Western media’s repeated criticism of Saudi Arabia betrays an inability to comprehend matters beyond the Western framework of thinking. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is the latest victim of the Western media’s malicious criticism. What has earned their wrath is a news item that inaccurately implied that King Abdullah had asked the chief editors of newspapers in the Gulf not to publish women’s photographs. This suggestion was made, according to the Western media, at the recent Gulf summit held in Riyadh.
Before circulating the story worldwide, Western news agencies didn’t even bother to verify the facts from reliable sources or the Saudi Information Ministry. If the king had said any such thing then other participants at the summit apart from the media would have learned of it.
Fundamentally if the king wants to ban pictures of women from newspapers then he would have done so beginning with the Saudi press, not the regional or international media. Mainly editors from Gulf newspapers attended the meeting. A cornerstone of the Kingdom’s foreign policy is that it does not interfere in the affairs of other countries. It is strange the people who deliberately distort his words chose to forget the fact that King Abdullah was the first Saudi leader to permit a women’s delegation to accompany him in his recent visits abroad.
One may wonder how, if the reporting of the Western press was correct, the Saudi and Arab media could carry the photograph of Princess Lolwah Al-Faisal, who was among the prominent personalities to attend the recent World Economic Forum held at Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh.
It is worth mentioning that among the members of the Saudi Journalists Association are two ladies. Press censorship, direct or indirect, does not exist in Saudi Arabia and Saudi journalists follow internationally approved professional standards and values such as credibility and honesty in reporting news, especially when covering world leaders. These are the two qualities lacking in the Western, particularly American, press in relation to Saudi Arabia and other Arab and Muslim countries.
In fact, the enemies of the Kingdom try to cause hysteria not only by raising the nonissue women’s photographs in newspapers but also unleashing a worldwide propaganda barrage portraying women in the Islamic world, particularly in Saudi Arabia, as oppressed.
The intolerant Western attitude toward the Muslim and Arab countries could be attributed largely to cultural differences on the one hand and the falling moral and social values in Western societies on the other.
Moreover the Western press takes its cue from political leaders who encourage attacks on Islam. The anti-Muslim bias is more noticeable among inexperienced journalists without academic backgrounds. These journalists seem to be devoid of sufficient training in professional ethics and under the spell of globalization look for sensationalism and sex. They tend to exaggerate ordinary events and misrepresent statements to promote vested political interests.
One also wonders whether Western journalists know, for instance, anything about Jewish wedding customs, financial rights of Muslim women and the rich Islamic heritage. In general, they disapprove of the values and cultures of others and criticize anything that is not European.
The fuss made by Christian political leaders in the West about defending the Jews does not, in fact, represent the common man’s attitude toward that religious minority. According to a recent Israeli TV show, Jews are still referred to by members of the Western public in derogatory terms such as “filthy Jews”.
Despite all the fuss about women, in the West they have been reduced to a commodity primarily for enjoyment and then for buying and selling. Women are exploited largely with the help of media advertisements and other conceivable forms of promotion.
On the other hand, Islam respects women and accords them their rights in measures far more than what the Jewish and Christian religions permit them to enjoy. Further, Islam recommends gentle treatment to allow them to maintain their natural femininity and chastity.
There is no denying that cultural differences lead to difficulties in mutual understanding and interaction between Westerners and Muslims. It is, however, another matter when it comes to distorting the image of the sacred symbols of Islam, or Saudi Arabia for that matter.
Whatever the West may say about them, the Muslims the world over look at the Kingdom with respect and awe, which only enhances further when they visit the country which houses Islam’s two holiest shrines.
I can only hope that Western journalists would restrain themselves and avoid being carried away and stop resorting to bias.
