MAKKAH, 11 November — Iqbal Akm Sacranie, chairman of the British charity Muslim Aid, recently gave a lecture on "Islam and the Media" at a symposium organized by Muslim World League in Makkah on Nov. 2, 2001.

Following is the text of his speech:

"In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the Ever Merciful. All praise and thanks are due to him, the Lord and Sustainer of all the worlds. We seek his help and forgiveness and on Him we depend. And may peace and blessings be on his noble messenger, Muhammad, peace be upon him."

The events of Sept. 11 in the United States have presented Muslims all over the world with tremendous challenges and opportunities. Muslims have been the target of suspicion and abuse and not only Muslims but Islam have become bad words.

The careless and even, one may often suspect, deliberate use of such terms as Islamic terrorism and Islamic terrorists and Islamic fundamentalists have become rampant. Such terms indeed have been in use before the Sept. 11 but since these terrible events, the minds of people the world over have been bombarded over and over again with these highly negative impressions not only of Muslims but of Islam itself.

The indiscriminate use of these terms convey the impression not only that Muslims are the pariahs of the world but that the religion of Islam itself promotes hatred and is destructive of civilization and all the values and principles that decent people cherish.

Such has been the strength of anti-Muslim feeling that some commentators have suggested that the very survival of Muslims or their ability to lead normal lives could be placed at serious risk. Muslims are thus evidently faced with the enormous challenges of turning around these harmful and negative images of Islam and Muslims. They have the responsibility to present Islam as a balanced and middle path dealing with others in a spirit of courtesy and rational discourse.

At all times we must be guided by the teachings of the Holy Qur’an:

"Invite (all) to the way of your Sustainer with wisdom and beautiful preaching: and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for your Sustainer knows best who have strayed from His Path and who receive guidance." (Al-Nahl, verse 125)

"Thus, have We made of you a community (Ummah) justly balanced, that you might be witnesses unto all people, and the Messenger is a witness unto you all." (al-Baqarah, verse 143)

On the other hand, there is a genuine spirit of fairness and of inquiry in human societies everywhere. There are many people who feel that they need to know more of what Islam really is and what are the values and principles that animate Muslim life. Herein lie tremendous opportunities for Muslims in Europe, America and elsewhere to present an enlightened and authentic image of Islam and Muslims, as opposed to the caricatures and stereotypes that confront us.

In many places, Muslims are being presented with opportunities on radio and television, newspapers and magazines to give their points of view and their perspectives on a range of issues. Many Muslims from all walks of life, men and women and a substantial number of well-informed and articulate young people, have realized the importance of the opportunities that are being presented — at least to try and put the record straight. Many may not have had formal training in the effective use of the variety of media but their sense of duty — at least to try and put the record straight — and their concern for all the noble human values that Islam upholds and protects are contributing to the enormous task of dispelling negative images and creating the positive milieu in which Islam and Muslims need to have in order to thrive.

I would like to highlight here a few aspects of this task of creating this much-needed "positive milieu" especially with reference to our situation in Britain.

We need to be extremely careful that whatever position we adopt should be a principled one based on sound knowledge and argument and not simply on heightened emotional reaction to a situation.

In this process, we would often be confronted by aggressive reporters or interviewers. We need to stay calm, be clear and to the point. We are often astounded by the degree of ignorance so far as Islam is concerned and the extent of confusion that exists even among senior professionals in the media. There is the need for dispelling such ignorance and confusion with wisdom and all that is beautiful.

The problem is that the media want to see almost every Muslim in its own category of extremist or moderate: Funny enough that these categories represent an extreme in themselves. Somehow there seems to be an inability to see the median and the mainstream majority.

Therefore what Muslims seek is normal treatment and I will repeat the word NORMAL as in fair and objective in any sense of the word. No doubt by painting a biased and distorted picture one is causing some hurt to the Muslim community but at the same time the media is doing a disservice to the wider community. The community has a right to fair objective information and not to distortion or misinformation. Needless to say that inaccurate information has a negative effect on community relations in any society.

One cannot overlook the cumulative effect of constant stereotyping of Islam and Muslims by the media on the attitude and the opinion of the society.

Let me give you a specific example. There are over 7,000 denominational schools in the UK run by Church of England, Roman Catholics, Methodists and the Jewish Community, which are maintained by public funds in recognition of the right of a faith community to organize education within the state system.

A Muslim school fulfilling similar needs and meeting the same criteria should be a normal thing. The media treatment of the subject tells people and politicians that Muslim schools would be separatists and even possibly breeding grounds for extremism and, an additional financial burden on taxpayers.

Such a biased treatment of the subject over a number of years has led inevitably to the rejection of the application by many Islamic schools. It is only after the application has been lost that we read a few sympathetic editorials in the national press, but it was sympathy come too late.

The point really is what we have about Islam and Muslims in the media is a long and an unending editorial, strong on opinion but weak on facts. We understand they happen to be Euro-centric in their assumptions and premises but it is important that the facts are also right. We can all keep our opinions as long as we are sure of our facts.

To conclude, the situation would improve tremendously if the media were to begin to check their facts before they form and express their opinions. When they begin to take an objective look at the recent discovery "the Islamic enemy", I promise them a pleasant surprise. They will discover a friend, not an enemy.

May Almighty Allah guide and protect all of us, Ameen.