Compared with alternative English-language international news channels, such as BBC World, CNN International, France 24, and Russia Today, most observers agree al-Jazeera English scores highly. The English face of al-Jazeera is one westerners have grown familiar with: the al-Jazeera English channel and website, high quality news and sophisticated documentaries focused on the developing world. ‘We call on all governments to respect media freedoms’: al-Jazeera on Saudi demands for its closure – video Guardian But there is a deeper reason, which for westerners to understand they must consider that al-Jazeera has two faces – one Arabic and one English – and it is the Arabic face that creates all the problems in Qatar’s neighbourhood. Al-Jazeera is on the list because it is such a powerful symbol of Qatar and the most visible manifestation of Qatari policymaking. Saudi Arabia and Qatar may be the world’s only two Wahhabi states, but they also have numerous historical and ideological differences, as evidenced by the list of 13 demands. It is important to remember that al-Jazeera is not the only bone of contention between Qatar and its neighbours. Despite al-Jazeera currently being banned in Egypt – the most populous Arab country – arguably it is still al-Jazeera, but naturally al-Arabiya disputes this. Since no reliable viewing data is available we cannot know for sure which of the two is the more popular today. The network’s myriad enemies used every trick in the book to try to shut it down, from arresting correspondents and closing bureaus to deporting family members of employees, harassing potential advertisers, launching frivolous lawsuits and, in the case of the US, bombing its offices twice and killing members of its staff.Īfter years of failing to make an impact, Arab governments finally realised that the only way to deal with al-Jazeera is to beat it at its own game, which is why in 2003 Saudi Arabia started arch rival al-Arabiya TV. A stream of never-ending diplomatic crises kicked off between Qatar and every other country in the region except Oman, as well as many non-Arab nations. It also deeply disturbed other governments in the region since none of them, with the exception of post-revolutionary Tunisia, enjoys a popular democratic mandate and they fear anything that might weaken their grip on power. It introduced concepts like democracy and human rights and drastically pushed back the boundaries of free speech. Such iconoclasm demolished social, political and religious taboos and set a new standard of reporting in the region. Photograph: APĪl-Jazeera was the first Arab channel to introduce proper investigative journalism and the first to entertain all kinds of previously off-limits guests on its talk shows, tackling controversial topics such as suicide bombing and the existence of God. Osama bin Laden speaks from an undisclosed location in a recording broadcast by al-Jazeera a month after 9/11. In its glory days, Arab cities would go noticeably quieter when Dr Faisal al-Qassem’s The Opposite Direction show came on air, and the network’s long list of scoops includes its coverage of Operation Desert Fox in Iraq in 1998, a post-9/11 interview with bin Laden, and the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, when al-Jazeera was the only TV network present in the country and for a few weeks became news agency to the world. Al-Jazeera blew all this away, allowing all kinds of previously banned voices to be heard, from the Israelis and Muammar Gaddafi to Chechen rebels, the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. The news chiefly focused on what the sheikh, emir or president was doing that day, some news about his heir, and a puff piece about how lucky the nation was to have such heroic father figures. It is a unique phenomenon which, since it started broadcasting in 1996, has revolutionised the Arab media, and in 2010 played a major role in bringing about a real political revolution across much of the Arab world.īefore al-Jazeera started broadcasting, Arab television news was totalitarian drivel. But al-Jazeera is not like other broadcasters. Few other media outlets can claim to be so influential. Whatever happens, it is a credit to al-Jazeera that, 21 years after its launch, it is still so disruptive and challenging to those in power. Yet defying the deadline could lead to regime change in Qatar, or even war. If Doha capitulates – and there are no signs it will – it will effectively have lost its sovereignty and become a vassal state of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
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