JEDDAH, 9 April 2003 — The current US-led war on Iraq has been a fertile source of rumor. The main purpose of rumor is to instill fear and confuse people’s minds. How do we face rumors as a society? What types of rumors impact us? Al-Madinah newspaper examined the local rumor mill.
Muhammad Al-Fadli, who works at the Ministry of Information, described rumor as a destructive force, especially when there was a war going on in the neighborhood.
“A recent rumor almost killed a woman. We heard on the grapevine that a bomb had exploded in a downtown commercial center where her son worked. She fainted because of the shock and was sick for weeks. This odious rumor, like most others, turned out to be false. I hate it when people spread rumors without trying to check their veracity. Rumor-mongering can do a great deal of harm to society. Parents must educate their children about the damage rumors can do and stop them from spreading them.”
Lora Saleh agrees. “One day I heard a rumor that gas masks were to arrive in Jeddah in huge numbers and that they would be distributed for free. Immediately, I thought something bad was about to happen. I was so scared that I kept my children at home for a week.”
According to Saleha Srooji, a school principal, rumors can play havoc with the psyche of children. “There was a rumor spreading at school that students were going to be given a holiday during the war because school buildings could become targets. Then came another rumor saying school buildings would be evacuated and turned into hospitals and clinics. All of us got scared because we thought that something bad was in the offing. But the Education Ministry later issued a statement denying the rumors.”
Ahlam Musleh, a teacher, said rumors could be very scary. “I am exposed to many rumors especially when I am with my friends. The latest on the grapevine was about this serial killer who was hunting down women and then killing them. We were so scared we didn’t go shopping for a week until we read in newspapers that the rumors were unfounded. Another rumor was about a bomb going off in a shopping center in Jeddah. We didn’t go shopping until newspapers denied the rumors.”
Nawal Mahfouz, a teacher, narrated another war-related rumor. “I have heard many rumors since the war started. One particularly nasty one said rockets would be launched at Riyadh. Then we heard about rockets falling north of Saudi Arabia. We were so scared that we thought Saudi Arabia would be attacked. We tried to turn a deaf ear to the rumors, but they kept coming in all the time.”
“Most rumors about the war,” according to Nawal, “spread through cell phones. My friends and I exchange rumors through cell phones about the death of Saddam Hussein or his escape from Baghdad. And it’s not only women who spread rumors. Countries at war also spread inflated stories about victories or about how they occupy enemy positions. It’s to weaken enemy morale.”
According to Ibrahim Abo Shagra, a political analyst, rumors are like time bombs embedded in societies, waiting to explode. “I think it is a very smart way to threaten security. We have to be careful about this and should not allow rumor to weaken our society. Only a strong society can withstand the ill effects of rumors,” he said.
Sociologist Muna Kareem feels that people who spread rumors are sick. “They are doing it to destroy society. Sometimes they do it for financial benefits. People should be careful not to allow rumors to influence their lives.”
