media.Justweeks ago, two programs for Al-Hurra, the US funded television station, were cancelled by the Egyptian government. Nader Gohar, the head of the Cairo News Company (CNC), is still facing up to three years in prison for broadcasting Al-Jazeera's footage of demonstrations in the north of the country in April, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Seeking an outlet, the Press Freedom Organization has called on members of the Egyptian parliament "to reject the government's new broadcasting bill and to draft alternative legislation that would lift the constraints on broadcasting and decriminalize press offences," relates Reporters Without Borders.

Al-Wafd editor, Anwar al-Hawary, no doubt expressed the hope of many Egyptian journalists in his recent comments to the Middle East Times, "I hope that other governments, maybe the United States, will come to the aid of our profession and pressure the government here to change its ways."

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As the American public is keeping up with the presidential election, for the past two weeks millions of voters have been receiving DVD copies of a controversial 2006 documentary film, "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," as advertising inserts in their morning newspapers in states such as Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Colorado, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Missouri and other "swing states," according to the Daily Star.

The movie was portrayed by critics as encouraging Islamophobia and hatred towards Muslims. "Republicans and their candidate, Senator John McCain, have made battling the threat posed by radical Islamists a central platform of their campaign," while they have also portrayed Obama as being unable to lead the US partly due to his Muslim origins, explains the newspaper

The movie was originally produced and distributed by Clarion, a nonprofit group created to "educate Americans about issues of national security," according to its website. Although the documentary claims to only refer to radical Islamists, it has been perceived as offensive to all Muslims, conflating mainstream Islam with violence and militancy against the West.

"We're getting many concerned calls and emails from Muslims around the country who see this as an attempt to not only marginalize and demonize the American Muslim community, but also to sway the election by targeting swing states," Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told Inter Press Service.

American Muslim claims the documentary "Obsession" was initially produced by an organization called Honestreporting.com, which has direct ties to the Israeli Foreign Ministry. "The organization was established by a group of British supporters of Israel as a website in the early stages of the second Intifada," explains the news site.

The news site argues that "Obsession" is an elaboration of a theme that was developed by Israeli propagandists during the second Intifada alleging that there is something pathologically wrong with Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim culture. "The film's dishonesty extends to its use of Arab commentators, almost all of whom are converts to right-wing evangelical Christianity," explains Arab Muslim.

Condemning the defamation promoted by the documentary, the website adds that the majority of Muslims, both in the US and abroad, "are moderate and mainstream citizens who are strong proponents of democratic values."

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The LA Times reports that four Iraqi journalists are dead after being kidnapped in the northern city of Mosul, an area which has seen numerous attacks by Sunni militants.

The four worked for the independent television station Sharqiya, a Dubai-based Iraqi network, which has been around since 2004. The slain men included the station's bureau chief, Musaab Mahmoud Al-Azzawi, cameramen Ahmed Salim and Ihab Maad, and driver Qaydar Sulaiman, reports Nieuwsbank. Five suspects have been arrested in connection to the killings.

At the time of the kidnapping, the men were working as part of a nine-person crew to film the next episode of "Futurukum Alayna" ("Your Iftaar is on Us"), a Ramadan special designed to give less-fortunate families much-needed household goods, food, and money during the holiday season, comments the news site. The victims were found dumped nearby in the Al-Borsa district.

One of the show's hosts, Farida Adil, wept while she recalled, "I just was with them this morning. I can't believe that I lost four of them now. They were like my brothers." Five crewmembers were filming inside while the other four were kidnapped, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In response to the attacks, Sharqiya newsroom director Ali Wajeeh insisted, "The show will go on, and it will not stop [...] we will continue and not change our course."

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki condemned the "heinous crime," demanding that security forces bring the perpetrators "to justice for the punishment they deserve," reports CNN.

Al-Sharqiya is owned by a prominent Iraqi based in London and airs from Dubai via satellite, reports the news channel. It is also widely popular among Iraqis for its varied programming, which includes criticism of the Iraqi government.

The network has, in turn, received criticism from those in the government, which is controlled by Shiites, for allegedly sympathetic coverage towards Saddam Hussein, says the LA Times. Sharqiya's Baghdad office closed in 2007, after the Iraqi government shut it down due to allegations of "inciting violence and hate," comments CNN.

Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued a reminder that "no one has been convicted for the murder of a journalist in Iraq," the country which tops the organization's "Impunity Index for 2007." Since the beginning of the war, 135 journalists have been killed in Iraq, most of whom were Iraqis. With the addition of the driver, 51 media workers have now been killed in the country.

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The Middle East Times reports that a television channel, which had previously been banned in Iraq for glorifying violence, has found its way to the airways once again during Ramadan.

Once known as Al-Zawraa television, the new "Al-Rai" network airs continuous coverage of attacks on U.S. forces, according to reports by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

The network's new program, "The Harvest of the Resistance" began airing during Ramadan. Host Hussein Hussein says, "They tell us the most glorious story in the history of mankind - a story not of death, but of eternal life and martyrdom for the sake of freedom, under the banner of Jihad."

Mish'an Al-Jabouri, Al-Rai's owner, is a former Iraqi politician suspected of aiding the insurgency. He escaped to Syria following a scandal whereby he allegedly funded terrorism by stealing money from the government - money which was intended protect oil infrastructure around the Kirkuk area.

Their programming has also included discussions with former Baath Party leaders and others who oppose the presence of US troops in Iraq.

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[1]September 11, 2008. "James Glassman." UK: BBC.
September 16, 2008. "James K Glassman: America Knows That Bullets Alone Will Not Win This War." UK: Independent.
Armstrong, Matt, September 15, 2008. "Is America Equipped to Win a World-Wide Propaganda War?" US: Mountain Runner.
Khalaf, Roula, September 15, 2008. "With Friends Like These, the US Hardly Needs Enemies." UK: Financial Times.
Lynch, Marc, September 15, 2008. "War of Ideas Update." US: Abu Aardvark.
[2]September 14, 2008. "Protests in London Over 'Muslims Massacre' Game." UAE: Al-Arabiya.
Abdoun, Safaa, September 17, 2008. "Computer Game Promotes Killing Muslims by Americans." Egypt: Daily News.
Hanania, Ray, September 17, 2008. "American Extremists Use Islamic Extremism to Fuel Anti-Muslim Hate." US: Arabisto.
Musaji, Sheila, September 16, 2008. "Muslim Massacre 'Game'?" US:The American Muslim.
Rafel, Raed, September 15, 2008. "Middle East: 'Muslim Massacre' Game Stirs Debate." US: Los Angeles Times.
Rubiez, Ghassan Michel, September 14, 2008. "The License to Target Islam." US: Media Monitors Network.
[3]September 16, 2008. "Winning the War On Terror: Al-Qaeda Unpopular and 'Imploding'." US: McCauley's World.
Ghosh, Bobby, September 12, 2008. "Jihad Waning in Osama's Homeland." US: Times.
Hiess, Pamela, September 15, 2008. "US Officials: Al-Qaeda Unpopular and 'Imploding'." US: Huffington Post.
[4]September 17, 2008, "Listen to This: Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Hosts Bloggers' Call." US: US. Department of State Official Blog.
September 19, 2008, "Bloggers' Tele-Conference with Glassman: Blogging Diplomacy With Iran." US: VOA News Blog.
Armstrong, Matt, September 17, 2008, "Blogger Roundtable With Under Secretary Glassman." US: MountainRunner.
Axe, David, "State's Trolls 'Push Back' Against Anti-US Bloggers." US: Wired.com.
Elliot, Kim Andrew, "Conference of the Public Diplomacy Bloggers." US: Kim Andrew Elliot Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy.
[5]September 11, 2008, "Blogging Still Vibrant in Arab World Despite Crackdown." US: The Layalina Review on Public Diplomacy and Arab Media.
September 11, 2008, "Release for Morocco Blogger Jailed as Royal Critic." US: Associated Press.
September 11, 2008, "Saudis Detain 'Internet Jihadis'." UK: BBC.
September 16, 2008, "Freedom of Speech in the Blogosphere." US: World Changing.
Dheere, Jessica, September 12, 2008, "Arab Bloggers Meet to Discuss Free Speech, Reject 'Journalist' Label." US: PBS.
Groubert, Jonathan, September 19, 2008. "Facebook + blogs = Nervous Mid-East Autocracies." Holland: Radio Netherlands Worldwide.
[6]September 10, 2008. "Updated Community Guidelines." US: YouTube.
September 11, 2008. "Google Tightens Standards for YouTube Videos in Response to Lieberman's Pressure." US: Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs.
Sulivan, Eileen, September 12, 2008. "YouTube Bans Terrorism Training Videos." US: Associated Press.
Whoriskey, Peter, September 12, 2008. "YouTube Bans Videos That Incite Violence." US: Washington Post.
[7]Al-Khereiji, Nourah. September 13, 2008. "It Shouldn't be a Month of Soap Operas." Saudi Arabia: Arab News.
Al-Tamimi, Jumana, September 12, 2008. "Ramadan TV Shows are Just a Drama." UAE: Gulf News.
Amayreh, Khaled, September 17, 2008. "Still Struggling." Egypt: Al-Ahram.
Salah, Mohammad. September 12, 2008. "The Dreams and Nightmares of Arabs." Lebanon: Dar Al-Hayat.
[8]Fleishman, Jeffery, September 21, 2008. "With Piety, Ramadan Also Brings a Slew of TV Serials-and Adds." US: Los Angeles Times.
Zahzah, Ahmad, September 15, 2008. "It's Drama Time." UAE: Gulf News.
[9]September 12, 2008. "Saudi Judge Condemns 'Immoral TV'." UK: BBC.
September 14, 2008. "Al-Laheedan's Remarks on TV Programs Trigger Controversy." Saudi Arabia: Arab News.
September 14, 2008. "Saudi official: Death for 'Immoral' Network Owners." US: International Herald Tribune.
September 14, 2008. "Saudi Scholar Issues Death Fatwa." Qatar: Al-Jazeera.
September 14, 2008, "Saudi Scholar Rejects Fatwa on TV Moguls." Qatar: Gulf Times.
September 15, 2008. "Cleric Tones Down Death Ruling for 'Depraved' TV Bosses." US: ABC News.
September 15, 2008. "Saudi Cleric Wants Death for TV 'Sorcerers'." Pakistan: Daily Times.
September 16, 2008. "Religious Leaders Condemned for Fatwas Declared Against Journalists." France: Reporters Without Borders.
Fleishman, Jeffery, September 15, 2008. "Saudi Arabia: Kill the Immoral TV Executives." US: Los Angeles Times.
Murphy, Caryle, September 15, 2008. "Saudi Judge Seeks to Play Down Execution Comments." UAE: The National.
Safadi, Ayman, September 17, 2008. "Sheikh's TV Fatwa is a Symptom of the Cancer of Extremism." UAE: The National.
Siddique, Haroon, September 12, 2008. "Saudi Judge Calls for Mu rder of Satellite Channel Owners." UK: The Guardian.
[10]September 4, 2008. "Government Offensive Against Freedom of Expression in TV Broadcasting." France: Reporters Without Borders.
September 23, 2008. "Egypt's Third Ban on Publishing Topics in an Aggressive Attack on Press Freedom and Right to Access to Information." Egypt: The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.
Lynch, Mark, September 10, 2008. "Democracy in Egypt." US: Abu Aardvark.
Mayton, Joseph, September 25, 2008. "Egyptian Censor Inflicting Pain on Media." US: Middle East Times.
[11]September 18, 2008. "Exposing 'Obsession': Truth Over fear." US: The American Muslim.
September 22, 2008. "Zionist Circles Linked to Islam-Baashing DVDs Targeting Voters in Key US States." Lebanon: Daily Star.
[12]September 14, 2008. "Find Journalists' Killers, Iraqi PM Orders Military." US: CNN.
Susman, Tina and Saif Rasheed, September 14, 2008. "Iraq Militants Target TV Crew." US: Los Angeles Times.
[13]September 17, 2008. "Insurgent Iraqi TV Outlet Emerges in Syria." US: Middle East Times.

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